Hawaii, anyone??

Aloha,

In an effort to raise funds for the adoption my family and friends have organized a fundraiser to help cover the costs. One adoption is a struggle and two in a year is financially impossible, at least for a teacher and soon to be mother of two. Every donation of $50. or more will get you a chance for a 10 day trip to Maui. We are only selling 275 chances. The goal is to raise $10,000 of the adoption costs. The additional $$$ will go towards the prize. This should cover about 1/2 of the costs. I'm hoping to receive some grants to help with the other 1/2. Please read the letter below for more details and feel free to spread the word. You can contact my cousin,Kate, at katemcentee@comcast.net or my mom,Mary Ann, at lorimerma@aol.com if you are interested in buying or selling chances.

Dear Friends and Family,

I am calling upon all of you to reach deep into your hearts and help someone very close to me reunite two baby sisters back together again. As most of you know from me and my mom, Maria Quinn, my mom's best friend from child-hood's daughter, a.k.a my "cousin" has recently adopted a beautiful now 7-month old baby girl, Tsebay from Ethiopia. I have included pictures for all to see. If I have not had the opportunity to tell you about Maria and Tsebay's journey, here is a brief look at how their lives have been brought together.

Maria, a single-woman living Maui, HI (Philly raised), who has a most fulfilling job as a teacher and mentor (not to mention a Big Sister for the last 6 years to two local boys) wanted to adopt a little girl, and for many reasons was drawn to Ethiopia. Well not long into the process, Maria found her little girl, Tsebay!

Soon after the news, Maria and her mom, Mary Ann, went on the long journey to Ethiopia to be united with their baby. While in Ethiopia, Maria had the opportunity to meet her new daughter's birth mom! However, the circumstances were not celebratory as Tsebay's mom had dropped off her two-year old daughter, Kozit, (Tsebay's big sister) at the orphanage just that week. The girls' birth mom asked Maria to take Kozit with her and Tsebay and "teach" her as she will Tsebay. Well at the time, Maria could not legally take the older sister even if she was prepared to. She would have to go through the entire process again from the beginning, as this is an entirely new adoption. The paperwork started as soon as the plane landed in the States and the process is getting under way. From the moment it was asked of her, Maria knew in her heart there was no way that she could leave Kozit behind to grow up without her sister (As I am sure we would all feel).

After about a month in New Jersey with Mimi and Pop-Pop (formerly known as Mom and Tom), Maria and Tsebay are now back at home in Maui. And while Maria is happy to be home with Tsebay, there is a sadness lingering as she thinks of Kozit waiting at the orphanage to be reunited with her sister.

Okay - so why am I telling you all this, except to share a wonderful, yet unbelievable story on how life and priorities change in an instant. Friends and family members of Maria (myself and my family included) are putting together a fund-raising raffle where all of the proceeds will help to pay to reunite Kozit with Maria and Tsebay. What we are planning to raffle off is a wonderful trip to Maui (or the winner could choose the cash equivalent). A minimum donation of $50.00 will get your name in the raffle.

Specifically, the 10 day trip to Maui will include:
-round trip tickets for two
-a lei greeting at the airport
-10 day accommodations in a cottage on the North Shore of Maui
-10 day car rental
-2 nights out at beautiful Maui restaurants
****The cash out option will be: $3000****

As you may or may not know, the cost to adopt a child is in the tens of thousands. If we exceed the costs of the adoption, any additional money raised will be donated to the wonderful adoption agency (Gladney Center for Adoption) that has brought Maria to Tsebay and soon to Kozit.

The drawing will take place on November 1st, and the winner will be contacted via telephone. You can track the progress of the drawing by visiting mquinn.blogspot.com, in addition to seeing the status of the raffle, you can also see pictures of the sisters and get updates on the progress of the adoption.

Please take some time to digest what I have just told you and think about the future you are helping to provide this two-year old little girl. Please consider helping this wonderful family, as I am sure the joy you will feel from knowing you have made a huge impact in another person’s life will far surpass any dollar amount. Any bit will help, so again, please give this some thought and talk to your friends, neighbors, family members, co-workers and ask them to chip in or buy a ticket themselves!

If you are interested, please email me at katemcentee@comcast.net or you can call me at 856-467-5117 and I will make sure I get you the tickets you would like to purchase. Our goal is to get 275 tickets sold so please pass this along to anyone interested in winning a trip or even more importantly, helping to bring Kozit home to her little sister!

Thank you all for taking the time to read this letter. I hope you are able to help (but will still love you if you can't!)

Warmest regards,

Kate