Archive for October, 2008
October 30, 2008 at 6:31 pm
· Filed under Art for Ethiopia-Denver, Businesses that give back, Children's Heaven, Facility for Children's Heaven, Fundraising Opportunities, Partner Organizations, Projects, Shopping
Dear Friends,
All of the funds generated by this show will benefit the construction of a facility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to care for orphaned teenaged girls through an EOR partnership with Children’s Heaven. Children’s Heaven is a non-profit organization committed to serving teenaged girls who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS, and to help meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of these vulnerable children.
The first 50 families through the door will receive gift bags, and all attendees will be entered into a door prize drawing for a free photo shoot (on location or in studio) with Contemporary Expressions Photography. Portrait photographer Greg Cradick will also have a portrait studio set up throughout the event where families can have 10 photos on CD, taken over a 10 minute period, for a suggested donation of $20 (reservations encouraged, walk in availability will be limited! Please contact me for more information)–perfect for holiday cards and holiday gift giving! Appetizers will be provided by Aspen Catering and wine will be provided by Mile High Wine & Spirits. Children will enjoy the arts and crafts station! A traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony will be performed, and Hanna Fanta, founder of Children’s Heaven, will be visting from Ethiopia to talk personally about her program and the girls she supports.
EOR has received an outpouring of donations for this event from artists all over the country–there will be paintings, photography, prints and sculpture from artists ranging from those whose work is on display in museums to orphans currently residing in Ethiopian orphanages. There will also be Ethiopian artifacts and crafts for sale. Artwork ranges in price from $25.00 to $250.00, with many pieces framed as well as matted. Ethiopian artifacts and crafts will start at $10.00.
Please join us for this amazing event, and please, bring the whole family! What a wonderful excuse to get dressed up and support a great cause, where every purchase will have an immediate impact on the lives of many for years to come. Also, please help us spread the word about this wonderful event by telling ten friends about it!
Looking forward to seeing you there, and thank you for your support!
Danielle Marquis
Founder and President, Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc.
Some of the artists who have donated works for this event (if you’re donating and aren’t listed here, leave a comment with your website and we’ll add you!)…
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October 30, 2008 at 6:10 pm
· Filed under Children's Heaven, Facility for Children's Heaven, Fundraising Opportunities, Mitzvah Projects, Partner Organizations, Projects
Fourteen year old Leah from Colorado Springs, CO began a Mitzvah Project in the 7th grade to help the children of Ethiopia. Her project was a penny drive, and her goal was to raise one penny for every orphan in Ethiopia (4.6 million). To date, Leah has raised 298,955 pennies.
Leah personally delivered the first batch of money raised (a little over $2,000) to Ethiopia when she travelled there with her family to pick up her new sister Fre in November 2007. The money was used to build a playground at The Hope for the Abandoned Children and Orphan Care Association, where her sister was residing. She also purchased furniture and basic supplies for the orphanage. Since returning from Ethiopia, Leah has been using donations to sponsor children to attend school from the Sele Enat Orphanage in Addis Ababa.
Leah has recently decided to use her current donation balance to help EOR construct the facility for the orphaned teenaged girls supported by Children’s Heaven. She has pledged to commit any further donations to EOR’s programs as well.
Thank you so much, Leah! Your support is amazing and the girls from Children’s Heaven will be so thrilled to know another teenager is doing so much to help them out!
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October 30, 2008 at 5:58 pm
· Filed under Donate Now!
On October 3, 2008, Congress passed and the President signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, legislation that includes a 2-year extension of the IRA charitable rollover. The provision, originally enacted as part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), permits IRA owners starting at age 70 1/2 to make tax-free charitable gifts totaling up to $100,000 per year from their IRAs directly to eligible charities, like Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc.
To take advantage of this tax benefit, consult your plan administrator, personal attorney, tax advisor, or wealth management advisor to better understand hwo the distribution requirements apply to you. They will be able to give you guidance on how this temporary law can benefit you and the organizations you care about such as Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc.
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October 30, 2008 at 5:53 pm
· Filed under Travel
Note: This packing list was created using the lists of several friends who had already been through the adoption process in preparation for our trip to pick up our 10 month old daughter. I’ve since edited the list after having been to Ethiopia. While in Addis we stayed in a hotel and outside of Addis we stayed in a small local hotel and a traditional Afari grass hut. Our packing list reflects the travel we did outside of Addis. We packed very light–one carry on sized suitcase for each of us, plus one personal item (i.e. purse/computer bag), one large suitcase for the baby and 3 suitcases full of donations. We used old suitcases for the donations and left them behind. We also packed old clothing for ourselves and the baby, and left all of that behind as well to lighten our load on the trip home. All of the clothing we packed for ourselves dried quickly (we washed our clothes in the sink at night) and didn’t wrinkle. We wore the same things most days.
Adult Packing List
- Old Sneakers (worn on plane)
- Croc-style shoes
- 2 pairs of socks
- Undergarments
- Yoga Pants (worn on plane by me)
- Pants That Zip Into Shorts (worn on plane by husband)
- Fleece Jacket (worn on plane)
- Rain Coat
- Skirt (quick dry fabric)
- Long sleeve shirt (worn on plane)
- Short sleeve shirt
- Button Down Shirt (husband, worn to meet our daughter in and attend Embassy Appointment)
- Dress (me, worn to meet our daughter in and attend Embassy Appointment)
- Eyeglasses
- Contact Case and Solution (travel sized)
- Bandana
- Hair ties
- Shampoo, Conditioner, Soap, Hair Product, Deodorant, Razor (with built in solid shaving cream), Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Comb, Face Sunscreen, Feminine Products (all travel sized)
Baby Packing List
- Diaper Rash Cream, Eucerin Lotion, Baby Sunscreen (all travel sized)
- Baby wash cloths preloaded with cleanser (Huggies makes disposable ones)
- Baby Wipes (x2)
- Scented Garbage Bags (for dirty diapers)
- Diapers (10/day)
- Swim Diapers (1/day)
- Pacifier
- Changing Pad
- Sanitizing Wipes
- Rubber Pants (to layer over diapers on flight home to prevent blow outs)
- First Aid: Baby Motrin, Baby Tylenol, Baby Orajel, Thermometer, Pedialyte Powder
- Robeez Shoes
- Comfy Outifts (3/day, plus 4 for plane) (I did sweatsuits)
- Onesies (2/day)
- Sweater
- Formula
- Baby Food
- Disposable Baby Spoon and Bowl
- Disposable Sippy Cup
- Playtex Drop Ins with Liners
- Bottle Brush
- Disposable Bibs
- Drool Bibs (3/day)
- Baby Snacks (Cheerios and Fruit Puffs)
- Receiving Blankets (x3)
- Small Toys, Teether, Book, Tub Toy
- Burp Cloths (1/day, plus 3 for plane)
- Sun Hat
- Sling
General Packing
- Chamois Camping Towel
- Small Kleenex Pack (x2)
- Ear Plugs & Eyemasks
- Travel Pillows
- Candy, Trail Mix, Granola Bars
- Folder with adoption paperwork
- Folder with all travel documents
- Book
- Magazines
- Pen & Blank Notebook
- Cash
- Passports, Yellow Fever Certificates with Shot Records
- Laptop
- DVDs
- IPod
- First Aid: Hydrocortizone Cream, Lotrimin, Neosporin, Nasal Decongestant, Pepto Bismol, Tums, Immodium, Claritin, Sleeping Medicine (prescription), Lice Bedding Spray, Lice Egg Remover Kit, Scabies Cream (prescription), Carmex, Liquid Bandage, Gauze, Medical Tape, Gas-X, Dramamine, Bandaids, Malaria Meds (prescription), Cipro (prescription), Airborne, Vitamins, Q-Tips, Cotton Balls/Pads, Vaseline, Advil, Tylenol, Thermacare Heat Packs (back and belly) (we packed small quantities of each and left most of this behind)
- Insect repellant (safe for baby)
- Money belt
- Camera, Charging Cord, Extra Memory Card (fully charged)
- Video Camera, Charging Cord, Extra Tapes (fully charged)
- Space Saver Vacuum Bags (all clothing was packed in these)
- 110 to 220 Converter
- Plug Adapters
- Bubble Wrap (it helped save our souveniers on the way home)
- Duct Tape
- Swiss Army Knife (with scissors)
- Laundry Detergent (in travel sized bottle), Rope, Clothes Pins
- Ziplock Bags (all toiletries, first aid, etc. packed and organized in these)
- Small Sewing Kit
- Dish Soap (in travel sized bottle)
- Hand Sanitizer, Charmin Wipes, Travel Sized Toilet Paper (x2; in own Ziplocks, bring with you at all times–restrooms often don’t have water and/or toilet paper)
- Sunglasses
- Cell Phones (full charged)
- Lonely Planet Ethiopia
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October 27, 2008 at 6:17 pm
· Filed under Memorial Gifts
This past Saturday, October 25, 2008, Charlotte Ann Brayson Marquis passed away at AMC Mercy Center in Tupper Lake, NY. She was 94.
She owned her own business–a flower shop–at a time when women didn’t do that sort of thing. She also nabbed a man 10 years her junior when she married her husband Ambrose. She was the kind of women who, even in the early 1950s, drove a car with roof rack for skis on it, but posed next to it in a leopard print skirt suit and matching hat. She wrote her Granddaughters weekly letters, just so they would get their own mail. She also knit them whatever sweaters (with matching leg warmers, for a time!) were popular. She handmade an entire tree full of ornaments for each of them, so that someday when they were older and out on their own they’d have something to decorate their Christmas trees with. She watched her only child die on Christmas morning in a snowmobile accident, but stayed strong for her two young Granddaughters. She took in and loved stray dogs and cats. She would have heated arguments with her husband about the date the beaches at Normandy were stormed, until he reminded her he was there and he had a pretty good feeling he remembered what day that was, then they’d both erupt into laughter. Then she watched him die from complications resulting from a car accident. She endured painful arthritis, multiple open heart surgeries and a hip replacement. She lived to meet both of her Great-Grandchildren and to help her Granddaughter navigate the often frustrating roller-coaster of adoption. She touched all who knew her and was an example to live up to. She was my Grandmother, and she will be missed.
–Danielle
The family of Charlotte Ann Marquis has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc. Charlotte would be thrilled to know her legacy would be carried out this way.
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October 27, 2008 at 3:39 pm
· Filed under Fundraising Opportunities, Shopping
Need a gift for a teacher, babysitter, a grandparent who has everything? We have the perfect gift in the EOR store! Our first series of note cards, designed by Ethiopian children, are now available for purchase. Each card is a high quality folded style notecard, printed on heavy card stock, with a bio of the artist on the back of the card.
All the proceeds will go towards EOR projects! So stop by and visit the store and mark a few things off your shopping list! These cards would also make great holiday cards.
Here are a few sample of the style of cards available.
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October 23, 2008 at 6:07 pm
· Filed under Shopping
I ordered one of the photo charm necklaces from the EOR store and had to share pics because it’s awesome! Kellie is so talented–these make awesome gifts (even if the only person you’re giving it to is yourself). I also had her make one for my good friend who had a baby a couple months before me and who has been waiting for her daughter in Haiti for over a year (can you even imagine??). My friend had also lost a baby during childbirth last year, so we did just a name tag charm for her with “a moment in our arms, a lifetime in our hearts” on the back. I seriously wear mine almost every day.
-Danielle
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October 23, 2008 at 6:02 pm
· Filed under Travel
The following list was compiled by me before our trip to Ethiopia in April 2007 to pick up our 10 month old daughter. We were first time parents. If you have anything to add to this list, please do so in the comments!
Home Preparation
- Make and freeze meals
- Arrange with caterer/meal delivery service/personal chef to have meals delivered the first week home (Note: We do not have any friends or famiy that live close by, but you could easily get friends to bring stuff over if you do)
- Purchase formula and baby food; sterilize bottles
- Wash all of baby’s new clothes
- Complete home improvement projects and “handyman” type stuff
- Set up smoke detector in nursery
- Set up baby monitor and babyproof
- Set up Pack N Play in our room
- Interview and select child care
- Place hold on weekly produce delivery and mail while gone
- Empty refrigerator
- Turn down thermostat
- Have firewood ready for fireplace (oddly, we needed this. We got a freak snowstorm the day we arrived and our Ethiopian munchkin was COLD in Colorado!)
- Install car seat and have checked by fire department
- Gather health insurance and prescription drug coverage paperwork for baby
- Pre-complete social security card application and adoption validation paperwork
- Interview and select pediatrician; Meet with pediatrician to determine over the counter dosing information and to get prescriptions for baby; Schedule pediatrician appointment for first week back
- Deep clean and organize entire house
- Complete will and guardianship paperwork
- Haircut
Trip Prep
- Start taking Airborne 3 days before leave, then bring enough for daily use in country
- Purchase any remaining baby gear
- Purchase size and gender specific clothing for baby
- Organize baby stuff to pack in labeled Ziplock bags with dryer sheet (i.e., outfit, socks, burp cloth, diaper, rubber pants)
- Meet with Dr. for our medicines for trip
- Complete all vaccinations at Travel Clinic, get prescription for malaria meds
- Fill all prescriptions
- Spray clothing for safari with insect repellant clothing spray
- Make copies of all adoption paperwork and travel documents–leave one copy at home, bring one copy with us (in addition to originals) and send one copy to inlaws
- Take out cash from bank–lots of crisp, new bills
- Take donation $ out of savings account and keep separate
- Buy and organize last of donations to purchase in US
- Organize flights, hotels and excursions
- Ask neighbors to watch house
- Purchase trip insurance
- Make reservation for dogs at Doggie Dude Ranch
- Call all credit card and ATM companies and let know will be travelling
Work Prep
- Add footnote to signature block on emails saying time will be out of office as soon as know travel dates
- Complete all work projects
- Let all clients and customers with events around travel dates personally know will be out of town
- Change work voicemail to say out of office
- Add autoresponder to emails for when gone
–Danielle
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October 23, 2008 at 5:41 pm
· Filed under Art for Ethiopia-Denver, Ethiopian Shopping Donations, Fundraising Opportunities
Thank you to Katie from CO and Cindy from KS who purchased oodles of items to add to the EOR store during their recent trips to Ethiopia! Both ladies donated the goods, so 100% of the purchase price will go towards our Projects. Katie’s items will first be for sale at Art for Ethiopia on Saturday, November 8th in Denver and Cindy’s items will be added to the website soon (I’ll post here when they are). Cindy is the mom to ridiculously adorable triplet boys, so she pumped up our boy clothing inventory 
.
If you’d like to purchase items for the EOR Store on your trip to Ethiopia, please email us at info@ethiopianorphanrelief.org and we can let you know which items are most in demand and suggest some great shopping venues!
-Danielle
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