Great News
A grant of $25,000 has be given to Blessing hands for the spring and fall semesters of 2006. Founding Family Charitable Foundation located in Nashville, Tennessee is partnering with us. They are also offering to match any funds sent to their address by Blessing Hands donors. I am quoting their letter below so that I will tell it exactly right.
“Also, beyond the initial $25,000: We will match another set of funds you receive from your donors, who know your work and want to help, up to $12,500. That is, if you can get contributions for up to $12,500,we will match $12,500 for another $25,000, making a grand total of $50,000. This needs to be from other donors, and does not include your personal contributions, or your family members' contributions,to the work. It does not have to be new donors, however; existing donors can be informed of the matching funds, and if they write their checks to Founding Family Foundation, and mail to 1004 Rodney Dr, Nashville, TN 37205-1018, we will match their funds. …. For instance, if you have a donor who writes a check to Founding Family Foundation for $250, we will send them an acknowledgement/ appreciation letter for tax reporting purposes noting their contribution of $250, then we will write a check to Blessing Hands for $500. This applies to any donations received through December 31, 2006. Incidentally, they should probably put a sticky note on their check, or tell us in an attached note, that their contribution is for Blessing Hands. We all have a mutual love for China and its people, and we are excited to be able to work with you and benefit from your knowledge and experience.”
You can read more about the mission statement of Founding Family Charitable Foundation at www.foundingfamily.org. They give grants to people who want to adopt Chinese children and cannot afford the fees. They also want to help children all over the world. Blessing Hands is blessed to be partnered with them.
You can see Sara Rummage (center) and Nina Ottinger listening to the presentation Anna Liu and I prepared for FFCF. Anna had prepared a powerpoint presentation about Chinese schools for an eariler meeting, and it was easy to merge her information with pictures from Yangshuo and Qinzhou. Anna is the head English teacher at Number One Middle School in Qinzhou, China. She administered a summer English camp I taught in in 2004. She and I prepared the Qinzhou proposal together, and her school and the rural middle schools around Qinzhou will receive some of the grant for the poor countryside children there. Blessing Hands is already growing beyond one area of China. Someday we hope to be in Taiwan and Honduras helping children there.
