There is definitely a sense of urgency to get Stephen here...this year. He is 15, and things get WAY MORE difficult once he turns 16.
So here is our plan. We have hired Steffas Law to help us get Stephen here. Well...let me rephrase that...we are in the process of hiring them because we have to put out the initial $2500 to get things moving. We are looking at upwards of $25000 of NEW costs in this process that we started almost 3 years ago. As I have said before... we are looking at starting completely over.
Friends, we need help. We are going to make a BIG push to get Stephen here...this year...before he turns 16. I am hoping to do some fundraisers...but honestly, we don't have a lot of time to do that. I have started our t-shirt campaign..which!!! We have had great success so far with and I'm greatly encouraged by everyone who has pre-purchased a shirt!! I hope to have a booth at Band Day here in Williston to make some money....We're thinking of having a cupcake bar!!! The kids would like to donate their Lemonade Day booth proceeds towards the adoption..I'm so proud of them and their thoughts and efforts to do what they can... AND we would like to maybe also have flock of flamingos so people can "flock" their friends in efforts to raise money for legal fees, travel costs, etc.
So.......Here is our current plan. We are going to get a loan so that we can have all the necessary money up front so that we can get things moving AND keep them moving. A BIG push is going to require that funds are readily available as soon as they are needed. We have gone about this whole adoption thing backwards and it seems that we are going to continue on that path. It is likely that our fundraising efforts will happen after the fact. What that will mean is that a lot of our time, effort, and money this year will be used to build some crazy momentum to get Stephen here. Do we like the idea of getting a loan? Not really, but we don't have time on our side to adopt debt free. Again, that urgency to get him here THIS YEAR is VERY great!
Do we have any friends that could loan us the money interest free? OR... Maybe you know someone/a business that could do this? We would be VERY interested in talking with you/them. An interest free loan is appealing for obvious reasons.
Would you like to give money towards our efforts? SUPER! You can get a hold of Steve or Jenn (she's more likely to get back with you quicker ;-) ) I have a specific account set up for this... You can either PayPal money to my email address or you can give money through Square Cash (please personally message me to get the details for either one) ....AND.... I will likely will be setting something up online to do crowdfunding (something new to me).
Do you have ideas about how we can raise money? TERRIFIC!! Please let Jenn know and she'll see if it's a good fit and something she can do. She's always open to ideas and help.
Let's Bring Stephen Home!!! This year!!
