Raising money for a great cause.

As I have written before on here, Sara and I's decision to adopt was borne out of relatively selfish reasons, as we wanted to start a family and had encountered fertility issues that stood in our way.  Well, throughout our journey to Russia and Ethiopia our eyes have been opened to the need that exists to help those that are unable to themselves.  Orphaned children throughout the world rely on the help of others to survive.  One of the people that has stepped up to the plate in a huge way is a very inspirational woman that we have met through our adoption of Addis.  She and another adoptive mother have formed an organization, Ethio-American Family Services, whose mission reads as follows:

To educate, empower, and enrich the lives of Ethiopian orphans and their adoptive families.

One of the organization's main causes is supporting Miskaye Children's Orphanage, the orphanage that Addis has called home for the vast majority of her short life.  If you click on the link located at the top of our blog on the right side, you will be able to navigate through their website and see the many items that the orphanage is in need of to help continue make their house a comfortable place for children like Addis and many others to live. 

After talking with the co founder of the organization and seeing the pictures of Addis living in Miskaye throughout the last 8 months, Sara and I have committed ourselves to raising money for that very cause.

We are going to do that by having a yard sale/bake sale at our house next Saturday, June 12th.   For those of you that can't make it and are interested in donating to this cause, you can contact me via email at matt.ritzmann@bankucb1.com.  For those of you that are close by, please stop by and say hello. 

On top of any money that we raise next weekend, Sara and I will also be personally donating $150 towards the cause.  Whether we raise $5 or $500, every dime will go directly towards helping improve the lives of orphaned children who need our help.  

If you can't swing by and you aren't able to donate to the cause, no big deal, we understand.  Everyone has causes they are passionate about, this is just one of ours.  Thank you so much for reading and helping us spread the word about people making a huge difference in the lives of those that are unable to help themselves.

Matt