We sent a donation to Jiangyong Orphanage awhile back and we are happy to see they have put it to good use to buy baby food, toys and new clothes for the children. Our contact in Susan sent us these photos while we were in China adopting (in June) but I just remembered today and had a chance to look through the pictures. There are some pictures below of some Jiangyong children! Thanks to everyone who gave for this project!!!!
We heard from Northern Asia Compassionate Touch about the money sent for the earthquake orphans. They have been putting the $5000 + to good use to care for many children after the earthquake. We received an upate on what was purchased and were told pictures would be sent to us soon.
The money was used to purchase beds, tables, mosquito nets, shoes, clothing, fly traps, shampoos, lotions, toothpaste and other hygiene items.
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We also sent off a donation to Jiangyong Orphange and it has been wired to the Director. She will send us the receipts and some photos so I will post those as soon as I get them.
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We are heading to China in just a couple of days but I will update when I return. We have a few events planned over the summer as we are hoping to focus on our local foster children and families with young children in PEI. Stay tuned....
I had the honor of helping 2 very special Chinese friends plan a Candlelight Vigil in honor and in memory of the thousands of families affected by the earthquake in China (May 12). It was a very special night where many people gathered in an emotional time of prayer, reading stories and sharing our sadness and hope for the many, many victims.
Our Kids Carnival was a great success with lots of families coming out for some fun! THANK YOU to everyone who came and supported this event. Thank you to Mari Lynn for all her hard work and commitment to this event and with Two Homes One Heart!! A special thank you to Gail Hodder for donating her talents again with her amazing cookies! Yum!!
Our wonderful friends setting up the Chinese table...they spent hours making spring rolls, dumplings and a noodle dish. So good!
People ready to purchase their tickets...let the fun begin!
Families enjoying the Carnival!
Candlelight Vigil for Earthquake Victims in China
There will be a candlelight vigil THIS Sunday, May 18 at Confederation Landing. It starts at 8:30 pm and there will be quiet music, candlelight and a photo show. We want to honor the many thousands of victims and their families and pray for healing and comfort.Please come out and support this event.
There will be donation boxes set up if people feel led to donate. All money will be given to Hong Kong Red Cross so they can assist more and more families in the earthquake area.
Our son, Evan Jun, is from Liuzhou City, Guangxi. We have contacted his orphanage and they have expressed a very real need for their children. Most of the children living at this orphanage have medical issues and need some kind of medical intervention; surgeries and/or therapy. We have decided we will do all we can to help this orphanage as well -raising funds for medical needs for the children. It is our hope and prayer than many children will be placed for adoption once their medical needs are taken care of.
We are in the beginning stages of working on this so stay tuned for more information.
We have been told the orphanage is in need of some large toy items (ride on cars, etc...) and so we are raising $500 to purchase these for the orphanage. Our kids will be doing most of the fundraising for this as it is a fun way for them to give back to the beautiful children still living at Liuzhou SWI. As always, you can help by clicking on the donate button and specifying it's for the toy fund.
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KIDS CARNIVAL is BOOKED!
Our 2nd annual KIDS CARNIVAL is scheduled for Sunday, May 25th (Raindate: June 1).
This year we will once again be raising funds to build an outdoor playground at an orphanage. We haven't finalized our decision on which orphanage but we think it will be one in the city where Alyssa is from .
BOOK THIS DAY FOR YOUR FAMILY - Sunday, May 25 from 2:00-5:00 at Confederation Landing (waterfront in Charlottetown).
Enjoy many carnival games, bouncy tents, clowns, magic, BBQ, canteen and much more! This year, we have invited Child Find PEI in honor of National Missing Children's Day (May 25) and there will be tons of fun events and booths to bring awareness to child safety and issues facing children both globally and locally. ("All About Me I.D" fingerprinting, "Kids in the Know" and "Street Smarts" with puppets and stories)
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Wii Tickets are still available and the draw date is MAY 14th! You can visit our family adoption site and purchase tickets with the donate button or you can email me and I'll set you up another way! Thanks so much.
We have several things on the go right now...
I received pictures from Dao Orphanage today! Our family loves to see the photos of children, the orphanage and items that were purchased with donations sent in!!
A few of the babies sporting their new layers of warm clothing!
Lots of baby formula and cereal for the children!
Look at all those shoes - one pair for each child!
Socks for the children...
New, warm sweaters for everyone!
Brand new PJs!!
Warm outfits for the children...
Even more outfits for the kids...
And still more...
-WOW, I love how much they are able to buy for those adorable children!! I have asked our contact to find out if they are still needing a heater and/or washer. This may be something they are getting through Half the Sky Foundation so I will wait to hear back from our contact to see if there is anything else we can help them with!
Thank you to EVERYONE who contributed to this amazing event - keeping these special children warm and fed!
Tammy
I received an email today in regards to Jiangyong Orphanage. They have asked us to provide clothes for their children and baby formula. They estimated it would cost $500 to cover these items. We are thrilled to have raised over $900 to send them so now they can buy some "extras" whether it be more formula, toys for the children or some other things they have wanted but couldn't purchase. We will be getting photos of the items they purchase in the next couple of weeks and I'll post them here.
There are only 7 children living in Jiangyong Orphanage right now. Even though it is a tiny orphanage, they still do not have adequate means to care for the children - we are thrilled to help them out and to give them the surprise of more funds! They care for 5 children under the age of 1, 1 child who is 4 and 1 child between the ages of 7-9.
Two Homes One Heart Display
Art Auction
Set up and ready for our guests!
Inside Dao orphanageOur next fundraiser is coming up quickly - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16th!!!
Chris and I just found out that we are going to be adopting a 5 year old boy from China!!! Yes, we are going back to China! YAY! We have been in the process to adopt a littel girl from Ethiopia for the last 4 1/2 months but God had other plans for us. Through God's leading we found out about a little boy in China who needed a family. God led us to this precious little one and we couldn't be more excited about adopting from China again!!!
PS. Our Ethiopian adoption is currently on hold.
So excited...
Tammy
The beautiful blankets made by Bev and her sisters...
Some other goodies for the package...
We've heard from another orphanage!! This one is also in Yongzhou City and it's known as Dao orphanage. There are currently 43 children living at this orphanage. 11 of the children are special needs - we've been told some are physically challenged and some are mentally challenged.
The front gate of the Dao Orphanage
The orphanage...
The sleeping room for babies...
Two Homes One Heart is now helping with the needs at the Fenghuangyuan Orphanage, Jiangyong Orphanage and now Dao orphanage. We seriously ask you to consider donating to help the precious children who live at these orphanages.
I will be adding a "Donate" button in the next couple of days so people can donate via paypal but in the meantime, please email me at tammymackinnon@pei.sympatico.ca or you can mail cheques to Two Homes One Heart, Box 7222, 17 Allison Avenue, Cornwall, PEI C0A 1H0
Front entrance
Orphanage is located on 2nd floor
Playroom
Because we are gearing up for our big Christmas Gala on December 9th we don't have too much else to report. We are doing this fundraiser and then I can give more details and pictures on what the money helped with. We will be splitting the proceeds in 3 ways - 1/3 to orphanages in Hunan, China - specifically the city of Yongzhou where Alyssa lived for 15 months - 1/3 to orphanages in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - where our daughter has lived and other smaller foster homes in the area - 1/3 to children and families right here in PEI - some of this will go to our "Heart to Heart" project (see below) and some will go to children with other needs (food, christmas, school lunches, etc...)
We are in the process of completing a website which will make it much easier for people to see what our projects are and what fundraisers are happening. It will also be set up to take donations and people can join our team to help with fundraisers and any trips we go on to other countries! Exciting!
For now, here is an overview of our projects:
China
Each year we hope to host our "Kids Carnival" to build a playground at orphanages in China. Our last Kids Carnival was great fun and a great success as we raised $4000 and built a beautiful, colorful playground where children can laugh, play and interact with their peers!
Money raised will also go towards supplying baby formula and other food for children living in orphanages, necessary items for orphanages (cribs, clothing, toys, cleft bottles), foster care programs and help with medical surgeries.
We are currently assisting one orphanage and we've had 2 others contact us and we are waiting to hear how we can help them with their needs.
Prince Edward Island
"Heart to Heart" Project. This project was initiated by a foster child who used to live with us. She has a deep compassion for other foster children and wanted to give them something to comfort them as they were placed in foster homes. Together, we are collecting teddy bears and toiletry items (toothbrushes, books, journals, hairbrushes, etc...) and putting it all together in a care package (kitbag) to give to each child who goes into foster care on PEI. We will gladly accept donations of any of the items listed above or monetary donations and we'll do the shopping!! This would be a terrific project for a class at sunday school, youth group or a family wanted to give back to their community!
Sorry it has taken so long to post again! I don't have too much to update about the orphanage - our contact is gone on a trip so I haven't communicated with her since the playground arrived. Alyssa's orphange sent us a thank you and it was really sweet. They also said they are doing okay right now and there is nothing they need right now. We are still talking about helping with a foster care program with her orphanage. I'll try to get more details on that when our contact gets back. She is also going to be updating us on the other orphanges who were asking for our help. They are all located outside Alyssa's birth city, Yongzhou.
CHRISTMAS FUNDRAISER
We have a fabulous fundraiser planned - it is coming along nicely and I am just waiting to confirm the date. We are tentatively booking the first weekend of December (perhaps Dec 1) but I will post for sure when it's finally confirmed! We are also having an Art Auction and there are so many talented artists who are providing beautiful pieces (pottery, jewerly, quilts, paintings, drawings, etc...)
The Cornerstone Baptist Church Choir will be performing a beautiful Christmas cantata and they are truly amazing!!! The whole night is going to be magical - candlelight, christmas music, delicious food, amazing artwork to buy and best of all, 100% of the funds will go to help children in Ethiopia, China and locally here in PEI!!!!
Mark your calendars now for the first weekend of December. Tickets are going to be around $50 - $60 so that's a great deal for such a magical night and great cause!!!
Stay tuned!!! Tell all your friends. We only have 150 tickets to sell!!!!!
Tammy
