During our time in China we were blessed to share God's love through gifts sent with us from some very generous donors. On behalf of Pearl River Outreach I would like to thank them here. First, Lori Borah for working with "Leigh's Blankies" to personally sew 50 blankets for us. What a blessing it was to hand deliver these blankets to our babies with the message, "Let your light shine.." We even had the chance to bless some children that were not Bamboo Babies. Their mother's were so grateful! Another big thank you to Stonecreek Dental in Pickerington, Ohio for their generous donation of toothbrushes and toothpaste. There is such a need for this in our program. And, a final heartfelt hug and thank you to Debbie Welz for her financial donation.. Miss Meng was able to buy clothes, shoes, and toys for the children in our new program in ZhuZhou City.. Being the gift givers was such a gift for all of us! THANK YOU for blessing the children!
Since returning from my jetlag fog, I have received several emails, and blog messages inquiring about sponsorship. I can't tell you how happy this makes me.. I am humbled by your support! It is my job to make sure our kids are provided for. After seeing our work in China in action I am even more motivated to get children out of the orphanage and into a loving foster family. As I stated in one of my previous posts, one day in a social welfare institute is too long.. Even if it's a "nice" facility by our standards of what an orphanage should look like! When you are in a baby room with thirty babies that are wet and crying because they need someone to address their needs it changes you.. That memory motivates you to make a difference if you can. And, we ARE making a difference. A difference in Changsha, a difference in Hengshan, a difference in Zhanjiang.. And soon, a big difference in ZhuZhou City too. But, we can't do it alone.. We can't be there everyday to pick those babies up.. We can't be there to change those diapers.. We can't be there to rub their backs.. But, we can fund a foster mother to do that... But we can't do it alone!
So, I am boldly going to lay it out there.. We NEED sponsors. Going into this trip we were at 100% sponsorship! A huge answer to prayer. And a HUGE thank you to our PRO Family of faithful sponsors. But monthly our needs change. And, when you bring on six new children in a new city, you have to be confident you can fund the program. And, since I believe in what we do at PRO, I am confident with your help we CAN do this.. We have the people in place to make it happen. The foster parents are ready.. The children in ZhuZhou have been moved.. As I type they are sleeping in their own beds in their foster homes.. And, if they wake up tonight, a loving Mama or Baba is going to be there to comfort them.... So, will you help me maintain the level of sponsorship we need to move forward? My prayer is that we can continue to take a leap of faith and do more.. That we can take more than just one baby out of that baby room at the Zhanjiang Social Welfare Institute that we loved on (see ZJ post) and get them into a loving home too....
Sponsorship Needs! (Details on how to sponsor at the bottom of this post)
I have seven children that need sponsors now.. Our new ZhuZhou City Babies need multiple sponsors.
Riley
Born December 12, 2011
Changsha, Hunan
FULLY SPONSORED!!!!
Madeline
Born February 24, 2010
ZhuZhou City, Hunan
NEEDS 1 Sponsor!
Jack
Born September 11, 2011
Zhuhou City, Hunan
*4 Sponsors Needed
Caitlin
Born June 19, 2011
ZhuZhou City, Hunan
*3 Sponsors Needed
Hank
Born November 15, 2012
ZhuZhou City, Hunan
*3 Sponsors Needed
Tinsley
Born May 25, 2011
ZhuZhou City, Hunan
*2 Sponsors Needed
Tyler
Born March 15, 2011
ZhuZhou City, Hunan
*3 Sponsors Needed
School Scholarship Opportunity!
The other unique opporutnity we have is to help fund schooling for Aiden in Zhanjiang. Aiden will be 5 years old in August. He has had some hearing and speech delays.. The great news is he is hearing well.. But, he is saying very few words. ZJ has found a school to send him to near his foster home, but the tuition is $70 per month. They reached out to us for assistance to get him enrolled. If there are 10 of you out there that would be interested in funding a month of school for Aiden let me know! What a blessing it will be for him to have this new world opened to him at the start of the new school year!
How do I become a Pearl River Sponsor?
Thanks for asking!!! It costs $35 per month to be a Pearl River Sponsor. We ask for a minimum of a one year commitment. You can sign up and pay monthly ($35), quarterly ($105), or annually ($420.) If you prefer to pay by check, just let me know.. Our
donations link will take you to our donations page. There you pick the program you would like to be a part of.. *Since we do not have ZhuZhou City active on our website yet, just click on Zhanjiang. I will know where to plug you in.. IF you feel strongly about sponsoring a specific child no problem. Just drop me an email, and I will assign you to that child. There is also a comments section in Paypal. *When you are sponsoring a child that gets adopted during your year, you will be assigned a new child that needs sponsorship. Usually this is the child replacing your Bamboo Baby.
Where does my money go?
Your money helps to fund the stipend for our foster families that they receive monthly from us. It also allows us to have three paid staff on the ground in China: Julie Ma who lives in Beijing and speaks English. Julie's job is to be the liason with the orphanages and with us here in the states. She has great relationships with the orphanage staffs, and with our amazing team in China. Honestly I can't praise this amazing woman enough!!! Her heart for the kids is so beautiful!!! We also have the incredible Ms. Meng and Dr. Tong who live in Changsha taking care of all of our kids in Changsha, Hengshan and now ZhuZhou. Miss Meng is a registered nurse and her husband Dr. Tong is an M.D. specializing in family practice. They check out all of our kids a minimum of once a month. They are on call for all of the foster families. In Zhanjiang, Miss Yi from the SWI is our liason with the foster families. They also have a Pediatrician on staff that we have access too... Your funding also goes towards formula, clothes, etc that the foster families may need for the kids. Any incremental funds we have go towards training, birthdays for the babies, field trips, etc.
My Job...
As Sponsorship Coordinator my job is to communicate to our sponsor families quarterly and through the PRO blog and now via Facebook. Anytime you have questions, you are free to send them my way.. It is also my job to encourage you to stay on as a PRO family. I have been so blessed by the amazing sponsors we have! One of my biggest blessings is when I connect with a family that has been matched with our children. I love hearing about them when they are finally home!
Let's Get Started Together!!
- To sign up to be a sponsor you can go to our donations link, here!
- If you have questions, please email me directly at diana@pearlriveroutreach.org
- You can share this post with your friends, family members, neighbors, churches, adoption groups, etc..
- Your donations are tax deductible!!
Other Ideas
- Make a donation in honor of someone's birthday, gotcha day anniversary, baby shower, etc..
- Make a donation in memory of someone.
I look forward to welcoming new sponsors into our PRO family!!! It takes a lot of great big hearts to make the dream of giving a child a hope and a future a reality. Together, we can do it!!
Blessings,
Diana
Sponsorship Coordinator
diana@pearlriveroutreach.org
