Books Fundraiser for Mother and Newly Adopted Daughters from Haiti

A fellow gentle parenting momma needs our help. Three years ago, Jodie (a mother to one child living in Colorado) began the adoption process for two little girls from Haiti. A lot of red tape later, the earthquake that ricocheted Haiti helped to expedite the adoption process of these two orphaned girls, and Jodie was able to bring them home in February of this year.

As happy as their new family is, two extra children brings some added expenses, and in the midst of their adoption, Jodie's husband was laid off from his job. While he has a paycheck through the end of August, come September, they will be in trouble.

To add insult to injury, Jodie's husband was rear-ended last week by an uninsured driver while taking one of their girls to school, and now they have a vehicle that needs repair as well.

Another peaceful parenting reader (and friend of Jodie's) asked if we would highlight the fundraiser she has put together to help this mom of three. Erin Davey has a very small Usborne Books business and will be donating all profits during the month of August to help Jodie and her family.

Usborne has a wide assortment of wonderful books for babies, children, and teens. There are many fun books, educational books, library sets, books for homeschooling use, books in Spanish, kits and activity books, etc. We all know how much children love to receive a new book - and they make excellent gifts, as well as donations for your local women's, family, or children's shelters. Many kids never have a book of their own, and are not given the opportunity to learn to love reading - so one book purchase can go a l-o-n-g way if you get creative on how it will be used or given away to a child in need. :) If you'd like to purchase a book through Erin this month, you will also be helping another family in the process.

To participate in this book fundraiser for Jodie and her girls, please do not order directly from the Usborne site -- it will randomly pick a consultant and give your order to them, defeating the purpose of the fundraiser. To have your purchase donated to Jodie's family, you will need to select the books you want, and send Erin a message with those you'd like to order.

Erin can be found here on Facebook, and she welcomes any questions you may have.

If you would like to help Jodie's family, but do not wish to make a book purchase, there are other ways to get involved:

Gift certificates for Usborne books will go toward this cause and can be used in the future, or donated to peaceful parenting for the upcoming benefit auction. (As a non-profit organization we provide breastfeeding support, infant sleep resources, intact care, and circumcision information packs, babywearing items, and pregnancy, birth, and newborn care classes to parents who cannot otherwise afford them. Every single family helped here is exclusively supported through donations and we cannot continue without you).

Erin is also happy to pass along any direct gifts to Jodie and her family. You can donate with the PayPal button below and specify in the "Notes" that it is a gift for Jodie and her girls.

No matter what, thank you for being a part of the bigger community of gentle parenting mothers and fathers out there, seeking to make a positive difference for all the children of the world. They need you more now than ever before, so keep your eyes and ears open for ways that you can touch lives. Because every one matters.

If you give a child a book,
s/he is going to start reading.

If a child starts reading,
s/he is going to start thinking.

If a child starts thinking,
s/he is going to imagine.

And if a child experiences the beauty of imagination,
there is no telling how high s/he can soar!

~ International Children's Literature Project