Our Heroes
Just Avery Jewelry
Avery and her sister were both adopted from China, and she wanted to find a way to help support the children in China. After discovering the children of LWB, she knew where she wanted to help. Avery and her mother, Tracy, have dedicated 100% of the Etsy sales of their "Red-Thread Bracelet" to LWB. The bracelet comes with a card that has the red thread proverb. Tracy says, "I wore a red thread of some sort until everyone of my children made it home. I continue to do so as a prayer that all children will find a forever family."
To order a Red-Thread Bracelet, you can visit the Just Avery Etsy store.
Jie Jie Foundation
A small group of adoptive moms formed a non-profit organization called Jie Jie Foundation (JJF), and they have donated over $16,000 to support LWB’s educational programs. Just recently they introduced a new line of lovely Chinese themed pendants. 100% of the net proceeds from the sales of this jewelry from now until the end of 2012 will be donated to LWB to be used to fund educational opportunities for the children living in the Huainan Social Welfare Institute.
To see and purchase the handmade jewelry made by the moms of JJF, please visit their Etsy store.
Abiding Presence Lutheran Church Youth Group, Burke, VA
Sandi Glass, Director of Adoption Support, was looking for a way to get her children and the youth at her church involved in helping others. She found this great idea of making bracelets out of soda tabs, and it has been a great way to get the youth involved while doing something that they clearly enjoy. It recycles, allows them to be creative, spend time together while they are doing them, and then share the word about the need (via the tag that is attached to the bracelets to
sell as well as telling them stories about the kids while they are making them).
The group can make custom bracelets in any colors for only $4. To order bracelets, you can contact Sandi Glass with your request, and she will send you an invoice for your order.
The Rapp Family
Katie and her family have planned several fundraisers to support the children of LWB. Katie and her mom have made embroidered cloth napkins and also continually outreach to others in their schools and community. The have also coordinated a one day after school Chinese Cultural Camp, Fortune Cookie wishes, and a partnership with a local Chinese restaurant. We are so grateful for their efforts to not only raise funds to support the children, but also raise awareness wherever they can.
Elgin, Oklahoma LWB Club
The Elgin, OKlahoma LWB Club is a group of families and friends who have come together to help raise funds to support LWB. They held their first fundraising event, a multi-family yard sale, and raised $625 to benefit the children in China!
Coats for Kids
Eight-year-old Karli was adopted from Guizhou Province and wanted to help with LWB's Coats for Kids project to provide warm winter coats for all the children in an impoverished Guizhou village. Karli made a donation from her own money and then started a coat drive to request donations for 105 coats. A family friend made a donation for 25 coats and said she would match any coat donations received until Karli reached her goal. We are grateful and happy to report that Karli has exceeded her goal! Donations inspired by this amazing young girl will keep many, many children warm this winter!
Senior Thesis
Mei Ling Messner is currently a senior at a charter school in Phoenix, Arizona and as one of her graduation requirements, had to choose a Senior Thesis. Because she was adopted from China and has a strong passion for social justice and humanitarian efforts, she knew she wanted to choose a topic that incorporate both of those aspects of her life. After many years of volunteering with LWB, she knew that LWB supported many operations that changed lives for many orphans in China (and these life-changing operations could sometimes lead to their adoption!). She decided to craft her academic thesis to look at the occurrence of orofacial clefts in Chinese children, with the ultimate goal of her project to be sponsoring a child to receive a cleft operation. She rallied her friends and family, started a blog, held a fundraiser at local restaurants and put together a musical ensemble to play various events to raise over $2,000! Through Mei Ling's efforts, she was able to fully fund a surgery and was a life-changing experience for her!