Garden of Hope Posted February 18, 2005 Report Share Posted February 18, 2005 Claudia, You and Marcelo are very wise to plan and prepare. Your thinking is solid. Just stick to your plan and get ready to reap the benefits of your planning and preparations! Welcome to the forum. Please keep us posted on your progress. Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissamerritt Posted April 2, 2005 Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 (edited) For those of you who are like us trying to save every penny for an adoption, I thought you might like this idea. Chris and I are having a huge yard sale in a couple of weeks. We have gone through the house and found soooo much stuff that we just don't need anymore. People from our church and our families are donating a ton of stuff to go toward the baby fund. We are also advertising in local papers that all the money collected from the yard sale will go toward an adoption. Some friends from church have also talked about having a trivia night at church with the money collected to also go toward our adoption. This next baby will truly be a church baby since members of our church helped finance our adoption plan! Edited April 2, 2005 by melissamerritt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marthaj Posted April 2, 2005 Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 Melissa, What a great idea!! I'll send my wish for sunny skies and lots of shoppers to make your yard sale a great success!! Hugs to Grace Ann! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garden of Hope Posted April 2, 2005 Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 Reminds me of the show, Clean Sweep. A friend of mine had a garage sale to raise money for the Walk for a Cure breast cancer research and she raised over $500, which I thought was awesome for a garage sale stocked with "cast off stuff". Good luck on yours! "pay for him or her" May I suggest "helped finance our adoption plan" ? The first way made me really uncomfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissamerritt Posted April 2, 2005 Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 (edited) Jean, Oops! I'm sorry, you are right. I posted that after a reallllly loooong day. I meant to type finance, my fingers were typing one thing while my mind was thinking another. Sorry again, I hope I didn't offend anyone. Edited April 2, 2005 by melissamerritt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrendaMikeGabe Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 (edited) Hi everyone, Mike and I wanted to help defray some of our adoption costs and decided to give teddy bears away for donations. We actually found these cute bears that we could buy for less than a dollar a piece and took them around to family and freinds and asked for donations. We made a little tag that said, "adopt me and help a family's dream of adoption come true." and tied them around their necks with little bows. They were a hit and we were amazed by everyone's generosity. It's really touching how many people that you know will come through for you when you need them and they were all so excited for us. Good luck with your fundraising. Edited April 5, 2005 by BrendaMikeGabe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul and Michelle Posted April 15, 2005 Report Share Posted April 15, 2005 Hello Forum Friends, My husband and I applied for a grant several weeks ago...The company contacted us this week to see if they could assist us!! They can't give an individual money, but they can work through the agency to assist with some of the expenses. We haven't received confirmation that they are going to help, but at least they are investigating!! I am just shocked, amazed and excited that there are groups out there wanting to help people like us. So, my advice, write your story and apply for grants. There may be a foundation that may be willing to help! Good luck to all of you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissamerritt Posted April 15, 2005 Report Share Posted April 15, 2005 How wonderful Michelle!! Any little amount helps! I have done some research on many grants and I am trying to weed out the bad from the good. I am not sure if I should go ahead and start applying because we have not yet began our adoption process again but we are planning on starting this Summer. We just have to update our homestudy once we start, so I have thought it might be easier to go ahead and start applying if the companies dealing with the grants will accept our application now. Thanks Michelle for that little motivation, Melissa P.S. I love your new picture ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul and Michelle Posted April 15, 2005 Report Share Posted April 15, 2005 Hello! Thanks!! Good luck with the adoption process! The foundation we used needed an active homestudy in order to look at our application. But, it took me almost three weeks to write our story so by the time you fill out ALL the paperwork for the homestudy, you should be just about set to complete the grant application! =)Good luck and God Bless!! Aren't my babies cute?? Yours sure is a cutie!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weadoptedthree Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 Not on the subject, but ....... just wanted to say how much I am enjoying everyone's updated photos of their babies. I, for one, am not computer savvy, so I haven't changed our avatar picture in a very long time. Paul and Michelle, I love the picture of your little ones! Melissa, Grace Ann is still a cutie patootie! Love, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garden of Hope Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 Karen, I'm with you! I love the new pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissamerritt Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 I started a new little venture last night to help save some money for our next little Abrazo babe. I am now cooking dinner each Wed. night at our church. I had 45 people eating last night and I think each week it will grow. It isn't easy,but I enjoy cooking so it is right up my alley. After expenses I still had a nice amount left over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissamerritt Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 I forgot to mention in my last post. Everyone say a little pray for sunny skies tommorrow and Sat, because we are having our yard sale. Our 2 1/2 car garage is overflowing with items donated from church members. I can barely get in there to sort things because we have things stacked to the ceiling!!!!! It is unreal how generous everyone has been to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarceloandClaudia Posted April 21, 2005 Report Share Posted April 21, 2005 Melissa, I think your ideas are awesome. Maybe I'll have a garage sale as well to earn a little for the baby fund. Claudia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissamerritt Posted April 23, 2005 Report Share Posted April 23, 2005 Day One of the great adoption yard sale is over and I can say that I am pleasantly surprised! We received way more than we ever thought we would receive in just one day. Most people told us to keep the change that we owed them, so that really begin to add up. Our friends from church showed up throughout the day with so many big items for us to sell. We are praying that everything is bought tomorrow or we will never get to park in the garage again !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weadoptedthree Posted April 23, 2005 Report Share Posted April 23, 2005 (edited) I'm so happy for all of you, Melissa! Edited April 23, 2005 by weadoptedthree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elaine Posted April 23, 2005 Report Share Posted April 23, 2005 YIPEE! I can't wait to see how well you all do tomorrow. Poeple have been so kind, haven't they? What a blessing. I am praying for beautiful weather for you all. Give Grace Ann a hug and kiss for me! Tell her that little Makayla sends "butterfly kisses" her way!!! Miss and love you! Love, Elaine p.s. I didn't know that you had called my cell phone until past 10 pm. Today has been crazy, crazy, crazy! Can't wait to talk to you. I'll try you tomorrow. Good luck!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgrace Posted April 23, 2005 Report Share Posted April 23, 2005 Melissa, If you have no objections from your many benefactors, I suggest that you donate the items you do not sell (assuming good quality, etc.) to Goodwill or American Council for the Blind, or someone like that. Some of the groups will even come to your home to pick up items. Anyway, write down every item and give it a reasonable value (generally 10% of original, or something like that). Then, get a receipt for any donations you make and when you file your taxes next year, you'll have the receipts and detailed list for your records. Of course, this assumes you itemize your deductions. Anyway, every penny you get to keep rather than leaving with Uncle Sam is a penny you can put towards bringing home a little sister or brother for Grace Ann. And, if somehow you miraculously took placement and finalized all this year, the deductions wouldn't count against your adoption tax credit. They would give you even more credit to carry over into the next year, because you wouldn't need to use it this year. If this seems confusing, you can pm me and I'll try to be more clear. We just had a garage sale last weekend. I only made $123, but we donated very nice quality items to Goodwill and the Friends of the Library that were worth more than that. Because of the adoption tax credits for both Samuel and Abigail (two consecutive years for us), we were able to have no withholding from Robert's paychecks this year. It's been nice to have the money up front instead of having to wait for our refund next year. Hope your second day goes well, too. You are obviously very motivated, and who could blame you. Christina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissamerritt Posted April 24, 2005 Report Share Posted April 24, 2005 Well our Adoption yard sale went so well that we are extending it to next Sat. because friends from the church have given us more stuff to sale. I am still in shock over how much we received. I was also able to tell many people about open adoption and Abrazo because it seemed like almost everyone knew someone who knew someone.... Grace Ann knew that this yard sale was going on to help her get a baby, so today when a lady walked up with a tiny little one Grace Ann started screaming "My Baby, My Baby! She brought me my baby!" Of course I got a strange look from the woman until I explain to her what Grace Ann was talking about. Needless to say Grace Ann was very upset when the baby went home with it's Mommy. Thanks Christina! I volunteer with a local ministry kind of like Goodwill, so after next Sat. I am going to box my stuff up and take it down there. I glad you mentioned giving everything a value. I forgot that I could claim it as a deduction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auntie Ang Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 It's nice to see you all getting creative at ways to help with your adoption expenses. I know there has previously been a link to Stephen Curtis Chapman's foundation Shaoshannah's Hope, but thought I'd let you know that the family that was recently assisted by this foundation told me that it seems as though there is a common misconception that it is primarily for families adopting Internationally, but that is not the case. She said that in talking with them, it sounds like they are always looking for families to help...so I would encourage y'all to check it out a little more. (I really don't know a lot about it myself, but will try to find out more information about it.) Angela Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stork Central Posted May 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2005 For information on adoption fundraising, check out AParentAtLast.com. Another website offering adoption grants (as well as a small variety of adoption products for sale) is SupportAdoption.org. P.S. Order your free adoption ribbons there, today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissamerritt Posted May 18, 2005 Report Share Posted May 18, 2005 Thanks Stork Central!! A Parent at Last has so many neat things on the website! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suebee Posted August 8, 2005 Report Share Posted August 8, 2005 (edited) Inspired by Melissa Merritt to think of ways I could save money toward our next adoption, I began praying about getting involved in a home-based business. I already work about 4-6 hours a week from home editing and writing for my church, but I wondered if there was more I could do. About two months ago I found out about a company called Noah’s Ark Animal Workshop, and I knew I had the answer to my prayer. It is a similar concept to “Build-a-Bear” in the mall, but the workshops take place in homes, at schools, corporate events, birthday parties, etc…wherever children are. The cool thing is that it comes to you instead of you having to go to the mall (with a carload or two of rambunctious children). The animals and outfits are so cute, and the children have a lot of fun stuffing and dressing them, making a wish on a “rainbow wish star” and putting it in the animal, and naming their new friend. I ordered my starter kit and some inventory and got started last week. It is so much fun!! I am so glad I found this fun and unique business opportunity to help us continue saving towards adopting again! (If anyone wants more information, feel free to PM me.) Edited August 8, 2005 by suebee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissamerritt Posted August 8, 2005 Report Share Posted August 8, 2005 Susan, That sounds like an awesome business!! I'm sure the kids love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeddyRae Posted September 15, 2005 Report Share Posted September 15, 2005 This is all knew to me! I wish I would have seen this posting prior to us going through the process. We could of had more people involved in helping us rather than us doing it ourselves. At least now I have ideas for the future. Grants! Who would have known. I did look into it, but everything looked like it was based around salaries and taxes. I should have looked into it more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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