Thursday, July 10, 2008

Giving Back

“What can we do to give back to our children’s first home?” It seems this is a common question for lots of adoptive parents. This question came up in my Yangjiang SWI Yahoo group earlier this year, and we decided to pool our resources together to make a donation. Our group requested that the LWB Special Projects team ask the Yangjiang orphanage director about the needs of the children there. “Clothing!!” was the quick response.
Happy children in Yangjiang!

Our group collected donations through the LWB Orphanage Assistance Program, and, in less than two months, the YJ group raised $1,854 – enough to purchase 120 bags of cloth diapers (that’s 1,200 diapers!!) and 510 sets of summer clothing. We were SO happy that we were able to donate this much for the kids and loved the pictures that were sent to us from the orphanage staff.

Look at all the cloth diapers!

The LWB Orphanage Assistance program is a really neat program that allows families and groups to work with orphanages to meet their needs. All purchases are made in China by an LWB employee to stretch funds as far as possible. Some of the projects that other orphanage groups are undertaking include clothing, cloth diapers, cribs and beds, medical equipment, toys, indoor and outdoor play equipment, winter coats, quilts, shoes, incubators, and more.

Donations are also always welcome (and needed!) by LWB’s Orphanage Assistance General Fund. This general fund allows help to be provided to orphanages that may not have completed a lot of international adoptions and have as much parent support. This fund is also used to help with emergency needs.

Learn more about LWB’s Orphanage Assistance Program here: http://www.lovewithoutboundaries.com/projects_orphange_assistance.cfm

Debbie Smith
Tuan Yuan Adoption Assistance Coordinator