Sofia was an orphan with Down syndrome in Eastern Europe and now has a forever family.
Join us on our adoption journey and thank you for helping us bring her home!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Help Bring Her Home

I am already overwhelmed by the generosity of friends, family and strangers who have donated funds which will help us get Sofia home as quickly as possible. The total cost for Sofia's adoption will likely be around $25,000. That's a huge number but I think we can do this! Every little bit counts. We are so grateful to have such an amazing community supporting us. The length of time it takes to bring Sofia home depends on how quickly we can complete the paperwork and the paper "chase", the homestudy and then how quickly we can raise the money. This can take anywhere from 4 months (the soonest) to 9 months (the longest). We want her here sooner than later. This second year of her life is crucial in getting her the early intervention services she will so desperately need after living in an orphanage for 2 years.

There are a few things you can do to help us with our fundraising efforts and we are SO appreciate of any help we can get.

Please feel free to SHARE our blog with anyone you know, email your contact list, post on Facebook, anything...you have our permission! There is also a "BUTTON" (on the right side of our blog) that you may copy and use on your own blog or website and it links up to our Family Grant Fund page at Reece's Rainbow.

There are three different ways to give money to "Saving Sofia". You can donate money through our "Chip In" (also on the right side of our blog) which helps us directly with our upfront costs to get the adoption started. This is a direct donation to us through PAYPAL and helps us immediately.

You can also donate through Reece's Rainbow which is a tax deductible donation and goes into a Family Grant Fund for Sofia. You can mail Reece's Rainbow a check or paypal them the money at reecesrainbow@yahoo.com. The check would be made out to Reece's Rainbow and you put Sofia Sanchez in the memo section and it will get to her. (It is really important to put our last name because there are other little girls with the same first name). If you use the paypal method using their email, simply put Sofia Sanchez somewhere in either the subject line or comments section so it gets to the correct fund. The address for Reece's Rainbow is P.O. Box 4024 Gaithersburg, MD 20885.

You can also donate through our local Down Syndrome Information Alliance (DSIA). They have set up a collection fund for Sofia and this would also be a tax deductible donation. Again, just indicate on the check or on their donation link in the comments section that the funds are for the Sanchez Family (again VERY important so that it goes to Sofia's fund). The DSIA is also going to help plan some exciting local fundraising events so stay tuned to find out more about that!

If you have a company or employer matching program, the Reece's Rainbow and DSIA donations would definitely qualify.

If any of this is confusing or too complicated, you can contact me directly at jvaranini@yahoo.com and I can guide you through the process. Or you can send checks made out to Reece's Rainbow or DSIA to our home address and I will make sure they get to the right place.

We want to spread the word about Sofia not only to help us fundraise but to increase awareness of international adoption and Down syndrome, two things we are VERY passionate about now.

We are already so GRATEFUL to those who have helped us. EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS! It means the world to us and it means the world to Sofia.

Let's get her HOME!!!

5 comments:

  1. Good luck! I know how stressful it can be!!

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  2. LOVE Sofia!!! We'll be praying for your process! It's stressful but exciting!!! Try to cherish every moment... she'll be in your arms before you know it! Congrats! :)

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  3. Where do I start? I think I had better send you an email because this post would be too long. I have just found your blog from the Reece's Rainbow link and when I looked on your comments under Sofia's story...I couldn't believe how many of my blog friends have already found you. This is such a small world...one that I am so thankful to be a part of. In short, I am SOOO thankful that your family is getting Sofia, that you have a blog so that I can follow her life and that you are sharing this journey. I have a little girl, Ella, who has Ds and was born March 2008. I became instantly attached to Sofia as she is the same age as Ella. I know now isn't the time for us to adopt so I am so thankful that it is for you. I will email you with everything else I want to say!! Congratulations and God Bless You!!

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  4. Oh my gosh ... I just read on Denise's blog that Sophia had been committed to so I click over and it's you... it's really you!!I am beyond excited...Congratulations!!

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  5. I stumbled across Sherree's blog "The Phamily Blog" because I am "Phamily Blog" and I am fascinated by her lovely daughter Gabby & her equally adorable son. But when she posted about Sofia I had to get involved. May God Bless Your beautiful Phamily and let's all get together to see what we can do to help! Thank you for sharing.

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