Help Us Bring Kate Home!

Get excited friends! Today we're announcing a tangible way that you can be a part of bringing our daughter home! After a 4 year and 8 month adoption journey, we have finally created a fundraising page for our adoption. Check it out here!

http://waitingforkate.storenvy.com

Our adoption process has been very difficult, and we're so grateful that we haven't had to fundraise until now. We don't make a lot of money in the line of work that we do (they call it a non-profit for a reason! Haha!) - but so far our adoption fees have been paid through an adoption grant we were awarded from Help Us Adopt, and a gift from a very generous family member. Unfortunately, as our adoption journey has continued on much longer than we ever anticipated, costs have increased. 

Not only have we had to pay renewal fees (during our lengthy process), but we recently lost our home study agency (they are having financial issues) and we had to start over with a new agency for the remainder of our adoption. This cost us an additional $850 that was not in our budget. We also found out that our daughter's Certificate of Citizenship cost is set to increase soon from around $600 to more than $1,100.

We are hoping to travel to meet Kate sometime in the next 3-6 weeks, and we plan to stay in Thailand for at least a month (to allow our daughter some time to adjust while remaining in her home country). Our agency agrees that is the best thing for our daughter, and they believe it will give her the best chance for a healthy transition. Unfortunately, we might be traveling near or during the holidays, which could make travel more expensive. We may also have to book flights last minute - which increases the price as well. So we’ve decided to do a little fundraiser to help off-set some of our travel expenses (and to help us handle some of these unexpected increases).

We bought these very special leather bracelets on our last trip to Thailand. They were handmade by a Thai artisan and stamped with the words “Waiting for Kate” and “James 1:27”. If you’d like to buy one (or more than one) it would certainly be a blessing to us! We hope they’ll serve as a reminder to pray for our daughter (while we wait to get her, while we’re in Thailand together, and after we’re home and transitioning together too!) and as a reminder to pray for orphans around the world!

http://waitingforkate.storenvy.com

For those of you who simply want to give a donation, you can choose to donate through our page, or you can add a donation to your bracelet order. If you prefer to send a donation via mail, please make out the check to Rusty Jackson and write "adoption" in the memo line. You can mail your check to: PO Box 320044, Birmingham, AL 35212. [These donations are not tax deductible.]

Thank you in advance for helping us bring Kate home! 

Our charity needs your VOTE right now!

Hello my dear friends and blog followers!

As many of you know, my husband Rusty and I founded a charity several years ago that helps orphans and vulnerable children around the world. Right now our charity, The Sound of Hope, is in a video competition called "Project for Awesome" - and voting is ONLY tonight and tomorrow. If we are one of the videos with the most votes, we could win a LOT of money. (Last year the Top 20 videos got $40,000 each! WOW!) Our goal is to win this funding for education for our kids. That amount would be more than enough to put ALL 200 of the children we care for in school for an entire year. That means every single little boy and girl in our care - in Thailand, Burma, India, and Swaziland! And we all know, education changes everything for a child in poverty.

All we need is for people to VOTE! That's it! You don't have to sign up for anything or log in - you don't even have to watch the video if you don't want to (but it's pretty awesome if you do!) - just click on the link and then click the red VOTE button. It only takes a second!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE NOW

(and help us win thousands in educational funding for children in need!)

[To donate directly to The Sound of Hope, simply click HERE.]

And if you're feeling really helpful, we would LOVE it if you'd share this with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Maybe you know of a group of friends you could share it with via email? Or a facebook group you could ask for help? Anything you're willing to do on our behalf would be a blessing! It's going to take everyone we know working together to make this happen!

Voting ends at 11am Sunday morning. (So ask your friends in Sunday School to vote too! Just go to ProjectForAwesome.com on your smartphone and search for "The Sound of Hope". )

Please help me give our sweet kids the gift of EDUCATION for one more year! Just one click could change a child's life!

Love you all so much - thank you in advance!
Ericka

ps - You can vote from any personal device you have, so don't forget to log on to your desktop, laptop, ipad, and smartphone! :)

I believe in MIRACLES...

I just keep looking at this page, over and over again. It's been a week since it happened, and I still can't quite put my feelings into words. One minute I want to run around like a crazy person, shouting about the GOODNESS OF GOD, and the next, I just want to fall on my face in thankfulness. I have seen my fair share of miracles in my life, but somehow they never cease to amaze me!

$190,000

It's hard to even fathom raising that amount of money, and yet, we agreed to try. Our Indian Partners had gone to another organization to ask for their help - a much bigger, more successful organization - and they turned them down. They told them it was impossible. Why did we say yes?! It certainly wasn't because we felt like we could do a better job.... It wasn't because we knew we had an amazing fundraising plan up our sleeve....

....we said YES because we heard 33 precious little boys and girls crying out to God one Friday night in November,  praying boldly for their Father in Heaven to provide land and a new home for them. After hearing their passion and seeing their great faith, how could we say no? And so, we agreed to give it a try.

I have often felt like David vs. Goliath as we tried to figure out how to conquer this great need. The two of us, with our little non-profit organization that is only 2 years old. It felt impossible! And yet, something in me knew that God would not ignore the prayers of His children. After all, He is a good Father who longs to give good gifts to His kids!

As the months passed, we began to make some progress, and we were encouraged. But when we returned in April from a month in Africa and found out the deadline had been moved up, doubt crept in again. Suddenly, we only had 30 DAYS to raise $75,000! It wasn't long enough to put together any kind of big event, and we were mentally and physically exhausted from our trip overseas. We had no idea how to come up with that amount of money in only a month! We knew then it was going to take a miracle... and a BIG ONE! "God, you are going to have to do this!" we prayed. "We know it's impossible without you!"

AND HE DID.

We needed to raise $75,000 in 30 days. 3 weeks passed, and we still needed $54,000. Then, the last day of fundraising came - and we were still $20,000 away! But in just a few short hours a MIRACLE happened, and by 9:30pm (2 and 1/2 hours before our midnight deadline) the Asha Mission Land Project was FULLY FUNDED!!!

That means that this precious "family" below is getting their own piece of land in India - which puts them one (huge) step closer to their new home!

I wish I could share every single story that made this happen. We got letters, phone calls, emails and tweets sharing why and how people wanted to give. It was incredible to hear all the ways God was moving in the hearts of His people all over the nation. The sacrifice and obedience of so many is what made this miracle possible! (Rusty did a great job sharing about that on his blog. You should definitely go read his version of this story!)

For each and every one of you who shared in this burden - THANK YOU just doesn't seem enough! I know that there are so many of you - quite a few that we've never even met - who donated, shared, tweeted, emailed, blogged, posted, called, prayed, begged, borrowed, and sacrificed to make this happen! I absolutely mean it when I say, YOU ARE HEROES to our children in India! Every single one of you were a part of this incredible MIRACLE!

And that miracle is the reason this page is so beautiful to me. It's not just a website. It's not just a fundraiser. This tiny corner of the world wide web represents 190,000 reminders of God's GREAT FAITHFULNESS!

I don't know about you, but I definitely believe in miracles...

URGENT NEED :: Asha Mission Land Project

To all my blog readers (and fellow blogging friends) I'm sorry I've been a little MIA. I have so many fun blogs I want to share - with more videos and pictures from our time in Africa, a recap of our Singer's Reunion this past weekend, and even a Springtime Giveaway - but I have been consumed with this need and right now, it's all I can post about.

I am BEGGING YOU to please, please watch this video and GET INVOLVED. We are up against some overwhelming odds, and I know that we cannot do this without each and every one of you getting involved in some way!

URGENT NEED :: Asha Land Project from The Sound of Hope on Vimeo.

$75,000 may seem ridiculous and impossible to you - but today I am standing on the truth that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD! I am sure that Joshua felt pretty ridiculous playing an instrument aimed at the walls of Jericho, and that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego thought walking through fire was impossible. The truth is, God has a history of making the impossible, POSSIBLE, and He loves it when the odds are stacked against Him! $75,000 in less than 30 days is completely do-able - if we all work together!

So, here is what I'm asking. 

1st - I am asking you to consider what you can give. And not just $10 either - these precious little boys and girls are worth so much more than that! As I said in the video - I am asking you to give until it hurts. And believe me - Rusty and I are doing the same thing. (I would not ask you to do something that I wasn't willing to do myself!) DONATE HERE. 
 
2nd - I am asking you to spread the word to everyone you know. Send an email with this video and this blog (or this link to give) to your friends and family and coworkers and small group.  Repost this video or blog to your facebook. Tweet this link on twitter. Challenge everyone you know to GIVE SOMETHING!

3rd - I am asking you to take a look at this list of fundraising ideas (below) and choose one. I know that most of you who read my blog do so because you care about the children the world has forgotten. You are the people who love orphans - who believe they deserve a hope and a future. I am asking you today to do something about it. Put some action behind what you believe! Consider what you would do if this was your child. What lengths would you go to, to ensure a safe and healthy future for your little boy or little girl? I know we're all busy people, but I am asking you to put these children first. They have no one to fight for them except you and me! Their future rests in our hands.

So please - I beg you - choose one of these ways to get involved and then DO IT! We will help you publicize whatever you decide to do via facebook and twitter and even give you ideas to make your project a success. Just comment below or email me (erickabennett(at)gmail.com) which thing you're volunteering to do - with the proceeds going to this need! Or - come up with your own fundraising idea and let me know about it! (I'd love it if you got even more creative with this!)

Here's the list - please pick one and get to planning!

• Garage Sale - Usually a Garage Sale makes around $1,000 to $3,000 profit. We are looking for 10 PEOPLE who will volunteer to host at least 1 Garage Sale each before May 20th. This is the perfect time to do some Spring Cleaning for a great cause! Your trash really will be "another man's treasure" - because it will give LIFE, HOPE, and a SECURE FUTURE to our precious kids in India! Don't have enough stuff to do a yard-sale? Why not put up a big ticket item (like a boat, car, furniture or antiques) on Craigslist?
• EBay Sales - Have some old collectibles? How about a camera, clothes, books, or jewelry? I have seen some crazy things go for high prices on EBay! So go through your closet, attic, basement, and garage and get to selling! If you aren't EBay savvy - you could always sell your items via facebook post. (I have seen some girls recently doing this with old pageant dresses and suits!)
• Benefit Shows - Are you a musician? Are you willing to lend your voice for children in need? We are looking for 10 MUSICIANS who will host 1 Benefit Show each before May 20th. It doesn't matter if you don't have a big following or a great venue. I once did a small coffeeshop show in college that raised $1,900 for a charity! You may be surprised at the turnout! We'd be glad to send Sound of Hope brochures and lend you our logo for any promo posters you create!
• Art Auction - Are you an artist? How about a photographer? Would you consider auctioning off one (or more) of your pieces online, or getting some friends together for an art auction? A small auction could easily be set up at a coffeeshop, college, or church!
• Tax Return Donation - According to my online research, the average tax deduction is around $3,000. That means, if just 25 people donated their tax return to this cause, we would be COMPLETELY FUNDED! Will you donate your tax return so these kids can have a home? Will you challenge your friends and family to do the same?
• Share Your Savings - Many of us are at the age where saving is important. We are thinking of the future of our spouse and our children. Unfortunately, these kids in India have no one saving for their future. There is no one putting away money for their college fund. There is no one even saving for their needs next month. Would you consider giving away a percentage of your security to provide for theirs? Would you donate 5% of your savings to give these kids a future? What about 10%? What about 25%?
• Birthday Campaign - Do you have a birthday coming up in April or May? How about asking for donations to this project instead of presents? You can have your friends give directly to this link, or you can set up your own page by clicking "FUNDRAISE" on the right side of that page and following the prompts.
• Do Something Crazy - Remember when your school raised funds by promising you could pie the principle in the face if you met your mark? Or that your favorite teacher would die her hair pink if you raised $1,000? Think up something similar and challenge your friends and family to help you reach your fundraising goal! What would people pay to see you do? Wear your rival team's jersey and sing their fight song? Shave your head? (You can click the "FUNDRAISE" button on the right side of this page to set up your own page and keep track of your donations!)
• Calling All Bloggers - I know there are many of you who have your own blog, and it would mean the world to me if you would do a post about this need! You can even add the widget below to your blog and people can give right on your page! Just click this link to get the embed code (you can even change the color to match your blog!) It would be amazing if you would set a goal for you and your blog readers to reach together - maybe $500? or $1,000 by the deadline? You could even do a giveaway once you reached your goal!

Online fundraising for Asha Mission, Delhi - Land Project at Razoo

Whichever fundraiser you plan to do, remember it must be completed (and the money sent in) before May 20th. Donations can be given online here, using the widget above, or mailed to this address :: The Sound of Hope - PO Box # 534 - Helena, Alabama  35080.  Thank you in advance for loving and fighting for these children. Together, we can insure that they have the HOPE and FUTURE they deserve!