Auction Wrap-Up and GIVEAWAY!!

Thank you all for your generous support with our auction!  We brought in almost $1500 with the bids and donations, and honestly, that truly exceeded our expectations.  When we'd started the month, we'd hoped for at least $1000, and you guys, once again, blew us away with your generosity.  Thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts!

Be sure to keep your eye on the Sponsor-A-Mile graphic and the thermometer on the side of this blog.  As all of the bids come in the mail, I will keep updating both of those.    You guys are awesome!

Speaking of awesome, I have an amazing giveaway to start!   The person who won the American Girl doll (Samantha) from our auction has donated it right back to us to giveaway!    Now, all of you with little girls - or all you grandparents of little girls, or godparents, or aunts, or uncles, or whatever!! - can have the chance to get this discontinued American Girl doll by helping us spread the word!

This awesome Samantha doll could be YOURS!!

Here are the details that the donor has requested:

Up for grabs, as a thank-you from us, is a discontinued American Girls doll, Samantha Parkington.  You can no longer buy one of these new, but have to find them on Ebay or Craigslist, where they are currently selling for upwards of $300.

She is in awesome condition - the only "flaw" is a missing hairbow.  Everything else is perfectly maintained.

The giveaway will close in a little over two weeks:  May 19th.  On May 19th, we will collect the names of all who are eligible for the thank you gift, and contact them, via this blog.  (similar to the iPad giveaway). 

To become eligible, here's what you must do (you only have to do ONE of the following, but make sure that we know about it, so we can be sure to include you):  

1. Make a donation of any size into our private PayPal account (donate button on the right side of the blog).  This donation is not tax-deductible. 

2.  Make a donation of any size into our Reece's Rainbow account (donate button on the right side of the blog).  This donation IS tax-deductible.  

3.  Spread the word!  Share the link to this blog - on your own blog, on your Facebook, on Twitter, via email, however you connect with other people online.   Just make sure to leave a comment below and let me know that you've done so.   If I don't know the link has been shared...I can't include you in the giveaway.  

After this giveaway, we'll be taking a bit of a break from fundraising,  as hopefully, that will be when we're working on getting our dossier and USCIS paperwork out.  With any luck, we'll be concentrating on that, and I'll have plenty to blog about during that process!  :-)

Lastly, we made the commitment, way back when we started this journey, that we would turn around and give back to other families who needed extra support.  With every fundraising event we've held, we've taken a portion of our own money and passed it on to another family struggling to pay for an adoption.  Thanks to Leila, at Orphan Report,  we've learned about the Jobes family, who is working towards adopting Josiah on Reece's Rainbow.   They currently have a matching donor who will be matching up to $2500 on any donations through May 6th.  What a perfect opportunity to have the support that we've been shown multiplied and spread towards another family working to bring an orphan home.   Follow their link, and if you have just a few dollars to spare - let's see their funds grow! 

Have a great day, everyone, and let's find our Samantha doll a great home!!