- Pray! You can choose to pray for them collectively, pick a country, or go to one of the many website with waiting children (like AdoptUSkids) and pray for a specific child.
- Donate your used stuff to help others. Maybe you send the clothes your kids have outgrown to a women's shelter or with a family traveling to an orphanage. You could also sell these things at a rummage sale or at a consignment shop or on the net and donate the cash to orphans.
- Sponsor a child. Many groups do an amazing job caring for orphans based on sponsorships.
- Become a volunteer for for the Big Brother/Big Sister program.
- Drive or cook for meals on wheels or a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter.
- Buy a Christmas gift for a child in need either locally (even Wal-mart has trees with names on) or Internationally through Operation Christmas Child or send Genna backpacks like we are.
- Help the child of a single mom or dad buy their parent a Christmas gift.
- Buy Christmas gifts at sites that send proceeds to orphan care of adopting families. Sites like Etsy have all kinds of really cool handmade creations and the money will help bring children home! Wiphan is selling a great cookbook. Food for the Hungry has ideas to donate things in someone's honor - like school supplies sent to a child in need in lieu of a gift for your child's teacher.
- Donate money towards adopting families. I love to buy everyone's t-shirts but I have decided that I should perhaps just donate $15 or so instead. Then the family gets 100% and do I really need another t-shirt? (some are just too cute to pass up though!)
- Maybe you are gifted at fund raising? Choose a cause to champion and plan a fundraiser.
- Not into kids??? Donate to build wells!
- Gather used shoes, coats, books, whatever... and send them to persons in need. Krissy will gather shoes again this year but because we will not be traveling to deliver them we will probably partner with an organization like Shoes for Orphan Souls. Most adoption agencies have lists of needed items and could send things you gather with traveling families. Shelters would have similar needs.
- Offer your services, are you a web-site designer, writer, photographer or videographer - offer to use those gifts to educate about needs. Or offer to paint a room, fix a car, mend a dress, repair a pipe, tutor a child, plan a budget, fix a meal, clean a home, etc...
- Save your money for a family mission trip instead of a vacation to the beach. (I really, really want to work toward this one!)
- Ask for donations instead of gifts on your birthday or Christmas...(just saw a cool post like that today!)
- Become a foster parent.
- Adopt a child.
This list is not meant to be specific. I have not included links or even spent very much time. I just want to stimulate your thoughts, to give you a few ideas of ways you could help. It does not have to be so hard or so scary! If you have more ideas, let me know. Or if you have questions about any of the above, let me know. If I mentioned it I have at least a little knowledge about it!
I know I have been on a "soapbox" a lot this week. Can you tell I am sorting through a lot of possible topics for when I get to share about Orphan Care at my church this weekend?! Oh, yeah... sifting through a lot of thoughts and processing them right here.
