Introducing....

I am sooooooo excited because November 1st means it is Angel Tree time!  

Ginger on a Mission's Angel Tree Warrior Child is: 

 ANNAMARIE!

This sweet girl has been waiting for her forever family for quite some time.  She turns 15 in December which gives her just over a year for a family to adopt her!  

There are more photos and even videos of her here!

AnnaMarie is in an orphanage that have many children waiting for homes.  There are also a few families who will be traveling to her orphanage so more information about her could be available.  Her main special need is that she is HIV+ which is not as scary as it sounds.  Checkout Project Hopeful as they are working on erasing the stigma and fear of those with HIV.  Even if you aren't looking to adopt, check them out because we ALL need to be educated on HIV/AIDS.  She also is labeled as cross eyed which potentially has no impact on her and if she had received medical attention right away this could have been corrected.   

AnnaMarie and I share the birthday month of December.  To celebrate we are going to do a giveaway! ANYONE who donates $1 or more to her fund from now until December 30th will be entered into a drawing for their own tote bag made by Ginger on a Mission.  You will get one entry per dollar donated.  So $5 equals FIVE entries :)  All you have to do is forward your paypal receipt to gingeronamisson1206@gmail.com and you will be entered in our drawing.  The winner will be drawn on December 31st and they get to chose a Tote bag either size of their choice and discuss with GOM what fabric they would like for their bag!  

Ginger  a Mission was born out of the Ginger's semester spent volunteering at an orphanage/mental institution for children with special needs.  GOM sews handmade items and sells them at their Etsy Store  and 50% of the sales price goes to families adopting and children waiting for their forever families.  Whoever purchases the items gets to specify at check out ANY FAMILY or CHILD on RR.  Any family can post our site to help them raise funds and we LOVE helping everyone.  

Please Help AnnaMarie Find Her Forever Home!!!

October Numbers!!!

Total Facebook Likes: 121

Etsy Shop Views: 384

Total Money Raised for Orphans: $93 (Best Month Yet!)
Grand Total Raised Since Opening in 8/13: $258 (YIPEEEEEE)


Here are the angels we raised money for this month:

$26.50 for the Lusher Family who are bringing home FIVE siblings!!!  

$6.50 for the Tannehill Family who are bringing home Beatrice and Sawyer!! 

$26.50 for the Claus Family who are bringing Donald home! 

$7.50 for the Dismuke Family who are bringing Johanna home!

$7.00 for the Lanz Family who are bringing Peter home!

$7.50 for Kylie who is still waiting for her FOREVER FAMILY!  Kylie is a child on the Angel Tree this year.  To see all of those on Angel Tree click here.

$12.50 For AnnaMarie :)

I will be back soon to share a giveaway we are going to do for AnnaMarie, Ginger on a Mission's Angel Tree Child!  

September's Number is 92!

Ginger on a Mission had a busy September!  We launched our newest item... the tote bag!!!  After many requests we decided we would attempt to make a few and see how it went.  You can get your own adorable tote bag at our Etsy store!

Lola approves!

We recently made a kids size version which we are working on mass producing!  

Now for our numbers this month and the angels the money goes to!

$6.50 to the Saunder's family who is adopting Ilyssa! This family hosted her over the summer and are now racing to bring their daughter home FOREVER.

http://reecesrainbow.org/61058/sponsorsaunders

$23 dollars for the Lanz family adopting Peter!  This family recently adopted two girls and are on there way for one more!

http://reecesrainbow.org/63623/sponsorlanz-2

$17.50 to sweet Shane who is still waiting for his forever family to find him!  Shane only has until he turns 14 (August 2014) or he ages out and is unable to be adopted.

http://reecesrainbow.org/42297/shane

$12.50 to gorgeous Caroline who will be adopted by the Tam family.  Caroline reached out to a stranger who visited her orphanage and said "Please help me find a family!"

http://reecesrainbow.org/60118/sponsortam-2

$16 dollars to Channah who I was an Angel Tree Warrior for last year.  Channah just turned 12 and the Monier family is working hard to go get her!

http://reecesrainbow.org/61169/sponsormonier-2

 And this is sweet AnnaMarie.  $16.50 will be added to her account in November from an order placed this month.  Why not until November?  Ginger on a Mission is an Angel Tree Warrior for AnnaMarie this year!  From November 1- December 31 the goal is to help raise $1,000 for the child you chose.  She only has until December 2014 to for a family to find her or she ages out.  Stay tuned for a raffle in November that will benefit AnnaMarie and her future forever family!  http://reecesrainbow.org/60292/annamarie

THAT IS RIGHT!  We raised 92 dollars for orphans this month!  

Be Blessed.

The First Numbers

Since opening Ginger on a Mission watching the numbers change on the Etsy store stats has been fun!

I am very excited to tell you this evening which families/children have received funds for their adoptions!!!

$31.50 for the Williams family who is adopting Berkeley

http://reecesrainbow.org/61131/sponsorwilliams

$3.50 for the Grady family who will be adopting Evie and Hudson

http://reecesrainbow.org/64835/sponsorgrady

$28 for the Smith family adopting Steve

http://reecesrainbow.org/58984/sponsorsmith-7

$6 for the Monier family who are adopting my Chrismas Angel Channah

http://reecesrainbow.org/61169/sponsormonier-2

$3 for the Olsen family who will be adopting a child from Serbia.

http://lovesfarawaywishes.blogspot.com/

Other fun stats I can share:

Been open 17 days

We have had over 1300 visits to Ginger on a Mission's Etsy Shop

7 total orders have been purchased

22 total items sold

58 likes on our FB page

and 

2 best friends having an amazing time sewing the days away (couldn't do this with out her!)

Please continue to check out Ginger on a Mission!  We get so giddy when my phone Cha Chings when there is an Etsy store and we love seeing which child the donation goes to!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GINGERONAMISSION

We are working on a couple new things!

Well, this has taken a little longer than I had planned to get up and running.  But I am ready and super excited to finally get this going.

If you look in my past posts you will learn more about me and why this ginger is on a mission.  I will give you the quick summary.  I volunteered in an orphanage/mental institution in Chile in 2008 and my eyes were opened to the reality of special needs children in other countries.  I am a young social worker and wanted to find some way to help orphans get home to their families.  Adoption is expensive and many people look down on families trying to fund raise to get their children home.  Reality is, there aren't enough families as it is willing to adopt children with special needs so why shouldn't we help those that are willing?

Last Christmas season I chose an orphan from Reece's Rainbow (http://reecesrainbow.org/) to help raise money for a grant which would eventually be used for her adoption.  After that time I didn't want to stop but I don't have endless amounts of money to give.  I do have time and can craft so that is how this has all come about.

Each item purchased from my shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/GINGERONAMISSION) will give 50% of that purchase to a family adopting or a child's grant waiting to be adopted.  At checkout, customers may post the link of the families sponsorship page or blog or the child's grant page in the message section.  If someone does not specify, I will pick a family to donate the money to.

So far I have 40ish items for sale.  I had an extreme craft week :)  Take a look!

All of the different business/credit card holders.  Perfect to add to a gift card you are giving!

One of the card holders

A wristlet

Susie Reusies Snack Bag

Many of the Susie Reusies!  Perfect for snacks on the go and not having to waste plastic bags!

This adorable pooch oversees everything!

What is the Mission?

So what mission is this ginger on?  The mission to help people make their international adoptions possible.  Does anyone really have 30,000 dollars laying around their home to adopt a child?  Most likely no.  But sadly, there are many people who are willing to adopt some of the 147 million orphans around the globe BUT money stands in the way.

I am a social worker, so obviously, I do not have boat loads of money to give, but I do have time and a skill to give.  My mission is to open an Etsy store and the profit of the items I sell will go to families and children in need.  Families working to raise funds for their adoptions can advertise my site and when people purchase an item they simply specify which family the donation goes to via the Reece's Rainbow Family or Child Sponsorship account.  Simple yes?!

Don't know about Reece's Rainbow?  Go and find out more!  My heart breaks for these children who are not given the chance to reach their full potential.

This looks like a beach full of people having fun to the average person.  But it is really a powerful image.  Do you see that cream color building that doesn't match the rest?  That is an institution for children with mental and physical disabilities.  Did they get to enjoy the ocean and the sun?  No.  Everyone is having a jolly ol' time while there are children hidden away solely because of a disability.  

That building no longer exists.  Due to it's location it was sold so a Hilton could go in and luckily, they were able to build a brand new building with proper plumbing and a therapy pool!  If every child benefits from it, I don't know.  But my experience while working there tells me only the favorites do.  

 This is the room I worked in.  About 15 beds each filled with a child most of the day.  They aren't in this picture as it was meal time.  They are lined up and fed their meals and then put in pajamas and back in their beds for the night.  Little interaction.  Notice no toys.  

How can you not see that children aren't suppose to live like this?

Where to begin...

The other night at my tennis league I mentioned I got a sewing machine and showed some of the others what I had been making.  When I said I was going to sell them and donate the money to the orphan ministry some one said "oh yeah, you're all about the orphans."

Do I really tout my adoption and special needs message that much that I am the Orphan Saving Girl?  So how did I become associated with orphans?  It isn't because I am a social worker and license foster and adoptive homes.  It is because I worked in an institution for children with special needs in Vina del Mar, Chile.

The truth is:  It is IMPOSSIBLE to forget them after you spend time with them.  

These children who have no mother or father, are real to me.  I spent four months visiting them for about 10 hours a week, I watched as the caregivers sat behind a desk or spent time with their favorite child.  I watched them rush from child to child because there were so few caregivers for the amount of children.

Everyone smiles in the same language became my mantra.  The smiles these children showed me and the giggles I heard were often some of their only ones.

These children aren't just pictures of a far off land or words on someone else's blog.  They are REAL human beings and CHILDREN.  Who should be laughing, playing, learning and most of all LOVED.  Sadly the children where I was will most likely never have that.  Some children were lucky and received a Madrina (similar to the Babas in Eastern European orphanages) and their Madrina would visit it them a few times a week and depending on their needs they could even spend the weekend with their God families.  If they were lucky, they had someone to love them but were not able to live in a family.

I don't know about you, but I was born with a family that loved me, I didn't have to be lucky.  In the United States if you have a special need your family may be sad and grieve some of the hopes and dreams they had for you, but they will not abandon you solely because society says your special need isn't good enough.

I have lived a blessed 25 years and this is my way of helping the least of these.  I am not an overtly religious person, but if you are, Matthew 25:31-46 lays out my feelings.  I have been blessed so I am finding my way to bless others that have not been so lucky.