Fundraiser Frustration

Dulce~ Money already sent for her bed
Jonathan~ Next in line for a bed... Only a few dollars short
Leydi~ 3rd in line to get a bed
Diego~ 4th in line to get a bed

OK, so I found out what happened to my fundraiser. I am so angry that I am probably going to wind up giving myself a migraine or a tension headache. My teeth are clenched tight, and I can't stop thinking about it...
I found a place to buy these Wiggles shirts for a reasonable price, and began selling them on Ebay to make some extra money for Jaden's fundraiser. Everything was going well. The shirts were selling, and everything was looking up... Then, sales just STOPPED> Today I looked into it and found that there is now a "copycat" seller who is shadowing me. She is listing her items at a price below mine with a caption that says: "Best Price on Ebay @@@Look Here First@@@". So, I lowered my prices twice!!! Every time, she lowered hers as well. I just lower them again, but I know it won't take her long to figure it out. I am not sure how to win at this game. I really want to contact her & go off on her. However, I know everyone has a right to sell whatever they want on Ebay... Even if someone else started selling it first... The other bad thing is that this person knows where I get my supply from, so she is buying out my supply. What do I do? Any ideas?

Carlos & Claritza with their gifts

Letters from 3 of my sponsored kids

Katherine
Aldair
Henry
Aldair drew this picture. Above the drawn picture, I have put each of the 3 kid's pictures as a point of reference.

These are the letters that I have received in the last week:
Katherine:
I hope this letter finds you well. We are fine. Thank you for your letters and pictures. You look very nice. We celebrate Independence Day on February 27th. We dress up in costumes and have parades. We had a great Christmas because we were together. The child is very happy to receive your letter and books. We have no parks close to the house. Saying goodbye, Katy and Katherine. Thank you for everything

Aldair:
Receive many greetings along with your family. I thank you for the pretty letter. I write to tell you that my family and I are fine. I spent Christmas with my loved ones, and I took advantage by playing & going to the manger. I am so happy to have you as my sponsor. I send you many kisses and hugs. I say goodbye, your sponsored child, Aldair

Henry:
How are you? I hope you are well. My family and I are well. The weather here is hot during the day and cold at night during this season. I don't have clothing for cool weather, but I use the blanket you gave me. The nearest movie theater is 45 minutes away from my house, but we don't go because we watch movies in video at my aunt's who lives next door. I feel very well; I eat all my food. Thank you for worrying about me. I wish you lots of blessings and success in your life. I say goodbye with lots of love, Henry

Eclipse's Gifts from Alice

These are several gifts that ALice has sent to Eclipse and his family over the years. The house pictures are in here because she provided them with rent for 6 months. You should, also, see pictures of mattresses, sheets, bed frame, food, clothes, etc. I don't have details on everything, but you can see his excitement by the pictures.

Meet Efrain's first sponsored child Carolina!

Age: 7	Gender: F	Date of Birth: 2/26/2002
Height: 3 Feet 6 Inches		Weight: 35 Pounds		Hair Color: Blond		Eye Color: Green
2. Health problems, if any: None
3. Attends School: No - Too young
4. Favorite School Subjects:
Favorite Pastimes or Sports: Playing with dolls
Chores at Home: Washing clothes, Sweeping
Talents or Hobbies: Dancing, Singing
Languages Spoken: Spanish
INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S FAMILY:
5. Approximate monthly income for the family (in U.S. Dollars): $205.00
6. Name of Father: Rafael Antonio			Age: 37	Occupation: Watchman
(If not present, why?) Separated
7. Name of Mother: Miriam Jaquelly			Age: 25	Occupation: Homemaker
(If not present, why?)
8. Brothers and Sisters:
Name Steffany O.		Age 5	Gender F
9. Child now living with: Mother
INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S HOME:
10. Description of Home: One Bedroom, Dining Room, Kitchen
Cooking Facilities: Gas Stove
Sleeping Accommodations: Beds
Home Construction: Walls Wood			Roof Corrugated metal		Floor Concrete
11. Facilities and Services:
Water Source/Storage: Running water in home
Electricity: Available
Sanitary Facility: Toilet

Carolina is Efrain's first sponsored child through Children International. The reason the other kids with the other organization are not shown is because the organization does not allow them to be shown. We are very fortunate to have a great organization like Children International that allows so much flexibility, and the opportunity to share our personal sponsorship experiences with each other!!!
Here are Efrain's words:
Carolina is my first sponsored child with Children International and
actually my ninth sponsored child ever. I have been a sponsor since
1992. I have sponsored 8 children through other charity previous to
Carolina, and I still sponsor 3 of them. When the time came when I had
to say goodbye to one of my girls, Maria Eugenia, from the other
charity, I decided that I'll sponsor two new girls from CI to replace
my beloved Maria. Carolina was one of them.

Carolina is a beautiful blonde green-eyed little girl from the
Dominican Republic. Her yearly pictures have always shown a very shy
girl. She lives with her mother and a younger sister. She is still too
young to write her letter by herself. I'm already encouraging her to
do so. I want her to write her own letters by herself as soon as she's
able to. The communication is always more personal and satisfying when
the child writes her own letters.

Jonathan~ The next up to get a BED!!!

Jonathan wrote me a very sweet letter after he received his Christmas package. Now, I can't find the letter (I think the girls put it some where). Luckily, I had already scanned the pictures, or I wouldn't have those either. As soon as I figure out where they put the letter, I will come back & post it because it was VERY Sweet!!! As you can see by his smile, he is precious! He looks so excited to have the clothes and small things that I sent. I wonder what he will think when he has a nice comfy bed to lay in!!! Only $65 more to go, and he will have it!!! YAY!!!
Luckily, I did e-mail Alice two parts of Jonathan's letter that I especially liked, so here is a portion of my e-mail containing Jonathan's letter:

I am REALLY excited for the pics & letter Jonathan. You can see in the pictures that he is genuinely happy with the items & his letter is very sweet. He told me "your nice words made me feel so happy" and "thanks from the bottom of my heart for being such a wonderful sponsor." What was even more exciting is these are the first pictures with big smiles, so I know he is truly happy... That is what keeps me going.

Alice's Kids~ Family Pictures

Lilliam & her mom
Lilliam's grandparents, herself & her mother inside the grandparents' home
Lilliam's grandparents, mother & herself (left to right)
Katherine & her mom outside their home

Katherine & her mom inside their home


From left~ mother, Stanford (Eclipse's brother), Ishmael (brother), Eclipse & Sharon
Katherine & her mom in front of their home. I noticed that they have a Children International sign on their home & now wonder if all sponsored children do (or maybe just rural routes?)
Katherine and her mom inside and outside their home


Ok... I am not an expert in computer, so I have no idea how to make these pictures bigger. I am hoping to get better copies from Alice soon, and then, I will replace these with the new ones.

Now, here are some interesting updates. First of all, Katherine S, is one of the children with HIV for whom I had tried to find a sponsor. When Alice saw her pictures, she took her immediately. At the time, it seemed that Katherine (of all of the 5 children with HIV/AIDS) was better off than the others. Both of her parents still living, and she had not advanced to AIDS. As you can see in the pictures she looks weak & doesn't feel well. Also, I don't know where her father was when they took the picture. However, as for her condition, she was sick at the time of the pictures. Children International is requesting a special needs donation to buy her a blender, Pediasure & vitamins. The total cost is $110. If you would like to help Alice raise the money to help her feel better, contact myself or Alice, and a child ID number can be given so that the donation given to CI will go directly to help Katherine. Thank you to all who help!!!

Here is a letter that came from Katherine's mother:

Let me tell you that we have received your letters , picture and Christmas' postcard. We are so happy because you care about us. She already finished the school and she is on vacations. What she likes the most is to color and draw.. I would like that you come to visit to our home one day. We would be so happy to see you in person in order to talk, go out for a walk and eat fruits also go to the countryside, etc. I feel very proud to know that there is someone in the distance that care about my daughter and my family. Now, we are in winter time and it rains also is very hot. We would like to receive a blender and 2 cans of nutritional complements
(Pediasure) and vitamins (Complejo B). I thank you deeply for being a wonderful sponsor! I say good bye with a big hug

Lilliam lives with her grandparents, but there is no room for her mother in the home. Her mother has to live in a one room apartment. Alice is hoping to start a fundraiser at a later date to either improve on the grandparents current home or purchase a new home that will allow all of them to live together. I will keep you posted when that happens.

Diego~ The confusing letter

This was a very strange direct package follow-up. First of all, Diego has been writing to me, but this time his cousin wrote & the reason for that states "too young" to write. It does get stranger though... Somehow, maybe they had the information for his old sponsor in the system at the field office because a different person was being addressed in the letter. This person "Amie" was, also, listed on the follow-up notes as his sponsor with Amie's address included... Very strange! Anyway, on with the letter that his cousin wrote:
I hope this letter find you in good healthin union with your family. I thank you for the gifts you sent Diego. We received 1 card, 1 pair of gloves (thanks, Mack!), 5 shirts, 1 flashlight, 1 key ring, 1 sharpener, 6 toy cars, & coloring sheets. We will always be thankful for all that you've done for Diego. We like your support. We hope that Diego continues to do well in school.
With the hope of writing you soon, Alejandra says good-bye
(package sent 12/18/08, arrived 1/19/09, delivered to Diego 1/28/09, thank you letter received 3/10/09)

On another note about the bed fundraiser. Beds are still needed for 3 children with HIV/AIDS. Diego, Jonathan & Leydi are all in line to receive a bed. A donor contacted Children International when he/she saw Jaden's story. That donor said that they wanted to help her with her fundraiser. That was 2 weeks ago, and I haven't heard a word from the donor. So, I think she is on her own (well, she has my help, too, of course). The Wiggles shirts are now not selling at all. All of the auctions that I set up are ending without any bids. So now I have merchandise, and need to have a bright idea to get this money raised. I lowered the price on the shirts, but it hasn't made a difference. Does any one have any ideas? She is still collecting coins, also, but that is a lot slower than the shirt selling... Except now, maybe it isn't slower. She may be more profitable that way. I don't want to get too down about it because Jaden set this goal up, and at the time (to me) it seemed unreachable... But, I didn't want her to know my feelings, so I just went with it full-force trying to help her reach her goal. ANY ideas you all can provide are greatly appreciated!!!

Bragging about Mwanza

The staff had him put on both of the shirts that I had included in the package. I think that is a WONDERFUL idea, as it shows me just how well the size I got him fits (so that I know for future reference).



I have received several updates in the past week from the packages that I sent out for Christmas. This is the first one of the batch that I got. I have to brag about Mwanza because I am so proud of him. He was featured on CI's blog with his brothers and sisters. They were living alone (both parents had past away). They were hungry, and they looked completely fatigued (look back at the old photos of Mwanza in the tattered white shirt). http://childreninternational.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-it-means-to-be-alone.html What a difference a year makes!! Mwanza, now 13 years old, just started back to school. I am not sure how many years he had gone without being able to go to school, but I do know that his older sister Mary had to write letters for ALL of the kids including Mwanza. I asked him to TRY to write on his own, and he did. Here is his latest letter above. I think in his face, it shows that he knows I care. I remind him how great he is every time I write to him & how proud I am of him that he takes care of his brothers and sisters & goes to school, too. I can't brag on him enough because I wonder how many of us (if we were in his same situation) would be able to pick ourselves up and keep going the way he has. I truly believe he can conquer anything.
(packages ent 12/22/08, received 1/30/09, delivered to Mwanza 2/11/09, thank you letter received 3/7/09)