Melkam Gena

Posted by Chris on Jan 7, 2012 in Fundraising | 0 comments

“Melkam Gena” is “Merry Christmas” in Amharic, the language of Ethiopia.

Now, you might think I’m a couple of weeks late on this, but you’d be wrong, because…

TODAY IS CHRISTMAS IN ETHIOPIA!

(It has to do with the fact that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church still uses the old Julian calendar, which means that Christmas falls on January 7 in our Gregorian calendar, but that’s not the point of this post.)

Anyway, for Christmas this year, we received an awesome gift. Lifesong for Orphans graciously granted us a $3000.00 matching grant to help us bring Haven home.

This means that we try to get friends, family, and strangers to donate money on our behalf to Lifesong, which they will then give to us to cover adoption expenses. Anything we raise up to $3000.00 will be matched by Lifesong. So, potentially, this grant is actually worth $6000.00 for us. And considering we have about $15,000.00 left to raise, that’s a huge chunk.

So, anyway, once we found out about the grant, we put together a letter to let people know about it and sent it out with our Christmas cards. The point of the letter, which some of you received, and the point of this post, actually, is to ask you to help us out.

Will you please consider making a tax-deductible donation to help us pay the remaining $15,000 in adoption expenses to bring Haven home?

If that sounds like something you’d be willing to do, there’s a couple of ways you can give.

1. Online – You can give through Lifesong’s PayPal account by clicking HERE. Once you are asked to enter the amount, be sure to put the following int he “Purpose” box: “preference Kinsley #2418 adoption”.

2. By Check – You can also send a check payable to Lifesong with “preference Kinsley #2418 adoption” written on the memo line to the following address: Lifesong for Orphans, Attn: Kinsley #2418 Adoption, PO Box 40/202 N. Ford St., Gridley, IL 61744. (*Note:  In following IRS guidelines, your donation is to Lifesong which retains full discretion and control over its use.)

Now, there is perhaps nothing more awkward than asking people for money (well, maybe I can think of a few things), and it’s near impossible to convey sincerity and humility in a blog post, but please know that’s the spirit with which I ask you to please help us out.

We’ll provide updates on how we’re doing as we have them.

Thanks.