Archive for June, 2009

Danielle

June 30, 2009 at 7:32 pm · Filed under Board of Directors, Donate Now!, Photographs

A little over 2 years ago, when I first came home from Ethiopia, I was determined to do more.  Hoping to give back to the country that gave so much to me, I contributed money and materials to a variety of non-profits that serve Ethiopia, but I never found the perfect fit.  I wanted to give to a 501 (c) (3) that met the needs of Ethiopia’s orphans, especially the ones who remained in care. I did a lot of online searching, joined  a few other adoptive mothers who were planning to start a non-profit, but 6 months after we came home, I was no closer to finding that ‘perfect fit.’

Thank goodness Danielle decided to call.  Online friends since the waiting period for our daughters began, we were in touch less frequently once the girls came home (imagine that).  When Danielle called about starting a non-profit right now, for the orphans in Ethiopia who remain in care, I couldn’t believe my good fortune.  I signed on immediately and will forever be glad that I did.  Danielle didn’t imagine what our non-profit would be like, she filed the paperwork and we got started, pronto.  Like everything else she does in life, Danielle put everything into making EOR a success.  It’s cliche’ to say that she has drive and determination to spare, but really, how else to describe someone who runs a business, teaches online courses, adopts a child, gives birth to another child, and starts a non-profit all in the same year?

On this, Danielle’s golden birthday, I think it’s important to say thank you, to my good friend, and founder of EOR.  Danielle, you are an absolute rock star!  You give super good make up tips, recommend terrific treadmills,  and you make my world a better place to be.  Thanks for bringing me along on this amazing EOR journey. Without you, I’d still be searching for a perfect fit.   Instead, I’ve made my own.

If you are similarly inspired by Danielle’s incredible drive and generosity, consider givng a gift to EOR in honor of her birthday.  I can’t think of a nicer way to give thanks to someone who gives so much!

DanielleMelkam Lidet, Danielle…

Paige

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Congratulations Christy & Kevin!

June 26, 2009 at 7:59 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

Christy & Kevin

Congratulations to Christy Pickering & Kevin Grodnitzky on their wedding today in Harve de Grace, Maryland. In lieu of traditional gifts for their guests, Christy & Kevin have chosen to make a donation to Ethiopian Orphan Relief in their guest’s names.

Christy has been my friend since we were little girls, and I am so very happy she has found the delightful Kevin to share her life. If you could see me right now, you’d see me boogying on the dance floor in their honor.

Congratulations!

Danielle

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Day of the African Child – Portland, Oregon

June 22, 2009 at 4:24 am · Filed under Current Events, Ethiopian community, Oregon

If you live in the Portland area, don’t forget about the Day of the African Child Event. It will be on Saturday, June 27th from 10-5pm at The World Forestry Center near the Oregon Zoo! They will have Music, African Market, Food, Crafts, Dancing, Storytelling, Drumming and many Non profits working throughout Africa. Ethiopian Orphan Relief will have a booth there! Stop on by to see us!

For more info and pricing for this event, visit The World Forestry Center’s website:  http://www.worldforestry.org/organization/DAC1.php

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Hair Braiding Extravaganza!

June 15, 2009 at 7:59 pm · Filed under Art Card Project, Colorado, Crafts, Current Events, Local Support Groups, Projects

If you live in the Denver metro area and have an Ethiopian child whose hair you would like braided, please join us on Wednesday, June 17th at my home in Evergreen from 10am-12:00pm. We will be hosting Kidist, an expert hair braider and teenage adoptee from Ethiopia, who has started her own hair braiding business. Her mom Sally will be bringing Ethiopian food. The cost per child is $20. EOR has provided canvases and art supplies, and we will have an area for the children to create art for EOR’s art contest while they wait their turn for braiding. If you’d like to attend, please RSVP to Danielle@ethiopianorphanrelief.org and I will provide you with directions to my home.

-Danielle

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what every dad wants…

June 15, 2009 at 7:12 pm · Filed under Do Something!, Donate Now!, Family

Father’s Day is just around the corner (June 21, to be exact).  If your dad is anything like mine, he says, “Don’t buy me a thing.  Just send me a card.”  I always comply, but  I always feel like a bit of a heel–my mother always gets a special gift for mother’s day, it hardly seems fair to my dad.

This year, rather than send gifts the fathers truly don’t want or need, I’m opting to make a donation to Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc.on behalf of my father, father-in-law, and my mother-in-law’s significant Marv (my name for my MIL’s boyfriend of more than 20 years).  My kids will make a donation on behalf of their own sweet dad.  I can’t imagine a nicer gift for the men I love best.

If you’d like to honor one of the men in your life with a gift to Ethiopia’s orphans, make a donation through the EOR store by Wednesday afternoon at 3pm EST and I’ll be sure to send a hand-written card of thanks to your very special guy in time for Father’s Day.

It won’t be tie, but it will be very appreciated.

The children of Ethiopia will thank you, your dad will thank you too.

Paige

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Lifebooks: Your Child’s Story Before & After Adoption

June 15, 2009 at 5:42 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

A lifebook is a book that tells your child’s story before and after their adoption, and helps your child to place their adoption story in the context of their life experiences.

Many parents worry about how exactly to go about creating a lifebook, and Adoption Learning Partners–with whom many adoptive parents take courses prior to completing their adoption–has an online course you can take to help you get started.

Personally, I used a basic scrapbook and used it to tell my daughter’s story from birth to the day we arrived back home in Colorado (I also put together a movie of video and photos from our time in Ethiopia). We included photos from our travels to her birthplace in Ethiopia and of the hospital and orphanage where she lived, and included information gleaned from her referral and our own investigation in country, as well as information about her tribe we were able to learn from our guide. I struggled for a long time with the words to tell her story, and in the end left it basically wordless–using images instead. We are constantly elaborating on her story as she gets older, is better able to understand the various components, and asks us specific questions.

She loves to read her “Epia Book” and does so almost daily. I put each page in a page protector so it could handle all the handling it gets. She’s also been very proud to take it out and tell her story to extended family members and her friends when they come to visit. This has led to some really interesting conversations between her and her other little friends who were also adopted from Ethiopia–especially the older ones from the same tribe who are able to tell her even more about what life was like in Ethiopia–something we cherish, because it’s not something we can convey the way they can.

A lifebook can be hard to get started on, but it’s definitely been very useful in our family. What types of information did you include in your child’s lifebook?

-Danielle

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Art Contest 2009

June 13, 2009 at 1:16 am · Filed under Adoption, Art Card Project, Board of Directors, Crafts, Current Events, Ethiopian community, Family

It’s that time of year….Ethiopian Orphan Relief  is once again accepting children’s art submissions for our 2009 art contest. We have partnered with Paper Rabbit Designs of Portland, Oregon to print our notecards. Barbra at Paper Rabbit Designs has once again graciously given EOR a discount on printing and design layout! The submissions for the 2008 series were turned into 3 beautiful sets of note cards (sold in the EOR online store and at our events), framed and matted for sale at Art for Ethiopia in Denver and used as decor at our Lights of Hope auction in Portland.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

1. Art must be original artwork created by children adopted from Ethiopia.

2. Contest is open to all ages.

3. All submissions must include a bio of the artist-child (ie…Johnny is 2 years old and was adopted from Ethiopia in 2008. He      enjoys running, playing music and dancing…).

4. All submissions become property of Ethiopian Orphan Relief and will not be returned.

5. Mail submissions and bios to: Kim Pasion, 3020 SW Christy Ave. Beaverton, OR 97005. Deadline is Monday, August 3rd, 2009.

The EOR board of directors will be choosing the finalists. We will have two top winners, boy and girl who will receive a EOR tee-shirt!

Click here to see the video of selections for 2008. Last years winner was 12 year old Alyiah who was adopted from Ethiopia at the age of 11. Below is her prize winning masterpiece.

Sept_2008002

If you have a blog, or belong to a regional ethiopian adoption group, we would welcome additional press about this event.  Please feel free to link this to your blog,  or send a message to your yahoo group(s).

Kim

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EOR Partners with Sugarpie Knits

June 5, 2009 at 8:02 pm · Filed under Businesses that give back

Sugarpie Knits "Hat for Hope"

Sugarpie Knits "Hat for Hope"

We are pleased to announce that Ethiopian Orphan Relief  has partnered with Sugarpie Knits! Tracy, owner of Sugarpie Knits, adopted her daughter Hope from the Toukoul orphanage in Ethiopia last year. Tracy has created a special hat with the colors of the Ethiopian flag called the “Hat for Hope” and 50% of sales of this hat will go to EOR! All of Sugarpie Knits hats are made from soft cotton or felt, are tagless (you’ve had to cut them out of your kid’s clothing, right?!) and none of the hats include dangerous embellishments.

Thank you so much, Tracy! The hats are awesome!!

Danielle

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EOR Partners with Crafty Mommy!

June 4, 2009 at 7:52 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

Brayson's 1st Birthday Party

Brayson's 1st Birthday Party

We are pleased to announce that Ethiopian Orphan Relief has recently partnered with Crafty Mommy Autumn. As you may know, Autumn makes the gorgeous custom Ethiopian baby dolls we sell in our EOR store. Since returning home from Ethiopia with her gorgeous little girl, Autumn has announced that she will donate 15% of all the sales on her Etsy site to EOR–check it out, she makes the coolest custom banners EVER.

I just ordered one for my kids–it’ll be the “birthday constant” around here–and it couldn’t be any cuter (or creative or well sewn!). I told her what I wanted it to say (the incredibly creative “Happy Birthday”), mentioned I’d like it to be gender neutral so it could  be used for everyone’s birthday, and asked to have all the letters hand stitched and *poof!* it arrived in the mail cuter than I could have imagined. I love Etsy. And I love creative types like Crafty Mommy.

Thank you Autumn! You rock!

Danielle

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Lights of Hope an Amazing Success!

June 3, 2009 at 5:39 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

As you may have heard by now, our Lights of Hope auction in Portland, OR was an amazing success, with nearly $40,000 raised! The event co-chairs, EOR VP Kim Pasion and EOR Board Member Lauren Andronici truly outdid themselves with this amazing event. It was beautiful, touching and most of all, FUN. Enjoy the photos below–we will be posting more on our Ethiopian Orphan Relief “Cause” page on Facebook. If you haven’t already done so, please add us, we’d love to be your friend!

Wall of Wine

Wall of Wine

Silent Auction

Silent Auction

Check-In

Check-In

Lights of Hope from Andrea 141Lights of Hope from Andrea 178Lights of Hope from Andrea 232Lights of Hope from Andrea 228Lights of Hope from Andrea 093

 

-Danielle

All photos (C) Andrea Lorimor Photography, 2009. Used with permission. If you’d like to purchase any of these images, please email Andrea directly at Andrea@andrealorimor.com

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