The hard part of adoption and fundraising is that adoption is that both require a lot of WORK. I admittedly had grand fundraising ideas and schemes, and it was all left in the dust when handed the things that needed to be done to get my girl home.
We hunkered down and got down to business, and are happy to say that in what usually takes most 4 months, we’ve gotten done in 2. Shortly we will have our home study in hand and be progressing to the next steps (although we are already halfway done with those too!)…but completing this one is BIG!
Now that we have a moment to breathe, we are coming back around to the idea of fundraising. Thankfully in the midst of us doing basically nothing, we have had some incredibly generous people that have donated and helped us get closer to our girl. I’m seriously overwhelmed as I think of some of those people…some dear friends, family, a college student, re-allocated Christmas gifts from those who want us to get our girl more than they want a restaurant gift card, and people who we barely know but have given much. I’m tearing up at the generosity that has already been shown to us.
Although we have made progress doing basically nothing, I’m not really a do nothing sort of gal, so we are having our first big fundraising sale on January 22.
It will be an Instagram sale. These are basically an online consignment sale. The first person to put their paypal email and zip code, gets the item. After the sale, there will be an invoice sent to the email provided, and once the item is paid for (though paypal), it will be shipped out. Local pickup is also available, though should be noted when giving email during the sale.
I’m excited to have my first sale through a great host: lilliesofthefield I’ve actually purchased several items through them in support of other adoptive families, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to use their follower base to help kick start our fundraising!
From there, I’ve created my own Instagram account (just.love.one) where I will be hosting additional sales, and selling items I’ve made, or other artisans have donated to be sold. While I’m doing this for my own families fundraising needs, I hope that going forward, I can use it to help others in their adoptions or needs.
I picked that name (just.love.one), because I often can get overwhelmed by the needs everywhere I look, and I imagine others may feel the same. Sometimes I need to focus on just loving one. Loving the one right in front of us, or beside us, in our lap, or across the ocean. As we get really good at loving one, it grows and expands. Loving people well can seem overwhelming, but if we focus on one, it seems doable.
In order to participate in these sales, you will need to be on Instagram, and be signed up for Paypal. Instagram is my favorite social media outlet, and I think it’s worth singing up for, not just for the sale. It’s also a great way to keep up with our family, as I post a lot more there, then I do elsewhere. You can go to the website above, or download the free app on your phone or tablet.
If you’ve bought stuff online, chances are you may have used Paypal. If not, it’s super easy to sign up and a really great tool for online shopping, or interacting with small businesses.
Once you are signed up (or if you already are), be sure to follow lilliesofthefield and just.love.one (to do this just click on the magnifying glass at the bottom of the app, and under users search the above names).
My first sale for lilliesofthefield will be on January 22 at 8pm central time (9pm eastern!)
I’ve got everything from boutique pillows, to kids clothes/shoes, women’s accessories, women’s clothing, handmade earrings and clutches, and more!
Here is a little sneak peak at some of my favorite items in the sale.
To see more sneak peaks, be sure to follow lilliesofthefield and just.love.one on Instagram, and set your reminders for 8pm central/9pm easter on January 22!