Thoughts on the Trip and Fundraising Efforts

I am so honored to be among such a wonderful group of people who are giving so much and working so hard to make other's lives a little easier.

It brings tears to my eyes when I think that some families have trouble putting food on the table for their kids. Last night, my kids couldn't decide what they wanted for dessert since they had been so good, so they had both popcorn and bananas. We are all so truly blessed to have so much, and it humbles me to think of all the people of GAFI and the people of MFC who are working so hard to help these families who are less fortunate.

Our GAFI Fundraising group - Amor Sin Limites -Love Without Boundaries - has decided to focus our attentions to the school in San Jorge. Our GAFI group has already raised more than $1500 and some of our donations can be seen on Sarah's post below.

Although schools are free for the students, there are a lot of fees involved. Several members of GAFI sponsor children for school through Mayan Families and we are also committed to helping these families make a better life for themselves. We are bringing down lots of supplies for these families and will purchase food while are there. Can you believe that a month worth of food for the family only costs $40!! I spend more than that for one week's groceries! It takes so little to make such a big impact!

Members of GAFI have been very generous and supportive of our efforts, and we have also received a lot of support from our family and friends, the MFC group and the Guatemalan adoptive community. We truly appreciate your generosity. A special thank you to those members of GAFI who are going on this trip and paying all their own expenses! And, thank you to my kid's dentist Dr. Pareja in Columbia, MD who has volunteered to be a collection center for donations. We have collected a lot of great clothes and shoes to take down with us. I would also like to thank my coworkers who banded together and bought 350 boxes of crayon for the school which I will be taking with me on this trip. A special thank you also goes out to my cousins Stuart and Bret, and to Cantor Marge for very generously supporting my efforts. Finally, I want to thank my parents, not only for their support for our sponsored families in San Jorge, but also for making this trip possible for me by taking care of my kids. I am so grateful to everyone involved in this effort!!

More information about our fundraising efforts can be found at the following webpages:

http://www.geocities.com/gafifund/cookbooks.html
http://www.geocities.com/gafifund/donations.html
http://www.cafepress.com/gafi

Direct donations for this trip can also be sent via paypal to: GAFIFund@yahoo.com

Thank you all so very much.

Rena