AHOPE will send you a beautiful card (with envelop) suitable to announce your donation with space for you to add a personal message.

With a minimum donation of $25.00 per card, this is an excellent way to give a gift in the true spirit of the holidays to a friend, loved one or to honor someone’s memory.  Your gift will go a long way to help an orphan with HIV receive the medical treatment, food, clothes and education they need to grow into healthy, self-sufficient adults.

This is the season of gatherings where we give thanks for all our blessings. We are grateful for family, for friends, for the bounty that is ours. But a child who has no family is missing out. Holidays may be celebrated in an orphanage, but it is not the same as the gathering around of people who love each other for better or for worse, for who they are, forever and ever.

The older an children are quite aware that something is missing from their lives. If they have had a family, they miss family. If they have never had a family, they miss what they imagine might have been and, saddest of all, may be resigned to the fact that what they miss will probably never happen for them, and they have seen their friends leave for new families. They wonder why no one wants them.

My definition of older child is one who is now a teen. Adoption of these children is relatively rare. But they need families, too. Yes, they come with a history, but they come with a track record as well. If a child is well liked and trusted by the other children and the caregivers, you have a winner. If a child is kind to the younger children, you have a winner. AHOPE Ethiopia’s teen house has winners who need a chance, who need a family.

I speak from experience. Two of our children arrived as teens—the 16 year old (last chance kid) and the 15 year old. Unlike the AHOPE children, they were not prepared for adoption and spoke not a single word of English. Despite many challenges, the 16 year old Last Chance Kid now is a graduate of the University of Washington and employed by NOAA. The 15 year old now is working on her Master of Education, teaching preschool, and has a true gift for engaging with children challenged by autism. Both are very much part of the family, very attached to their other siblings, their mom and dad, and truly a blessing to all of us, forever and ever.

When you gather for the Thanksgiving feast, look around and see if it seems that someone is missing. Consider adopting an older child. He or she is waiting. If you start now, maybe by next Thanksgiving, you will have yet another reason to give thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! Kathy Olsen

500 Sponsors Campaign

“I will never forget the first time I looked at the picture of the little girl we sponsor through AHOPE. Her smile said what our family already knew; she is worth it. She is worth sacrificing a little each month to make a huge difference in her life.”

AHOPE is working to reach the 500 sponsor level for its children in need, and . . .
AHOPE's Cooperative Sponsorship Program makes it easy - find 10 friends, 10 co-workers, 10 of your family members. Make it a project in your church, your neighborhood, your child's school.  A one year AHOPE sponsorship is just $420.00. When you divide that amount among a few friends it is a number that is easy to reach.

Each member of your AHOPE Cooperative Sponsorship group will receive the sponsored child's picture and information. Updates will be sent to every member in the group - whether it is a group of 3 or 13.

You gather the group; AHOPE will connect you to a child in need.

For more information contact Nicky at volunteercoordinator@ahopeforchildren.org

Are you looking for a new challenge?
Have you thought about volunteering?
Can you identify with AHOPE’s mission to vulnerable orphans infected with HIV/AIDS?

Then, maybe you should consider volunteering with AHOPE’s Board of Directors.

If you are a seasoned accountant with a CPA, have a strong desire to help those in need, and want to advance AHOPE’s work with orphans and their extended family members in Ethiopia, . . .

PLEASE CONTACT:
Jennifer Olsen, Board President
jolsen@resourcefullhr.com
For more information.

While reviewing some older photographs from my travels in Ethiopia, an ocean of memories and experiences began to flood back.  Having visited Ethiopia several times during the past five years, I always return home with one or more experiences that have had a more profound effect on me.  One of these important and truly meaningful experiences is “The farewell Ceremony.”