Just 3 days ago, Jenny Bowen had 700+ votes. She was not even in the top 10 people voted for. Yesterday she reached 2,000+ votes, and was among the top 8 participants. Today, she is in the number 1 spot, and has reached an amazing 9,034 votes and you can actually refresh the screen to see it go up at times.
It's such a beautiful thing to know that there are so many people that want to see HTS succeed. It really is something to know that so many people can come together for a cause. Even if the cause is only to vote for someone deserving a spot in the Olympics torchbearers.
I, for one, will be proud to see her run with the torch. And there must be at least 9,033 other people who feel the same way.

If you haven't cast your vote yet and wish to, here is the direct link

Torchbearers of the Olympics

image of girl standing on Great Wall belongs to HTS


Half the Sky (HTS) Foundation is a nonprofit organization that was started to help children in orphanages throughout China.
HTS was started by Jenny Bowen after she adopted her first daughter from China in the 1990's. She had noticed that her toddler would not look at her in the eyes and realized that babies in orphanages were not receiving the cuddling and holding that they needed, in order to thrive. Her daughter was adopted from the same orphanage as Cady, and so it was only fitting that the pilot program was started at that orphanage. Now HTS is at more than 36 orphanages in China, and growing stronger daily. Cady was sponsored by someone thru HTS, which meant that her nanny only had 3 children that she was responsible for. It also meant that we were presented with a monthly journal that her nanny kept for her. That journal is among the most precious things we have for her future. There was also apartment housing on the orphanage premises. Those apartments housed elderly that would spend time with the children on a daily basis, cuddling and holding them. There is also a big sister program established to keep the older children involved. Being sponsored by HTS meant that the chances were very high that we would receive a child that is happy, healthy and knows how to love. Anyone that has met Cadence can see that this was a successful program for her early months in life. Before we got our referral for Cady, we had no idea HTS existed. Now we feel blessed every day to know that she was not only in the program, but in such loving care by those hired thru HTS.
HTS also plays a major part in preparing the older children to be successful participants in society when they are no longer adoptable. This was a big concern for Jenny, with all the children that are left behind.
Learn more about it in this short video
HTS video

At this time, Jenny Bowen has an opportunity to run with the torch during the 2008 Olympics in China. There will be 8 foreigners selected to do this, based on votes. She still needs a lot of votes, but I cannot think of one person more deserving than her, that has made a greater contribution to the children of China and to the children that have been adopted.

Please take a moment and vote for her here:
Torchbearers

You can also read more about HTS, and learn how to sponsor a child. The cost for an entire year of sponsoring a child is only $300. We were so very grateful to Cady's sponsor. We wrote him a letter, and he had no idea how much work was really done with her for so little money.
Half the Sky Foundation