Every Christmas, Reece's Rainbow holds it's biggest fundraiser of the year: the Christmas Angel Tree. Christmas Warriors like myself select a child they like to raise money and awareness for. My Christmas Angel this year is Lawrence:
Just like with Preston, I always tend to gravitate towards the children that remind me so much of my own Grant. Like Grant, Lawrence is 5-years-old (almost 6). Like Grant, he has blonde hair and a little something in his eyes that tells me he has lots of love to give a family.
But unlike Grant, he won't be getting any Christmas presents this year. More importantly, unlike Grant, he won't be spending Christmas with a mommy & daddy that love him and read him stories, then sleep in a nice bed with a full tummy. Where he was born, children that aren't "perfect" and happen to be born with Down syndrome are given up at birth. Which wouldn't be a big deal if the orphanages were these great, magical places. But they're not.
In fact, Lawrence - being 5 years old - has already been transferred to an institution in his country. When children there aren't adopted by around age 5, they are sent to these horrible, under-funded, overcrowded places. I've written of them before. It's a terrible life for any human being, but especially for a tender, young child. Instead enjoying the life that every 5-year-old should enjoy, Lawrence is being shut away in a place where him and the others are largely ignored. Little or no attention or care is given, nothing at all to occupy his time, and meals are not adequate. Life expectancy is greatly reduced. I could go into more detail from accounts of people that have visited these places, but suffice to say, recounting the details of these institutions causes me sadness and sickens me to even fathom Grant being so mistreated and ignored as if he had no value.
And this, all because he has Down syndrome.
That is a terrible excuse for this kind of life that no one deserves. Even though he lives far from me and I've never met him or the other children before, I'm tied to him thanks to that extra chromosome that he and Grant have in common. I can't just turn my back and forget these kids now that my eyes have been opened to their plight. No one in their country is fighting to save them - they are forgotten there.
But families in other places, mainly the United States & Canada, are willing and desirous to take these children into their home! They want those blessings of a child with Down syndrome that I enjoy everyday, but the initial costs are intimidating. We can help those families cross that financial hurdle and bring home these children that much sooner. And for Lawrence, time is precious! Not everyone can adopt, but we all can give of our hearts with our financial help, prayers, and spreading the word about Lawrence and all the other children like him.
Please consider a donation (tax-deductible!) to this very deserving child. Donations go directly to his own personal fund & are held in reserve until a family comes along and commits to him. Often, the more money a child has in their account, the more likely they are to be adopted. And with international adoptions costing an upwards of $20,000 - every little bit helps and gets him one step closer to a loving home and family.
Any size donation - even $5 is wonderful and appreciated. If you are looking for a good cause to support this Christmas, you've found it! Just use the link on the upper right corner to donate through Paypal if you wish - it's very easy. I do not see who donates or how much (just his current total) - it's your special gift from you to Lawrence. :) If you donate $35 or more, you can receive a nice ornament with Lawrence's picture! What a good reminder to our families of some good we did in the world at this Christmas season!
Reece's Rainbow has helped place over 500+ children in five years - Lawrence can be their next success story. This can be Lawrence's LAST Christmas without a family!
Here is the link to all the Christmas Angels also waiting for homes if you desire to see some more darling faces - happily, some have already got committed families since the Angel Tree Fundraiser began!
Thank you so much for reading this and no matter what you are able to do or not, any prayers that Lawrence's family will find him soon are always appreciated as well!
Happy Thanksgiving!
*P.S. I will be having a Pampered Chef party soon to benefit Lawrence/RR -
if you think you'd be interested in buying anything, let me know!
*P.P.S. I might even do a giveaway here on the blog!
*P.P.S. I might even do a giveaway here on the blog!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment