Often the time spent doing research for blog posts & projects consists of many minutes browsing online stores and my favorite blogs for that perfect piece or idea to spark my creativity. However, every once in awhile I find something that extends well beyond simply jump-starting my imagination; a story that touches my heart and truly inspires.
It is with that I would like to introduce you to the Carter family (Steve, Sarah & Emerson) from Ground Swell to share with you their story in the adventure of adopting a little boy from Ghana.
Carters’ Story from Nick Benoit on Vimeo.
I had the opportunity to ask Sarah a few more questions about their journey and she shares her answers here:
How/why did you decide to adopt a child from Ghana
Firstly, when we first began to consider adoption, we paid close attention to our responses to the different stories we’d hear, both domestic and international. Every time we’d hear a story of domestic adoption, we’d feel inspired, but not moved. When we’d hear an adoption story about international adoption, it was impossible to keep the tears from flowing. Our hearts just connected with it in a way that led us to choose international.
We knew we wanted to pursue Africa and began praying about Uganda, Ethiopia and Ghana. Ghana is one of the most stable countries in Africa, but the poverty level is high and there are an estimated 1,000,000 orphans. We really fell in love with our agency, Adoption Advocates, too. They are amazing. Their website (
http://www.adoptionadvocates.org/ghana/ghana_process.php)
Regarding the fundraising process, what are some of the creative ways people have gotten involved to support you?
That has actually been one of the most wonderful surprises for us during this adoption process. I think many people are put off by the cost international adoption (an average of $30,000). I know for us it was a very intimidating number! But we knew that it was not going to keep us from our forever child, and we knew we were going to learn a lot about accepting help from others and being on the receiving end of generosity. We have had people give in the most creative ways: one friend who is a photographer set up an online auction to win a session of her photography services and donated all the bids to our adoption fund (we raised over $300 that way!). We’ve had people give us items to sell in a benefit yard sale (over $1,500 raised!), we had an incredible children’s clothing designer (www.finleyandoliver.com) donate her time and resources to create custom shirts to sell in a fundraiser ($1,200 raised!). The biggest fundraiser we’ve experienced was from a couple who were married a few months ago, and asked their guests to donate to our adoption instead of buying them wedding gifts! (What!?!) So incredible, and we were given $7,000 from them. There are tons of ways that people can become involved in an adoption story. Even if you don’t have the extra cash to give financially, you have gifts and talents you can use to help fundraise and support the families you may know who are adopting.
Tell us about the nonprofit you’re working with and how you got involved with them.
One of the wonderful things about Ghana and adoptive families is the instant community we’ve discovered. We may not have known anyone in Ghana before we began this adoption, but now thanks to community and social networking, we have made some incredible friends and allies. One of the most significant being Kristie O’Leary and her daughter Sydney. Sydney and her parents began the nonprofit Feeding the Orphans (http://feedingtheorphans.com/) after they adopted the first time from Ghana. They saw a void for children to have their basic needs met and felt they could raise awareness and finances here in the states. They recently partnered with City of Refuge in Ghana, another amazing nonprofit that works with children who are rescued out of the fishing slave trade, some as young as three. They work to place them in “safe homes” where they can recuperate and learn how to be kids again. Its an amazing program that I feel very called to help with. When we decided to adopt from Ghana, we knew that we would be forever connected to the country our child came from, and are committed to helping not only our child a better future, but as many kids as we can who desperately need it.
If people want to take part in supporting your fundraising and/or “feeding the orphans” how can they get involved?
Well, the most simple way is to give financially from our blog page here:http://www.cartersgroundswell.com/p/adoption.html We are about half-way to reaching our goal of $30,000 – which is an incredible feat! But the need is still great, and we would love to invite you into our adoption story.
I think the best advice I can give is to take a few moments, look around you at the things you already have going in your life, and ask how you can use 10% of it to make someone’s life forever-changed. Use what you have. Be creative. Help make the story amazing.
One more great example of a creative way to support the Carter family in their adoption process:
Desiree from the shop Hannah James is donating 50% of all her shop proceeds to our adoption fund for the entire month of July… this is such a creative way to use what you have to support adoption!
Thank you so much to the Carter family for taking part in today’s post! To get involved or for more on how you can support their adoption process, learn more {here}.
Check back tomorrow for an awesome give away courtesy of Ground Swell!
curtains: Urban Outfitters ($49) lighting: Urban Outfitters ($39) crib: IKEA ($80) bedding: Overstock.com ($101) additional accessories: changing pad cover, Etsy ($28) & floor pillow, Urban Outfitters ($40) dresser: IKEA, ($100)
The damask pattern wall pictured above is featured on Anthropologie.com. To get the look, I would recommend a large-scale wall stencil – or – if wall stencils aren’t your thing, mount fabric in large frames to mimic wall paneling. Try fabric like this (pictured left) from spoonflower.com to bring a few accent colors into the room.
