Appreciation

Can I just thank those few of you who read my blog!!! I really appreciate your kindness in listening to my rants and taking interest in pictures of my sweet little girls. It is just nice to express myself even if few are listening to what I have to say. So, thank you for your support! As some of you may know (and some may not) this has been a trying year for our family. It has probably the most trying time of my life and I know it has been difficult for Ashley. As Christmas approaches I have wanted to emphasize the importance of loving and helping others to my children. So, as part of that I have looked for free or very inexpensive ways to help those around us like: cookies, cards, small dollar store gifts or volunteering of time. This morning on Meridianmagazine.com I received an article about a wonderful organization and I wanted to pass it on to all of you. The name of the group is Reach the Children and the website is:

http://www.reachthechildren.org/index.cfm

100% of your donations will go to the families and children helped by this organization. One of the things they do to help families is by fostering self reliance by helping them buy livestock such as cows and goats. The families can then use the money from the milk from these animals to buy seeds to start a garden and the animal waste to fertilize the plants. It is a wonderful program. Gifts can be as small as $4, so even children can participate and feel like they have given to someone who needs it. Here are some things that your money could buy a needy family in Africa:

Gift Amount
Your Gift Can Provide
$4
A mosquito net for one child
$5
A nurse's salary for one day at a clinic.
$6
A pair of shoes for a child
$15
One school uniform and pair of shoes for an orphan
$20
Two rabbits for a needy family
$25
Textbooks and a lantern for one student
$35
A mattress, sheet set, and blanket for an orphan
$50
A teacher's salary for two weeks
$60
Full immunizations for 6 children
$75
A goat for a needy family
$100
Supplies for a community garden to feed many families
$150
Vocational training for one student
$175
Funding for a micro-enterprise loan
$250
A fruit dryer for a family to start a commercial business
$325
A hand dug well
$350
A year of high school education for one student
$375
A sewing machine and fabric for vocational training
$475
A donkey or a dairy cow
$600
A teacher's salary for six months
$1,000
Stay Alive manuals to reach 10,000 families.
$1,300
Funding for a micro-enterprise association
$14,500
A water well for clean water to an entire community
$30,000
A community development center

Thanks for listening and have a great day!!!