31 for 21

You may have noticed a new button on the right side of this blog.  October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month!  I think I jumped the gun on that a bit with a few of my posts in September, but I look forward to continuing that momentum this month.

To start, my family will be participating in the Massachusetts Buddy Walk this Sunday!  Please sponsor us!

If you like, you can also click back through the button and see what other people are writing this month.

Massachusetts Down Syndrome Buddy Walk 2012!

The potential of people with Down syndrome has increased tremendously in recent years.  What used to be a dead end in most cases just 50 years ago, is now just an extra challenge with incredible rewards.  Children with Down syndrome are a joy to their families and all who know them.  Medical advances, early intervention, and increased inclusion and awareness has made it possible for them to expect normal lives, including college, gainful employment, marriage, and full participation in the community.

My family will be participating in the Down Syndrome Buddy Walk on October 7!  I am so excited!

Please donate here to support Down Syndrome awareness!

Complex Ethical Decisions 2 - Adoption vs. In-country Help

Renee is one of my favorite bloggers.  I am totally awestruck by the impact she has been able to make in just a few months for the children of Orphanage 39.  So many older children with special needs who now have families coming for them!

At the same time, I recently started thinking out of the box on this issue.  A few of these teenagers were ready to qualify for government scholarships to university studies in Ukraine, but were unable to pursue this because no Ukrainian universities are wheelchair accessible.  Hmmm.  How much does it cost to build ramps and elevators?

International adoption is expensive.  Whether you pay for it out-of-pocket or spread the cost around by fundraising, it takes alot of money to complete the process.  Multiplied by the number of kids at Orphanage 39 and elsewhere who could benefit from improving accessibility in their own country, and it really adds up!

I think that it is wonderful that these boys and girls will have new homes where they will have many opportunities opened to them in the United States.  But it will be stressful for them to learn a new language, culture, and even religion.  To break with all that is familiar to them and connect with new family and friends. In many ways, it would have been easier for them to go to a Ukrainian university if accessibility was improved.  Furthermore, installing handicapped access would benefit not only them, but many others for whom this is a major obstacle to higher education, both today and in the future.  Instead of rescuing just a few children, the money raised could be used to improve the lives of many, many more.

Another benefit to in-country help is that by enabling handicapped children to participate in their own society more fully, other people learn that the disability does not define the person.  A person can be in a wheelchair and participate in all activities with their peers.   A person with a disability can have a normal life.  What would be the impact of this on new parents of a child with special needs?  What would be the impact on the doctors who advise these new parents?

How do you decide how to spend your charity money?

Ethics of the Fathers Day 14

In Chapter 5, we read,

There are four types of contributors to charity. One who wants to give but does not want others to give--is begrudging of others. One who wants that others should give but does not want to give--begrudges himself. One who wants that he as well as others should give, is a chassid. One who want neither himself nor others to give, is wicked.

I find this an interesting commentary on fundraising for special needs adoption.  Fundraising gives others an opportunity to participate in the mitzvah of rescuing an orphan, without demanding that they take the same leap of faith as the adopting parents.  Trying to do it all yourself is not only making your life harder -- but it is begrudging of others, by depriving them of the opportunity to be a part of the miracle.   Likewise, avoiding participation on the grounds of "I'm not called to it" is not necessarily evil, but it is begrudging oneself.  Avoiding a mitzvah is missing an opportunity!

Bake sale for Life2Orphans

My daughters' theater group put on a phenomenal production of Annie this past weekend.  They were beginning the rehearsal cycle for this at the same time that I was discovering Reece's Rainbow and all the stories about conditions in orphanages.  So I asked the director of the group if we could use this as an opportunity to raise awareness and fundraise for real orphans.  He was very excited about the idea, and asked me to put something together.  I asked the kind readers at reecesrainbowforum.org for charity suggestions, and Life2Orphans.org seemed to be the best fit.  Here is the display we had at the bake sale:

We raised over $500 during the 2 shows!  I had people coming up to me and telling me how moved they were, and giving me $20 bills for the collection box.  I had people telling me their own stories of people they knew who were involved in orphan rescue.  Wow!