A Word From Sonja, One of Our Board Members

"Many of you know that I am a Board member for a 501(c)(3) charity called The Red Thread Promise. After years of waiting for the right cause to support, I chose The Red Thread Promise because of the profound impact we can make, one life at a time, on the future of the world's orphans. My devotion is inspired by my own two Chinese daughters, one of whom, Jenna, came to us with a "special need." Here in America, fueled by Cheerios, Dora the Explorer, and lots and lots of Cetaphil, Jenna doesn't have any special needs, but in China, she had a dim future. Through The Red Thread Promise, we can help other children with minor or major medical needs. Sometimes it's a compression stocking, sometimes, heartbreakingly, it's palliative care. In every case, though, we help children who have no other options.

"We have recently been honored with an invitation to an open enrollment window at Global Giving. Global Giving, in its words, connects " 'good idea people' with the 'generous giver people' and helps projects of all sizes receive donations of all sizes." If we raise $3000 in the next three weeks from 60 different people, we will be offered a permanent home at Global Giving. For our open enrollment project, we have selected our upcoming trip to Haiti. We have launched a medical supply drive to stock the Rivers of Hope orphanage. While we are there, we will be evaluating the children to determine how to prioritize their medical needs.

"If you can help with even $5, we would greatly appreciate it. Because the open enrollment window requires both a breadth and depth of donors, you'll be helping as much with $5 as you will with $100. And if you can donate again in the name of your child or your spouse, we'd be doubly grateful.

"There is no shortage of worthy charities, and, these days, no abundance of discretionary funds. I do appreciate every dollar you can donate. Please consider that every bit of help we get here serves us many times over by getting us a permanent spot at Global Giving, where we will gain incredibly valuable exposure to a worldwide audience. Further, and most importantly, know that your dollars will directly and meaningfully impact children who desperately need your help."

Thank You For Your Support!

We've had 30 different donors provide $1,480 so far, as of Monday morning. Thank you, one and all! We're moving toward our goal of $3,000 or more from 50 or more donors. We're so thankful for the opportunity to be part of Global Giving. We're also getting excited about the opportunity to travel to Haiti very soon!

Thank you for your prayers and financial support. Please share our link with family and friends who have a heart for orphans who haven't found their forever families, yet.

Global Giving

The Red Thread Promise has a wonderful opportunity, and now the work begins! We need your help! Global Giving is an organization where donors are matched with organizations doing work on behalf of children and families in need. Global Giving has reviewed The Red Thread Promise, and has allowed us to join their program, but to remain with Global Giving, we need to raise $3,000 from 50 different donors by May 11th!

We would appreciate any donation that you are able to provide. Due to needing multiple donors, you can see that a donation of $5 is as important as a donation of $25. Each will help us to meet the goal of raising $3,000 with a minimum of 50 donors by May 11th.

Please click on the Global Giving button on the sidebar to add your support to our mission in Haiti. Thank you!

We're Off to Haiti Very Soon!

Dear Family and Friends:

I am going to Haiti!! Or rather, I am going to Haiti as a representative for The Red Thread Promise. As most of you know, I have been privileged to be able to work with The Red Thread Promise, a charitable organization dedicated to helping orphans with medical needs.

Kathy and I are going to visit Rachel’s River of Hope orphanage in Manothe, Haiti. It is about an hour away from Port Au Prince, in the mountains. Pictures are below.

Rachel’s River of Hope orphanage is home to between 15 to 30 babies and toddlers. Rachel McIntosh hopes to find adoptive families for all of her children. She is a way-station for love and care to orphans whose futures are incredibly bleak. While she is searching for adoptive families, Rachel loves her little charges. She provides food, clothing, shelter, and love on an amazingly small budget. As a Westerner I was quietly stunned at how little she lives on, and awed at how she takes what she has and makes the most of it. Rachel is Hope amidst Despair for these little ones. Hope that is showing itself in practical, tangible ways.

It was so intriguing to learn of Rachel’s River of Hope orphanage, because we recognized that TRTP could come join Rachel and show hope to these children too. TRTP has always been a small organization, and we have known that we may only be able to seriously impact a few orphan’s lives. Given the current economy, we have been seeking new ways to meet fulfill our mission, and show good stewardship to you, our supporters.

TRTP can create a Red Thread of hope and promise with Rachel and her children. We are going there to cultivate a firm relationship with this orphanage and with these children. We seek to begin a dialogue in person that we have cultivated online and through others who have met this dynamic, loving woman and her supporters. We seek to come alongside them in their mission to love and care for orphans, particularly special needs orphans.

I truly believe that Hope is the seed that makes living possible in the midst of the impossible. Hope is looking into the face of what seems to be overwhelming circumstances and saying – this is not the end of the story. When we believe that what we see is all that there is to the story, we live with an imprisoned future. But when we embrace hope for these children’s futures, the kingdom of God comes near and all the rules change.

Since I became the mom of my own precious children through adoption, I have been truly haunted by the children “left behind” in orphanages to grow up alone. It is unthinkable that one of my children could have been “left behind”. But for God’s grace that would have been so. To be able to show these orphans love, hope, and a promise of a future would be a dream come true for me personally.

We plan to bring additional suitcases to Haiti and hope to fill them with:

Diapers, pull-ups, wipes, lotion, shampoo, soap, powder, baby oil, toothpaste, Children’s Tylenol, Children’s Motrin, Desitin, Baby foods (all stages), boxed baby cereals, formula, clothes from newborn to age 3 (onesies and other items that can be layered are preferred).

You can support our efforts in Haiti by clicking on the Global Giving button on the sidebar to the right. Thank you for your prayers and gifts.

Jennifer

You Can Support Our Trip to Haiti by Supplying...

items such as Children's Tylenol, Infant Tylenol, Children's Motrin, Desitin, Lotion, Soap, and Toothpaste. For friends and family that follow our blog, you know our contact information to get items to us. To our new friends, that we haven't met in person yet, please post a comment and let us know how to contact you. We'll let you know where to send the items so we can have them packed before leaving for Haiti.

Heading to Haiti!

Kathy and Jen, two board members from The Red Thread Promise, are heading to Haiti soon. We learned of Rivers of Hope Orphanage, located in Manothe, Haiti, through a friend who is in the process of adopting from Haiti. Jen and Kathy will be meeting with Rachoul, the Director of Rivers of Hope, in person, to assess the needs of the orphanage, and determine if TRTP can provide support. While they'll be packing light, they're taking several suitcases filled with supplies for the orphanage. The priority will be medical supplies, and we'll also be sending personal hygiene items. The biggest goal of the trip is to determine the needs, and develop a plan for supporting the infants and toddlers who live at River of Hope. You can donate by clicking on the Global Giving button on the top, right, sidebar. Thank you for your support, whether it is a prayer for this trip, or a donation.