Donations for Displaced AAI Staff...

AAI Friends and Family! 
You have probably heard recently that Adoption Advocates International, out of Port Angeles, Washington has closed, leaving around a dozen employees high and dry in Ethiopia. They have been working for months with no pay, and will not receive any type of severance due to them by law.  

I have agreed to take on the fundraising for the displaced AAI staff in Ethiopia. A few of you have already sent in donations! Thanks so much! My friend, Karleen Klopp (fellow AAI adoptive parent), has offered to carry the funds to Ethiopia, when she travels the first week of April. She and her husband Lance, run Encourage Africa, a 501(c)3 non-profit.  I am on the board there, and they have graciously agreed to accept donations on behalf of the AAI staff.  If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation online, please make it through Encourage Africa. There is a transaction fee on these donations, of 2%, which is slightly less than Paypal. Susan and I have friends in country who will be in charge of distribution of the funds, and issuing receipts. This donation will not be affiliated with AAI, other than to help the workers who are affected. It will go through a 3rd party, who I know and trust to get to the right people.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me! I know that we will probably not raise all that they have been shorted, but what we do raise will be a huge help for these workers and their families.  You have no idea what this act of kindness will mean to them.  

Please visit Encourage Africa and click the Donate tab.  Put in your donation amount and Continue.  When you get to the donation page, put in your credit card info, and  “AAI Staff” in the designation field.   You will receive an email receipt.  

If you would like to send a check, you are welcome to mail one to me, made out to my church, FSBCJC, and they are happy to run them through and send tax receipts at the end of the year. All donations will end up traveling to Addis Ababa with Karleen.  Email or message me for the address.

Thanks so much for your support!

YOU Made IT Happen!

I know I should have posted this 2 months ago, but I am guilty of neglecting the blog, because FB is so instantaneous, and I can post it all there and it is seen within minutes... I apologize.

I did want to say a HUGE THANK YOU! to all who donated and helped out the project by collecting needed items and spreading the word! We somehow managed to rock it again this year, and collected all of the funds and items we needed. We were able to provide two families with grants to start their own small businesses and help themselves out of the despair of poverty.

It was a great project this year! And you made it happen! Check out our Facebook page for more info!