Major progress this week! I have my COMPLETE APPROVED HOME STUDY in my possession! This timing was critical as I needed it complete to be able to apply for a grant that I am very hopeful about getting. That grant application has been sent in and I have about five more I need to sit down and fill out this weekend.
The completed home study also means I was able to take the next major step- applying for USCIS approval. I sent in my I600-A form today with $805. The US government will read my home study, validate what it says, and approve me to bring an orphan child into the US (after I am assigned a date to have my fingerprints done- this will be the fourth time for this adoption so far!). It's possible they'll ask for more information, but I'm hoping all goes well and it moves along quickly.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Get Involved!
In order to raise funds for Gina's adoption, her friends have created Team ONE and invite you to participate!
Together, a team will run, bike, and swim the TriUtah Ultimate Relay- 126.5 miles on August 4th, 2012, from Ogden to Midway, Utah. Team ONE will raise awareness about the orphan crisis, and ultimately, will help ONE orphan find his or her way to their forever home. AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!
There are several ways you can get involved.
1) Sign up to run, bike, or swim the TriUtah Ultimate Relay on your own Team ONE Affiliate Team! If you're not in great shape at the moment, you still have FOUR MONTHS to train! The swims are 1000 meters, the runs are 6 miles, and the cycling events are between 17 and 41 miles. Each team can have between 3 and 6 participants, so you can do from 2-4 events. We're going to get press coverage to bring awareness to our cause, and the more people we have participating, the better! Each team will be asked to have their family and friends sponsor them in their efforts, and we're hoping each team will be able to donate $126.50 to Gina's adoption fund (one dollar for every mile of the race). If there are six members on a team, that comes out to a little over $20 per person in sponsorship funding. Go here for more info and to sign up. Please leave a comment below letting me know you signed up, so I'll know where we're at. (If you know me in real life, you know I'm fairly out of shape. But I'M DOING THIS TRI. Please join me!!) As an alternate option, if you live out of state and can't travel for this tri, train with us and run/bike/swim "virtually" from your own city! If you do this, please also leave a comment so I can add you in to the numbers. I'm aiming for all 40 teams to be registered and established by May 15th.
2) Sign up to be a support person for one of the Team ONE Affiliate Teams! Each team will need one vehicle to drive the course and shuttle the participants to and from their events. This is going to be a RIOT. If you can't run/swim/bike, please consider this option.
3) Follow this blog. In addition to adoption updates, there will be various giveaways (including an iPad giveaway) and other fundraising efforts that you won't want to miss.
4) Donate an item or service for a giveaway, which will be advertised on X96 (reaching 70,000 listeners). Items/services donated are eligible as a tax donation. Leave a comment below to donate!
5) Consider donating directly to Gina's adoption fund. Adoptions from this region cost between $30,000 and $35,000. There are several ways to help provide an answer for this need. a) You can also donate through the Chip-In on the right, which is tax deductible. b) You can contact Gina and send a check directly to her (thus bypassing Pay Pal/Chip-In fees). Please leave a comment here and she will contact you. c) We are currently doing a sippy cup drive where people are collecting their spare change in a sippy cup provided by Gina. When the cup is full, you donate what you've collected and start again! Leave a comment below and Gina will get the sippy cup to you.
6) Spread the word on Facebook, through email, on your own blog, to your family and friends, etc. Even if you can't donate or otherwise get involved, someone you know may want to and be able to. If you share during a giveaway, leave a comment on this blog and you will be entered to win one of the prizes! No donation necessary.
7) Pray/support/send good vibes. Your prayers, thoughts, and support are very much appreciated. This is a difficult process with any number of obstacles, and your support matters!
No matter how you choose to get involved- THANK YOU!
Together, a team will run, bike, and swim the TriUtah Ultimate Relay- 126.5 miles on August 4th, 2012, from Ogden to Midway, Utah. Team ONE will raise awareness about the orphan crisis, and ultimately, will help ONE orphan find his or her way to their forever home. AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!
There are several ways you can get involved.
1) Sign up to run, bike, or swim the TriUtah Ultimate Relay on your own Team ONE Affiliate Team! If you're not in great shape at the moment, you still have FOUR MONTHS to train! The swims are 1000 meters, the runs are 6 miles, and the cycling events are between 17 and 41 miles. Each team can have between 3 and 6 participants, so you can do from 2-4 events. We're going to get press coverage to bring awareness to our cause, and the more people we have participating, the better! Each team will be asked to have their family and friends sponsor them in their efforts, and we're hoping each team will be able to donate $126.50 to Gina's adoption fund (one dollar for every mile of the race). If there are six members on a team, that comes out to a little over $20 per person in sponsorship funding. Go here for more info and to sign up. Please leave a comment below letting me know you signed up, so I'll know where we're at. (If you know me in real life, you know I'm fairly out of shape. But I'M DOING THIS TRI. Please join me!!) As an alternate option, if you live out of state and can't travel for this tri, train with us and run/bike/swim "virtually" from your own city! If you do this, please also leave a comment so I can add you in to the numbers. I'm aiming for all 40 teams to be registered and established by May 15th.
2) Sign up to be a support person for one of the Team ONE Affiliate Teams! Each team will need one vehicle to drive the course and shuttle the participants to and from their events. This is going to be a RIOT. If you can't run/swim/bike, please consider this option.
3) Follow this blog. In addition to adoption updates, there will be various giveaways (including an iPad giveaway) and other fundraising efforts that you won't want to miss.
4) Donate an item or service for a giveaway, which will be advertised on X96 (reaching 70,000 listeners). Items/services donated are eligible as a tax donation. Leave a comment below to donate!
5) Consider donating directly to Gina's adoption fund. Adoptions from this region cost between $30,000 and $35,000. There are several ways to help provide an answer for this need. a) You can also donate through the Chip-In on the right, which is tax deductible. b) You can contact Gina and send a check directly to her (thus bypassing Pay Pal/Chip-In fees). Please leave a comment here and she will contact you. c) We are currently doing a sippy cup drive where people are collecting their spare change in a sippy cup provided by Gina. When the cup is full, you donate what you've collected and start again! Leave a comment below and Gina will get the sippy cup to you.
6) Spread the word on Facebook, through email, on your own blog, to your family and friends, etc. Even if you can't donate or otherwise get involved, someone you know may want to and be able to. If you share during a giveaway, leave a comment on this blog and you will be entered to win one of the prizes! No donation necessary.
7) Pray/support/send good vibes. Your prayers, thoughts, and support are very much appreciated. This is a difficult process with any number of obstacles, and your support matters!
No matter how you choose to get involved- THANK YOU!
Where I Am
March was an incredibly slow month adoption-wise, so forgive my lack of blogging. The first home study agency I used turned out NOT to be licensed to do international home studies after all. Therefore, after nine weeks in-process, I pretty much had to start this adoption over with a new home study agency. (Don't worry- I got every penny back from the first agency!) It took awhile before they could get a social worker out, but the great news is I've really liked this agency! Their response time is fantastic and I LOVE my new social worker. A woman after my own heart. My home study should be written up this weekend, and then it will be sent to my adoption agency to proof. They'll send it on to their facilitator in the foreign country, who will approve it (or make needed changes to clarify). It should all be done in time for me to apply for a HUGE grant that I'm very hopeful about possibly getting! Also, my FBI clearance to adopt showed up last week. After the HS is complete, I'll make sure all my paperwork for my dossier is together and will take it all to be notarized for free at my credit union, and then have it apostilled.
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