Stage 3 Completed! Fundraiser Fully Funded!

Hi everyone, the final stage for Francisco's fundraiser was completed and so now the family will have a new room constructed which will provide them with a safer and sturdier home. Thank you to everyone who was able to help with this challenging fundraiser! Hopefully the construction will begin soon and we will receive updates and photos. Sponsor Steve (who sponsors, Evelyn, Francisco's sister) will be visiting the family in December so hopefully we will have new photos, videos, and updates on the family. Have a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year! God bless.

Stage 3 of Francisco's Fundraiser

Hi everyone,

A new FG fundraising page has been created to complete the final stage of the project to build a new room for Francisco and Evelyn and their family.Thanks to many of generous sponsors we have already raised over $2,000.00 in order to build a safe, secure and comfortable new room for this family. However, although stage one and stage two fundraisers have been completed, we still have about another $825.00 to raise in order to raise the required funds. Now it is time to begin stage 3 for final stage. The need is still great - probably more so as time passes and there is some urgency to begin construction before the torrential spring rains begin and make the crumbling shack even more dangerous. Some of the holes in the walls are only covered with portions of cotton sheets which will not stop the rain coming in and turning their dirt floor into wet mud. We hope, therefore, that you will be equally generous or spread the word to other prospective donors so that the new room can be built as soon as possible
Steve, Evelyn's sponsor, will be visiting the family in December and it would be wonderful if Steve would be able to advise this worthy family that they will soon have the house that they have only dreamed about.

Please consider helping to complete this final stage by donating whatever you can. The family will be very appreciative of your generosity and the children will certainly thrive in a safer and sturdier home. We have high hopes and a vision for Evelyn and Francisco and we want to ensure that this dream of a safer living environment becomes a reality for this family. A heartfelt thank you again to all of you wonderful sponsors and friends who have donated to Stage 1 and Stage 2. And a warm thank you to all who have given their time, effort, words of encouragement to help make this dream become a reality. Thank you and God bless.

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/sharon-clyburn/aroomoftheirownstage3

A video of the family's room to be rebuilt:

http://community.liftone.org/service/linkOut.kickAction?as=121091&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7_qXmmb7mwY&h=959758aa4b7dc7d5e25c5a178ebf543

A video of Francisco and Evelyn riding along with mom and little brother, Samy on a sponsor visit (Summer 2011)

http://community.liftone.org/service/linkOut.kickAction?as=121091&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DgJehhh-7SuY&h=14d1d5360be766d406c42b2f9624

Stage 2-Aura's House

Hi everyone, if you are interested in participating in the raffle on Aura's
House to raise funds for stage 2 of Francisco's Home Improvement project, the
deadline for entry has been extended to Oct. 31! God bless

Link:
http://aurashouse.com/2011/09/active-room-construction-project-for-evelyn-and-francisco-of-colombia/

Francisco's Project on Aura's House (Stage 2)

Hi everyone, Francisco and his sister Evelyn's project is now currently posted
on Aura's House. Aura's House posts fundraisers to help raise funds for children who are sponsored through Children International. We are hoping to raise enough funds to complete the second stage of the project to construct a sturdy room for Francisco's family.


"Evelyn (11) and her brother Francisco (8) of Colombia live with an extended
family of thirteen members in very cramped quarters. Their home consists of one
multi-use room, which is made of brick walls with a zinc metal roof and a dirt
floor. Francisco, Evelyn, their mom, little brother Samy, and new baby sister,
Valentine, sleep in an adjacent room which has a dirt floor, one brick wall,
with the three remaining walls constructed of broken pieces of wood, and odd
scrap of rusty, corrugated metal. The roof is similarly made up of odd bits of
metal with gaps that allow the torrential rains into their living space. This
family is desperately poor and conditions are cramped, hot, and humid. A sturdy
all purpose room and a decent concrete floor for Evelyn and Pancho's family
would improve matters considerably and give them much more comfort and privacy."

To help kick off this project, we are raffling off a $100 Amazon Gift Card OR a
$100 donation to the Charity or Firstgiving Project of your choice (donated by
Steven H.) to one lucky Aura's House donor. All you need to do to enter is to
donate at least $10 to this project between September 2, 2011 and October 15,
2011 at 5PM EST. Each additional donation of any amount over $10 will get you
another entry up until October 15, 2011. (So if you decide to donate $30 for
example, that would get you three entries.) The winner will be chosen at random
on or before October 25, 2011 and notified by email and shortly after the gift
card or donation will be on its way. Whomever wins can choose which they would
prefer."

Please click on the link below for more information:

http://aurashouse.com/2011/09/active-room-construction-project-for-evelyn-and-francisco-of-colombia/

Francisco's Birthday

Hi everyone,

Francisco has a birthday coming up on Oct. 27 and I wanted to remind everyone
that if you would like to contribute to his fundraiser as a birthday gift,
instead of sending gifts, this would be a great way to contribute to a project
that will have a long term effect in his life as his family will greatly benefit
from having a sturdy room to sleep in. His fundraising page on First Giving is:

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/sharon-clyburn/a-room-of-their-own

We are trying to have the room constructed in three stages. The second stage
will be posted on Aura's House soon. Thank you and God bless.

Slowly but Surely!! :)

Hi, I hope that everyone had a wonderful blessed Easter Holiday! We have more wonderful news to share!! Thanks to our latest group member Lori we have now passed the goal to purchase the truck load of gravel and are almost 30% towards out goal for the First Stage of the fundraiser. This now means that we have already raised enough for both the truck load of sand and also one of gravel. Plus, we even have an extra $13.50 which will purchase a bag of cement and a few bricks.

We now only have 34 bags of cement to buy at about $11.00 per bag if anyone is able to help out. And though we also still need 550 bricks, at about 75 cents each hopefully it would really help if someone could buy a couple of bricks at a time. Has anyone ever thought about doing a penny drive at your school, church, or in your neighborhood? Pennies add up and each penny is one step closer to making this vision for Francisco and his family a reality. Slowly but surely we are edging closer to providing Evelyn and Pancho's family with the desperately needed all purpose room.

Thank you for your help and God bless!

Good News on Pancho's Fundraiser!

Hi everyone, we have wonderful news that we are only $23.00 away from raising a truck load of gravel for the family's new room. Wouldn't it be great if we could complete this part over the Easter holiday?!!!

Thanks to all who have donated through the First Giving page and those who have contributed directly to CI. Have a blessed holiday!

Francisco's Fundraiser

Here is a breakdown of Francisco and Evelyn's Fundraiser in three stages, as developed by sponsor Barbara. So far we have a little over $200. Please spread the word to help make this fundraiser a success. Thank you!

Fundraiser

Dear Sponsors of Francisco,

If you would like to make contributions to Francisco's fundraiser through the group account, this is fine. Just let me know when you are sending a contribution in so that I can send this information to Debbie to credit your account. No contribution for this fundraiser is too small. Thank you and God bless.

Fundraiser for Francisco

Hi everyone,

This is a special notice to let you know that we are kicking off a fundraiser to raise funds for an additional room that Francisco and his family can have to improve their living conditions. We are hoping to do this project in stages. The fundraiser is posted on FirstGiving here:

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/sharon-clyburn/a-room-of-their-own

So far we have had some contributions and if you can help us out in any way, please visit the fundraising page. Here are additional suggestions for raising funds to help Francisco, that were developed by Barbara. Thank you for your support of Francisco and his family.

Fundraising Tips

If you have computer skills, make a collage of photos of Pancho and Evelyn's family showing the dreadful state of their living conditions and add what we are trying to achieve. Add the list of construction materials required and ask for donations. See below-

1) Keep a jam jar or something similar in your hallway for Pancho and Evelyn's hallway and when going out, transfer loose coins into it. You will be surprised how quickly the odd coins add up. If you have children, get them involved as well.

2) If you belong to a church, why not ask the congregation for assistance to help the family be able to build a room for themselves? You could choose one of the construction items. For example the bricks cost $403.85 and you could ask people to contribute $2.00 or more, per brick.

3) If you teach at school, ask the teachers or kids to help buy one of the smaller items with either a penny drive or a bake sale. Perhaps if you have children at school, you could check with their teacher for a similar idea.

4) If you have a group of friends, consider hosting a brunch or a barbecue on a special day such as Easter, July 4, or during a game. It could even be pot luck, but advise guests ahead of time that it will be for a fundraiser for an additional room.

5) It will soon be spring, so why not get rid of some things you don't need any more in a yard sale displaying your collage and telling neighbors that all proceeds will be going towards the fundraiser. If you have any kids, encourage them to have a lemonade stall or bake some cookies for sale-it will add up.

6) If you work, display your collage to your working colleagues and ask if they can spare a few dollars for the fundraiser.

7) If you are a student, try to get other students involved. Perhaps when the weather is better, organize a run for pledges for the additonal room.

8) If you belong to any other organizations, consider taking your collage and asking for small donations to help this family.

9) If you have a medical condition and live near a hospital, check to see if they are offering cash to participate in a study. I receive $20.00 for blowing in a tube!!

See what ideas you can think of, even if you are financially challenged yourself.



Thanks again and God bless!

Completing the Fundraiser in Stages

This was shared by Barbara, one of Francisco's sponsors:

It would probably be best to do the fund-raising in three separate stages.

1) The foundation and concrete flooring which would require the following.
a truck load of sand - $171.98
rocks - $127.47
35 bags of cement
though all might not be
needed for the floor alone $388.46

Total costs for materials $687.91
Plus a rough estimate of
labour costs. - $312.09
- Approximate Grand Total- $1,000.00

If each group member would be able to donate an extra $35.00 say in April that would raise $420.00 and if Steve Hogan could manage $580.00, that would raise the required first installment.

Total $1,000.00

If that is not feasible and each person can only afford $30.00 that would equal.
- $360.00
Plus matching amount from Steve -
$360.00

Total - $720.00

If fewer bags of cement were purchased that might just be enough to make a start. Having so many bags of cement lying around might make it irresistable for poor people wanting to steal for profit.


Barbara also suggested that we try to raise funds through our church, school, or local store for example.

"When/if you get any ideas from the other group members could you also add my last suggestion of perhaps taking on one of the items as an individual fund-raiser either the bricks, sand or small rocks, cement, etc., If some one belongs to a church with a congretion of say 200 and they ask each person to donate a mere $2.00 that would pay for the bricks!! Plus any other ideas that occurr to you or others. e.g. having a spare change jar which soon adds up." Barbara


I think that this is a great idea! Other possibilities are putting the fundraiser on First Giving or Aura's House to gather more contributions.

Please post here or on the Yahoo group if you have other suggestion or ideas to help this family! Thank you so much!

We Need Your Help!

Hi everyone,

I have emailed most of you to see if you might be interested in helping out
with a new fundraiser for Francisco. We are wanting to add an additional room
to Francisco's home, especially now that his new baby sister is here. Steve,
his sister's sponsor, inquired to see how much the construction might cost,
after learning that building a new walkway into the home would not be feasible
at this time.

With 13 people in the home now that the new baby has arrived, Francisco's family
really needs some additional space. The details for the room construction will be posted next, and we are thinking of possibly doing the fundraiser in stages.

Steve will match any funds that can be raised. If you are interested in helping
out with this fundraiser in any way, please let me know! We could really use
your help although I know that times are tough financially for just about
everyone.

Thank you for all that you have done to help make life better for Francisco. God bless.

Shana
Co-ordinator

Fundraiser Goal Reached!

Thanks to many generous donations, Francisco's Fundraiser has been completed. The family will be able to get food and a blender. Francisco will receive new clothes, shoes, and bed sheets. A few days ago Debbie said that the family will receive the items in January. Thanks to everyone who contributed to make this fundraiser a big success!

Francisco's Fundraising Goal Has Been Reached!! :)

Yaaaay!!1 Hi everyone, we have reached the First Giving fundraising goal for Francisco and his family. Thank you to everyone who participated. This will make a wonderful Christmas Gift!! I am so happy that this was finished before Christmas :) Photos of the items received by Francisco and his family will be posted here and on the Yahoo Group page. He will also be receiving MAC Christmas gifts soon. This should be a happy Christmas for this little fellow. God bless all!

http://www.firstgiving.com/franciscospage