Bring Ivan & Yana Home

Organized by Jennifer Applin
And the winner is....
Melissa Mambort!!!! Melissa is a friend from church. She has had a difficult couple of weeks too. First someone stole her wallet our of her pack on her wheelchair. Then her computer died. I think the Random Number Generator at Random.org picked the perfect person to win the iPad!

We really didn't know what to expect with this fundraiser. We thought maybe we'd raise a few hundred dollars. Well with 230 wonderful people participating we raised $7565.18!!!! We are so grateful and really thanks is NOT a strong enough word!!!!

We pray that everyone is blessed for their generosity!

LAST DAY TO ENTER!!! :-)
If you're new to this site please scroll down to the bottom to the post titled Ivan and Yana to learn more.

As of 8:30 AM on Friday, October 15th we've raised $6098.18 with this iPad raffle!!!! (the widget doesn't reflect cash or check donations) We have 167 entries so far-still great odds to win! In just over 24 hours we'll be using a random number generator to draw the winner of the new iPad. Saturday is also a big day at our church. It is our MADD (Make a Difference Day) event where hundreds of our church members will be participating in many, many different types of service projects in our community. I think it's quite fitting that on Make a Difference Day we'll be drawing the name of one of the 167+ people who have made a big difference in our life! Thanks again!!

iPad Raffle Details: Make a donation in any amount and your name will be entered in the drawing for a new iPad. We will draw the winner at 9 AM Saturday, October 16th. Donations can be made by paypal acount or credit/debit card through this Chipin Widget. If you'd like to make a donation by check please contact me at jennifer@jenniferapplin.com.
5199.27!!
If you're new to this site please scroll down to the bottom to the post titled Ivan and Yana to learn more.

As of 9:45 PM on Wednesday, October 13th we've raised $5199.27 with this iPad raffle!!!! (the widget doesn't reflect cash or check donations) Why isn't the total a whole number? Because yesterday our nieces and nephews came over with the money from their piggy banks :-) So darn sweet!! We have a little over two days to go and can't wait to see what's in store. We really had no idea what to expect from this raffle and have been blown away by the generosity of others. We've also loved the kind comments and encouraging words we've received! Thanks again!!


iPad Raffle Details: Make a donation in any amount and your name will be entered in the drawing for a new iPad. We will draw the winner the morning of Saturday, October 16th. Donations can be made by paypal acount or credit/debit card through this Chipin Widget. If you'd like to make a donation by check please contact me at jennifer@jenniferapplin.com.
$3290 :-)
If you're new to this site please scroll down to the bottom to the post titled Ivan and Yana to learn more.

As of 9 AM on Tuesday, October 12th we've raised $3290 with this iPad raffle!!!! (the widget doesn't reflect cash or check donations) Every day our four children here at home wake up asking for the updated total. It has been great to share this process with them and show them that miracles do happen. :-) Ivan and Yana don't know what is going on right now (they're just waiting for us to come for them), but someday we'll share this with them. Two children who have only known abandonment and rejection will know that it was a loving God and the kindness and care of many, many people who brought them home and helped to give them a new life. Many lives have been touched and we're so grateful!



iPad Raffle Details: Make a donation in any amount and your name will be entered in the drawing for a new iPad. We will draw the winner the morning of Saturday, October 16th. Donations can be made by paypal acount or credit/debit card through this Chipin Widget. If you'd like to make a donation by check please contact me at jennifer@jenniferapplin.com.



$3085!!
If you're new to this site please scroll down to the bottom to the post titled Ivan and Yana to learn more.

As of 4PM on Saturday, October 9th we've raised $3085 with this iPad raffle!!!! (the widget doesn't reflect cash or check donations) That's 3085 steps closer to bringing my children home that didn't exist a week ago. We can't thank our supporters enough for their donations and helping to spread the word! We feel very blessed :-)

iPad Raffle Details: Make a donation in any amount and your name will be entered in the drawing for a new iPad. We will draw the winner the morning of Saturday, October 16th. Donations can be made by paypal acount or credit/debit card through this Chipin Widget. If you'd like to make a donation by check please contact me at jennifer@jenniferapplin.com.

$2,315!!
As of 9:45 AM on October 7th we're at $2315 with 44 entries to win the iPad! :-) We feel very blessed with the support we're receiving and knowing that so many people are spreading the word. We can't wait to see how this ends and how close we get to bringing our children home. Thank you very much!

iPad Raffle Details: By making a donation in any amount your name is entered to win the iPad. Donations can be made by debit/credit card or a paypal account through this chipin feature. If you would like to make a donation by check please contact me at japplin@buckeye-express.com for details. The lucky winner will be selected by a random number generator the morning of October 16th! If you would like to know more about the adoption please scroll down and read the Ivan and Yana post. Thanks :-)

Deadline correction
If you're reading this page for the first time and wonder what it's all about please scroll down to the post at the bottom.

First of all, a big THANKS to everyone who has donated and helped to spread the word!! When I total what has been donated through this Chipin feature, as well as donations by check then we are at $1660 just before midnight on October 4! We're very grateful for everyone's generosity and kind words :-)

Apparently, there has been a little bit of confusion regarding the deadline for the drawing. My husband has been telling people that they can donate through the end of the day on October 15th and that we'd draw the winner on the 16th. So...because of that and because I may be without my laptop for a few days since it started smoking today-literally, then we'll just go with drawing the winner on the 16th.

If you have any questions please contact me at japplin@buckeye-express.com. Thanks!

A paypal account is not required
Greetings!

I just found out that you do not need to have a paypal account to donate through this ChipIn feature. There is also an option to donate by credit/debit card. If you'd still like to donate by check please contact me at japplin@buckeye-express.com. I am not able to adjust the ChipIn Widget to reflect check donations, but you will definitely be entered in the iPad drawing. :-)

Including check donations we've received, we're up to $535!! Thanks so much to all who have donated and helped to spread the word!

Just a reminder you can still enter the drawing by making a donation in any amount by 11:59 PM (Eastern) on Friday, October 8th. Thanks a bunch!



Win a new iPad!!!
This week I saw something amazing unfold! Over $20,000 was raised to fund the adoption of one sweet little orphan in need of a family. All of the money was raised in just 5 days! As an incentive they raffled off a new iPad. It was inspiring to see so much money raised so fast. If the same thing happened for us we could bring Ivan and Yana home very soon. The problem was that we did not have an iPad or the money to buy one. Well, that was true until I found out that I won the iPad they were raffling off!

So now we are trying to see if this iPad can be used to work another miracle! From now until 11:59 PM (Eastern) on October 8th any donation you make to our adoption will enter your name into the drawing for the iPad. It's pretty simple. Make a donation as you see fit and your name goes in the hat (well we will be a little more sophisticated than that and use the random number generator at random.org). Donations can easily be made with a paypal account by using this ChipIn feature. If you do not have a paypal account and would like to make a donation by check then please contact me at japplin@buckeye-express.com for details.

Thanks so much!!

Ivan and Yana
Greetings!

If you have stumbled upon (or been forced to read) our ChipIn button we are hoping you will take a moment to learn what this is all about.

We are in the process of adopting two children from Russia. Ivan is almost 6 and Yana turned 6 this past summer. We met them the summer of 2009 through an orphan hosting program run by FORO-Friends of Russian Orphans, a local charity affiliated with our church. We hosted Yana for almost three weeks and spent time with Ivan who was being hosted by another family at our church. Although this was just supposed to be a sort of vacation experience for them, by the time they boarded a plane we knew they were meant to be a part of our family. We said good-bye not knowing if or when we would see them again. Then we immediately started the adoption process.

International adoption is ridiculously expensive and Russia is the most expensive program around. We started this process without any money to put towards the adoption. We have had great faith that God can work miracles and that is exactly what has happened to get to this point. The total cost for our adoption is nearing the $70k mark. We still have about $40k left to pay out and of that we are still short $28k. The paperwork process is almost complete and we could have these children home very soon if it was not for this financial obstacle.

As part of the adoption process, we completed the mandatory first visit to Russia in July. It was great seeing the children again and even after a year apart we picked up where we left off. They are desperate to come home. We have seen their living conditions first-hand and it is miserable there. Children should not live this way. No one should live this way. They have been here so they know what they are missing, and our family does not feel complete without them. Every 5 minutes one of them would ask to go home to America. They did not realize that we were just there for a visit and the translator did not want to tell them until the end. It was very heartbreaking to leave them.

This is where you come in. We know that $28k is A LOT of money to try to raise. We also know that it could be taken care of very quickly if many people who care about orphans make even a small donation and then spread the word. We are hoping you will be one of those people.

There are over 147 million orphans in the world. We know that by adopting just two we are not changing the world, but we are trying to change their world!

Thanks,

Jennifer

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