Fundraiser Update
June 09, 2007
We want to thank everyone who has contributed so far
to our fundraiser! As of this morning (Saturday, June
9) the count on the Chipin widget is at $1181. While
that is truly an amazing amount to be at already,
it's actually not the whole amount. A number of very
generous friends have given us checks directly which
total $1250. This puts our grand total to date at
$2431; that's 81%
of our goal!
When we first started this fundraiser we weren't sure how people would respond to it. We've never asked for help from others like this before, and I have to admit it felt a bit weird, but the response has truly been amazing. And even more surprising to me, it has been an experience of affirmation. The gifts people have made to us are like statements of belief in what we are doing. I think that has truly been the best part of this exercise. Because I have to admit, that at times I've questioned what we're doing myself. But then somebody makes another donation and it's like they're saying, "Yes, you are doing the right thing!"
When I started the fundraiser I put August 15th as the cutoff goal for the event. I had hoped that we would travel well before then, but now it looks like maybe I was being a bit too prophetic. We now suspect that this will actually be quite close to the day we receive Shen. In two and half weeks we have already raised over three fourths of our goal. I believe we will easily exceed our target amount, so that raises the question of what we will do with the money we raise beyond that amount?
Since our goal is to raise the orphanage fee for Shen's adoption we have decided to donate all funds we raise in excess of that amount to Love Without Boundaries' Tuan Yuan Fund. “Tuan Yuan” means “bringing families together.” Every time this fund reaches $3000, Love Without Boundaries offers a grant to pay the orphanage donation for a special needs child. We hope to be able to pay this gift forward many times!
Another little funny note: I want to give a special little thanks to a particular friend from work who donated an unusual dollar amount (not divisible by 10 or 5) which has created an odd rolling total. I really like the way this makes the number look on the widget counter!
When we first started this fundraiser we weren't sure how people would respond to it. We've never asked for help from others like this before, and I have to admit it felt a bit weird, but the response has truly been amazing. And even more surprising to me, it has been an experience of affirmation. The gifts people have made to us are like statements of belief in what we are doing. I think that has truly been the best part of this exercise. Because I have to admit, that at times I've questioned what we're doing myself. But then somebody makes another donation and it's like they're saying, "Yes, you are doing the right thing!"
When I started the fundraiser I put August 15th as the cutoff goal for the event. I had hoped that we would travel well before then, but now it looks like maybe I was being a bit too prophetic. We now suspect that this will actually be quite close to the day we receive Shen. In two and half weeks we have already raised over three fourths of our goal. I believe we will easily exceed our target amount, so that raises the question of what we will do with the money we raise beyond that amount?
Since our goal is to raise the orphanage fee for Shen's adoption we have decided to donate all funds we raise in excess of that amount to Love Without Boundaries' Tuan Yuan Fund. “Tuan Yuan” means “bringing families together.” Every time this fund reaches $3000, Love Without Boundaries offers a grant to pay the orphanage donation for a special needs child. We hope to be able to pay this gift forward many times!
Another little funny note: I want to give a special little thanks to a particular friend from work who donated an unusual dollar amount (not divisible by 10 or 5) which has created an odd rolling total. I really like the way this makes the number look on the widget counter!