International Women’s Day

The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2014 is Inspiring Change.

While most countries have made strides in development of women’s rights, there is still much to be done. The UN reports: Many women around the world still cannot get access to secondary education. This holds true for the women and girls of Ethiopia. That’s why we are so very glad that Ethiopian Orphan Relief is partnered with Children’s Heaven. Children’s Heaven’s mission is to:

“Embrace and empower the precious orphaned girls entrusted to our care in an effort to minimize their socioeconomic vulnerability.”

This is accomplished through various means of support. The 115 girls at Children’s Heaven to go public school, receive tutoring, learn vocational skills, are provided with health care, and participate in a daily program all in an effort to….”see all our girls lead healthy an productive adult lives. “

Many of these services are provided by YOU, the supporters of Ethiopian Orphan Relief. Your donations advance the cause of Ethiopian women. Be proud of the work that you do. You make it possible to end hunger and poverty for the Children Heaven girls.

Ethiopian Orphan Relief is thrilled to share with you that in June 2014 we will be making our first grant of $25,000 to Children’s Heaven’s Education Fund. This grant will be used to send girls in the program to private school. Funds will be used for tuition, school supplies, books and transportation.  Private schools in Ethiopia provide a much better learning opportunity, have higher qualified teachers, learning resources i.e. science labs, math labs, etc.  and data has shown more success in their learning.

In addition to this $25,000 grant this June, we will grant an additional $25,000 for June 2015. This $50,000 Education program is groundbreaking for EOR and we are thrilled that you are joining us in this.

Last month in Ohio donors gathered at Night of Warmth and generously gave with their hearts to start the funding of this grant. In May, in Portland, Oregon all the proceeds from the silent auction in Lights of Hope will be designated to this grant.

Thank you for all YOU do for the children in Ethiopia.

Help each other

My friend Livvy drew this picture at the start of the school year, and I promptly borrowed it when her mama showed it off on Facebook.

It’s not too late to help kids in Ethiopia before year’s end.  Donate livestock, clean water or even to our general fund.  YOU have made this EOR‘s most successful year yet.  We dream big because you make it possible!

 

Paige

We adore our donors

We’re always amazed at your creativity when it comes to raising money for Ethiopian Orphan Relief. We’ve had donors bike ride across East Coast, snow cone stands, weight loss campaigns, birthdays, company green campaign challenges, garage sales, theater productions and many more great ideas.

Today is a first. We just received a check from a survey company for $100. One of our lovely supporters did a survey on trademark searches and donated the money she received to EOR.

Thanks Ally for your generosity and creativity!

International Women’s Day

The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2012 is Empower Women–End Hunger and Poverty.

While most countries have made strides in development of women’s rights, there is still much to be done.  The UN reports:

Many women around the world still cannot get access to secondary education.
1 in 7 girls in some developing countries is forced to marry before the age of 15.
Women want access to reproductive healthcare but cannot get access to it.
Women around the globe will lose a child every 20 seconds from a disease that could have been prevented if they had access to lifesaving vaccines.
Many women, in what should be one of the happiest moments of their lives, go into childbirth not knowing if they will come out alive because they do not have access to proper maternal healthcare.
For many women, cooking the daily meal can be deadly beacuse they do not have access to clean cookstoves, and unsafe cooking methods put their homes and their health in jeopardy every day.

All of these hold true for the women (and girls) of Ethiopia.  That’s why I am so very glad that Ethiopian Orphan Relief is partnered with Children’s Heaven.  Children’s Heaven’s mission is to:

“Embrace and empower  the precious orphaned girls entrusted to our care in an effort to minimize their socioeconomic vulnerability.”

This is accomplished through various means of support.  The girls of Children’s Heaven go to school, receive tutoring, learn vocational skills, are provided with health care, and participate in a daily nutrition program all in an effort to…”see all our girls lead healthy and productive adult lives.”

  Many of these services are provided by YOU, the supporters of Ethiopian Orphan Relief.  Your donations advance the cause of Ethiopian women.  Be proud of the work that you do.  You make it possible to end hunger and poverty for women (and their families) in 2012.

Let’s help Hanna Fanta (founder of Children’s Heaven) feed those lovely girls in honor of International Women’s Day.  A $5 dollar donation feeds 9 girls a daily meal.  Consider making your donation today.  As a bonus, I’ll make an additional donation for each comment left, and each donation made to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Paige

Night of Warmth

When we started planning Night of Warmth, nearly a year ago, we set a goal of
100 attendees.  I was nervous.  In the back of my head I thought seventy to
eighty wouldn’t be bad.  About two weeks ago we reached the goal of 100 and
thought it was time to set our sights higher.  We have now reached 130
attendees.  I will not be surprised if we wind up with 150 people supporting EOR 
on Saturday.  150 people supporting EOR and raising money to help orphaned and
vulnerable children in Ethiopia.  This makes me very happy.

It feels like planning my wedding. It can be overwhelming. There is so much time
that goes into it, so many little details and so many emotions. I want it to be
perfect and for everyone to have a good time. I want people to be talking about
this event all year (which I’m sure they will) and be excited about attending
the next one.

If you are in Columbus or near Columbus or near Ohio you should be there.  There
will be food, drinks and music. There are weekend get-a-way packages to
Cincinnati and Washington D.C. There will be cakes, a slot machine, golf and
much more to bid on. And there is a Wall of Wine-gotta love that.

I am so grateful for the generosity of the people attending and donating to this
event.

February 25, 2012 @6:30p.m.
Xenos Cafe
1340 Community Park Drive
Columbus, OH 43229
Tickets are $35 at the door.

Amy

Gratitude

Working on Night of Warmth (you know, the Columbus OH-IO fundraiser for EOR on February 25.  18 days!) makes me feel like this:

 

You know…delighted!!!  This little person, and the hundreds of other kids I met while I was in Ethiopia last November help keep me focused on the end goal as I help to put the finishing touches on Night of Warmth.  His enthusiasm and mine must be contagious, because there are a huge number of people to thank for all of their efforts to make Night of Warmth a huge success.

 

I’d like to start by thanking our guests, our sponsors and our donors.  Your shared commitment to the children of Ethiopia warms the icy spots in my heart.   The success of Night of Warmth will belong to all of you.

I’d also like to thank the world’s best event planning committee:  Meggann, Katie, Emily, Ali & Abbie have made planning this incredible event a walk in the park.   None of this would be possible without them or their terrific spouses who also volunteer for NOW, juggle childcare duties and sell tickets, all for the children of Ethiopia.

This time last year, as we planned Dead of Winter, I was a crazy mess.  Even with a fabulous, dedicated committee, the success (or not) of the event fell largely on my shoulders.  This year, it has been enormously helpful to be joined by two fabulous Columbus-area board members as we’ve put this together.  Amy and Alex are the best kind of women–I am SO lucky to know them both!

 

Lastly, the husbands of the board need a special mention.  From Day 1, my commitment to Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc. has been a shared one.  Albert and our tots play a large role in my work for EOR.  It’s quite obvious that Amy and Alex could say the same.  Thank you Albert, Joel and Dan for your efforts.

When Night of Warmth is over and the proceeds have been tallied, I will be lauded again and again for the job that I’ve done.  Know now that EVERY time I say thank you for the praise, I will remember the role each of you played.

Ahmesegenallo, friends of Ethiopia,

Paige

Don’t have your tickets for Night of Warmth yet?  It’s not too late!   Visit our ‘Donate Now’ page for tickets or contact paige@ethiopianorphanrelief.org more more information.

 

 

 

Your favorite

As you might or might not know were busy planning two fundraising events. In Ohio our board members, Amy, Alex and Paige are working till wee hours of the morning putting the final touches on Night of Warmth which will be February 25th. In the rainy Pacific Northwest you’ll find Molly, Jenny, Lauren and Kim brainstorming new ideas for Lights of Hope happening May 19th.

These events could not happen without our talented, endless energy, amazing auction volunteers! We’d be lost without them.

So we come to you our friends….can you share a favorite auction item that you’ve seen at fundraising events? Were always looking for creative new ideas that will WOW our guests and open their pocketbooks.

Proceeds from both events will fund our current and future projects in Ethiopia. So just think when you are raising that bid card high in the air and bidding $700 on a chocolate cake, $14,500 on a trip to Mexico, $165 for a beautiful Ethiopian Scarf,  $240 for a autographed shoe, $100 for a scrabble tile necklace or $10 for almost 4 mosquito nets your going to be making a big difference in Ethiopia.

Can’t wait to hear what your favorite item is and maybe we can have it at one of our events.

For questions about our events or to receive an invitation please email us at info@ethiopianorphanrelief.org

 

I just paid how much for that cake?

 

Lauren and Kim in total shock that Mexico sold for over $14,000

Proud Brandon Roy Shoe Owner

 

Night of Warmth

Very exciting things are happening in Columbus, OH.  Night of Warmth will be taking place on February 25, 2012.  We are expecting over 100 people to attend this event that will raise money for EOR.  Everyday another donation arrives for the silent and live auctions.

There will be red carpet photos, a Wall of Wine and lots of items for the silent and live auctions.  There will be food, a band and our NoW signature cocktails.  Tickets are only $25 in advance and $35 at the door.  If you plan on bringing some friends you can get a table of 8 for $175.

Night of Warmth: EOR fundraiser now has a page on facebook. So make sure to stop by and like our page. We will be posting photos of some of the auction items.  It’s also a great way to get details on next years event.

 

February 25, 2012 @ 6:30 p.m.  Xenos Cafe 1340 Community Park Drive Columbus 43229

Too Much

It’s been a wonderful holiday.  As an American mama, living an American life,  I enjoy a season filled with “too many.”  Too many presents, too many late bedtimes, too many sweet treats, too many holiday activities to squeeze into an already too full schedule.

I really am lucky that way.  I returned from Ethiopia just one short month ago, and I saw, more often than I cared to,  people who lived with too little…too little food, too little education, too little water, none of it clean.

Short of bringing you all to Ethiopia with me, there’s little I can do to share the enormity of need with all of you.  All I can do, is ask you to join me in funding Ethiopian Orphan relief’s year-end campaign.

All of us have so much in our lives.  I am asking you to share some of your “too much” with those who have too little.

By giving to Ethiopian Orphan Relief,  you help more people more quickly.  With an all-volunteer board, EOR  guarantees that a greater percentage of your funds will actually meet needs in Ethiopia.

Please join me in giving before December, 31, 2011.  I will match the first $500 in donations between now and then.  I have so much to share.  I imagine you do too.

Happy Holidays,

Paige

B-I-R-R!

   I imagine a lot of you are like me.  You’ve been to Ethiopia, and at the end of your trip, returned home with a bit of birr–some to give as souvenirs, some to tuck away as a memento, and I’m hoping, some leftover after exchanging it on the last day or so of your visit.

If you do have some spare birr hanging around, will you consider donating it to EOR’s immediate need fund?

While we can make plans to fund projects before we go to Ethiopia in November, we can’t anticipate every need.  A slush fund of sorts allows us to buy baby formula or shoes or toys or firewood or bananas when we see a need.  We will take a small discretionary fund, and the 8 travelers will contribute too,  but sending us the birr (even small amounts) leftover from your previous trips is an excellent way to make a significant contribution.  As always, we will  be sure to share the amount we raise, (and the good it does) with all of   YOU!

Birr Donations should be mailed to:

Paige Chapman-Layland

447 Greenglade Avenue

Worthington  Ohio  43085

Paige  (who really LOVES to get mail)