Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Thanks!

Thank you to the following families for your donation boxes this week:

Inga Bass (MS)
Daniel Eckman and Family (PA)
Teresa Kraft (SC)
The Nichols Family (MO)

Wedneday morning in Taraz the children will be receiving their New Year's presents along with fruit and candy. We will post picutres as soon as we receive them.

Happy New Year!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

New board member


We are happy to announce that Susan Serra of Florida has joined the board of Two Hearts. Susan has two children, Sean and Leeza. Leeza was adopted from Kostanai in October of this year after Susan and her family spent 11 weeks and 3 days in Kazakhstan. Susan brings an enthusiasm and heart for Kazakhstan that will bless our ministry greatly. We are looking forward to working with her!

This week we would like to thank the following families for the boxes of donations we received:

The Kudwa Family (MI)

The Hochstetler Family (IN)

The Kitzman Family (KY)

The Blackburn Family (AL)

Greta Owens and MOPS of Ocala FL

Leah Hardesty and Valencia County 4-H Apache Cloverbud Club- (Children that helped contribute) Camden, Brittney Sue Jones, Mikayla, Aidan, Katie Vigil, Duane Charles Jones, Maddy and Grady.

We are also very happy to report that Muriel was able to donate $566 from the proceeds of the Kazakh Cuties calendar!  Thank you to Muriel for organizing this project and for all that supported it!  

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

From Taraz......

We just received this email from our contact in Taraz. She had this to say about taking the orphans to the toy store:

“It went really well. We were able to take 72 children (almost exactly half) shopping. For the most part they really enjoyed it. One boy went through the whole store buying things that were about 100 Tenge or less (notebooks, rulers, markers, drawing paper, pens, etc). He probably ended up with about 40 items - we had to make up some extra labels for him. ☺

I got to take two little girls shopping. I walked with them through the clothes (which they said they wanted) to the stuffed animals (which they loved) and finally to the doll aisle. They both ended up choosing a 1 1/2 foot doll in a pink dress. They proudly carried their doll to the front of the store where we put a label on each one with their names and then they put their dolls in the cart after a few pictures. It was funny to watch how big their eyes got when they first saw the dolls. One of the two little girls had been at the orphanage for less than one week. This was her first experience doing anything with us and she was a bit scared at first. It was fun that she had something special happen during her first week at Ulan.

We have about 75 children left. Ten of these children are in the youngest children's group (preschool), so we will choose the gifts for them. About 15 were in the hospital. We will probably take one more trip to the store and then just purchase gifts for any children that are remaining. We are in the process now of getting the gifts wrapped so that we will be ready when it is time to give them out. Thanks so much (to you and your sponsors) for making this possible. The kids are having a great time. One of the girls said "so this is what it means to go shopping - I didn't know because I never went shopping before."


Isn't it amazing that giving a little provides a whole lot! Thank you once again to everyone who donated this year! You made it a success and brought many many smiles to those children who so desperately needed them!





We would also like to thank the following families for the donations we received this week:

Angie Frakes (WA)
The Reinoehl/Comporato Family (IL)
The Blackburn Family (AL)
The Kudwa Family (MI)

Remember that we are collecting underwear and cloth diapers for the month of December.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Cookbook Sale

$10 Cookbooks for sale!

We are selling our cookbook, "Cooking for Kaz: Meals for Hope" for $10!   This cookbook will make a great gift for anyone who loves to cook!  

There are only 70 left, offer good while supplies last!  

All the proceeds go to our continued efforts in Kazakhstan.

Please visit our website for info - www.twoheartsforhope.org 


Sunday, November 30, 2008

Raffle winner

Congratulations to Nealy Hughes of Alabama for winning our November raffle!  Thank you Nealy for your support!  

Please look for our next great raffle starting in January!

Happy Holidays!

Monday, November 24, 2008

Last chance-Updated

Tomorrow is the last day to order your Kazakh Cuties 2009 calendar. You can place your order via our paypal link on the sidebar (unless you are receiving this update to your email in which case you will need to visit our blog).

This week we thank The Kudwa Family (MI) ,The Wood Family (TX), Daniel Eckman (PA), The Comparato/Reinoehl Family (IL) and The Boykin Family (NC) for the great donation boxes sent in.

A complete list of orphan sponsors are available on our website - www.twoheartsforhope.org. We are accepting donations for orphan sponsorship until December 1st.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

One week left

Reminder - there is only one week left to purchase your tickets for our raffle of the month -

This month we will be raffling off a brand new, never before opened, Garmin StreetPilot c330 GPS system. This will be a perfect holiday gift. Cross of that special someone with this great item valued at $125.00. Tickets are $5 and all proceeds go to our continued efforts in Kazakhstan. This raffle will run until November 29th, with the winner being announced on November 30th.

Please visit our website, www.twoheartsforhope.org, to purchase your tickets or simply follow the paypal link on the sidebar to the left!

Thanks!

(If you are receiving this blog post via your email, you will need to visit our site. Posts delivered to your inbox will NOT contain paypal links, just text.)

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

This weeks sponsors

This week you can find a complete list of all those that have sponsored orphans on our website - www.twoheartsforhope.org

Please click the link "Visit our Thank You page" to find the list or go here - http://www.twoheartsforhope.org/thankyou.html

Thank you!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Calendar Preview

Muriel, another adoptive mom, made the calendar pages below and is selling them this holiday season. Half the proceeds will be donated to Two Hearts for Hope. Each calendar will have Kazakh and American holidays.

Calendars are $21.25 and can be purchased from our sidebar until November 25th. The calendars will ship the first two weeks of December, just in time for the holidays.


December

November

October

September

August

July

June

May

April

March

February

January

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Great news from Taraz!

Here is part of an email we received from our contact in Taraz!

"We are in the process of planning the shopping trip. It's going to take a bit of planning to pull off taking all of the kids to the store. I spoke with the vice director giving her a heads up last week. She seemed to be concerned that some of the kids wouldn't be able to handle picking out their own gifts. Today we went and spoke with the manager at the store and he is open to us coming. We will talk to the vice director more on Thursday and try to encourage her that it will be a good learning experience for them (how to behave in a store, how to make decisions, how to operate in a budget, etc). We are hoping to take all but a couple groups of the youngest children to the store and allow the kids to pick out their own gifts. For those that don't get to go, we will have their caregivers help choose gifts for them. Each child will be able to spend 2000 T. We will also probably purchase some candy and possibly some fruit for each child above the 2000 T to give them with their gifts.

We are going to take shifts of kids to the store, one or two groups at a time. We will give them 30 minutes to make their selections. We will place a label on the gift they choose and then place it into carts. At the end of the day (hopefully after about 6 shifts of children) we will check out all the gifts, take them back to the office, spend time wrapping the gifts, and deliver them around New Years. It should be lots of fun. We will work on getting pictures to send back to you ... we may have a problem getting pictures in the store itself (since they usually don't allow them), but we will try to convince them to make an exception for us. I will let you know how things go as we continue in the process."



Donations we have received in honor of others:

Contributor: Kari speckman
In honor of: Alla

Contributor: Sarah Lockwood
In honor of: Kevin, Happy Birthday sweetheart :-)

Contributor: Beth Sanders
In honor of: Drew

Contributor: Brian Ridge
In honor of: Susan Serra

Contributor: Jane Herlihy
In honor of: Leeza Grace Serra

Contributor: Judith Krieger
In honor of: Saule Buettner from Taldy Korgan

Contributor: Michelle Zelazny
In honor of: Serik from Taraz

Contributor: Andrew and Alaina Falk
In honor of: Patrick, Calvin and Titus


Thank you to the following people who have sponsored orphans to date:

The Beasley Family (NC)
The Robinson Family (RI)
The Strieby Family (CA)
Deborah Smith and Family (NY)
The Gobble Family (OK)
Pink Watermelon Kids (MD)
Ellen Bresnick (MD)
Jennifer Collins and Family (MO)
The Sykora Family (CT)
Jody Yeh and Family (SC)
The Siachta Family (PA)
The Cohen Family (CT)
The Nunes Family (NJ)
The Hoffa Family (PA)
The Edwards/Schmidt Family (NY)
Marcia Krull and Family (WI)
Patty Bilbro (NC)
The Elrod Family (IL)
Michael Scott and Family (MA)
Eric Newton and Family (MA)
The Karp Family (NY)
Sybille Vought and Family (MI)
The Lloyd Family (TX)
Renee Rudis and Family (TN)
The Serra Family (FL)
Toni Rosendahl and Family (CA)
Cathy Williams and Family (FL)
Ginger Reichl and Family (FL)
Linda Rendleman and Family (FL)
The Brody Family (CT)
The Cuales Family (NC)
Tina Akavan and Family (FL)
The Bari-Guida Family (NY)
The Snyder Family (IA)
The Moore Family (MS)
William Price and Family (FL)
The Lewis Family (SC)
The Hochstetler Family (IN)
Brenda Menard and Family (RI)

A special thank you to Mateo and Natalia Sapp, both adopted from Kazakhstan, for using their own money to sponsor an orphan.

Our thanks to everyone for donating so far! We are incredibly blessed to have such great support. Because of your generosity the children of Taraz are going to have a great holiday!

Don't forget the deadline to sponsor an orphan is December 1st!

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Weekly Thank You's

Thank you to the following families for the great donations this week:

The Blackburn Family (AL)
The Bilbro Family (TN)
The Reinoehl/Comparato Family (IL)
The Tucker Family (MO)
The Cohen Family (CT)
Angie Frakes (WA)
The Hochstetler Family (IN)
Patricia Miller (NC)

Remember that we are asking for medical supplies this month. For a list of suggestions, please visit our website - www.twoheartsforhope.org

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Sponsorship Update

We have been informed that people giving in honor of others would like them to be recognized. If you are giving in honor of another for the holiday season, please note this in the special instructions on Paypal or with your mailed in donation by giving us the following information:

1) Your name

2) The amount of orphans sponsored for each individual

3) The recipients name

Please only include information you want included on our blog.

If you have already donated in honor of someone and would like to be acknowledged, please email us the information at - info@twoheartsforhope.org.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

New website!

We are so happy to announce that we have a new website! Check it out - www.twoheartsforhope.org

We are very grateful to our friend Inga Bass for creating and donating our new site. She put in hours and hours of hard work for us, all out of the goodness of her heart. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts Inga, we are so moved by your generosity.

The new site has everything that has been here plus a few new things. Please follow us to our new home - www.twoheartsforhope.org

We will continue our weekly "thank you's" and other smaller updates here.

Thank you for your support!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Do you want your Kazakh cutie to be a star?

Today we were contacted by Muriel, a fellow Kazakhstan Adoptive Parent and co-organizer of Kazapalooza. Muriel is going to create a 2009-2010 calendar staring YOUR Kazakh cutie. All you have to do is send her a high resolution photo of your child along with the month you want he/she featured in by November 15th.

The calendar will feature both Kazakh and American holidays and will be $20. The calendars will go on sale starting November 15th and will be shipped to you during the first two weeks of December, just in time for the holidays.

Half the proceeds from the calendar will go to our continued efforts to support Kazakhstan orphans.

Send photos by NOVEMBER 15th to murielcollison@hotmail.com.

What a terrific gift for family and friends!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Thank you!

This week we thank the following families for their wonderful donations:

Mary Mcnab (MN), The Blackburn Family (AL), The Bilbro Family (TN), The Strieby Family (CA), The Hoffa Family (PA), Angie Frakes (WA), The Nunes Family (NJ), The Crump Family (MO), The Young Family (MO), Jennifer Popes (MO), Angie Twenter (MO), Karletta Griffin (MO), The Wood Family (TX), and Ann Sloan (SC)!

We are happy to report that four more donation boxes are being delivered to Kazakhstan. Thank you to The Cullinan Family for taking two boxes to Karakastek; The Dosetter Family for taking a box to Karaganda and The Beasley Family. We are grateful for your help in making the children in Kazakhstan live just a little bit easier.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Great news!

Today we received word that Two Hearts is now a 501 (c) 3 non profit agency! All monetary donations are tax deductible! We are so excited and pray this will increase our support of the children in Kazakhstan.

We also learned that each sponsored child will be taken to the toy store to purchase a toy for themselves! Imagine the looks of excitement these children will have when they learn they will be going to a toy store! Hardly do they get to leave the orphanage, their lives are the same day after day.

So far we have 31 sponsored orphans! Please consider sponsoring an orphan and making their lives a little happier this New Year!

Thank you to The DeSantis Family (RI), The Woods Family (CA) and The Elrod Family (IL) for your donations this week.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Sponsor an orphan!

Believe it or not, the holiday season is fast approaching. This year, we are giving you the chance to truly make a difference in the life of an orphan in Kazakhstan. We have been blessed with the opportunity to provide each child at the Ulan Orphanage in Taraz with a special gift of their own for the New Year holiday.

There are 160 kids, ages 5-16, living at this children's home. Your $15 donation would sponsor 1 child and provide them with a great gift! Two Hearts will make sure that each child receives a gift! To save on shipping costs and time, all gifts will be purchased in Kazakhstan.

Any extra donations provided will go towards purchasing bicycles and roller blades for the children.

You can donate by using the paypal link on the left.

Deadline for supporting an orphan is December 1, 2008. We hope you will consider the children of Kazakhstan this holiday season! We can't find forever families for all the children but the very least we can do is make their holidays happy!

These are some of the children you will be helping (picture taken June 2008):



A special thank you to Hairy's Salon in Lebanon, MO for supporting our fundraiser and the Kudwa family for your donations this week.

Please don't forget October is blanket month!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

And the winner is.....

The winner of the $100 snapfish gift certificate and four picture frames is:

Kathy Sykora of Connecticut!

Thank you to Kathy and all who supported this months raffle.  We will be taking the month of October off but look for our November raffle for a great chance to win an awesome gift just in time for the holidays.

Thank you to The Blackburn Family (AL), The Mathis Family (MO), and Angie Frakes (WA) for your donations this week!

Remember - October is blanket month.  Each orphan should have a blanket or two to snuggle up with at night.  Help us keep them warm this winter!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Giving back

A couple of weeks ago we sent a 40 lb box of donations with the Serra Family to Kostanai, Kazakhstan. Papa Serra was traveling back for court and graciously offered to bring along some donations. Here is part of what Susan had to say about giving back:

"The head nurse, accountant, the head teacher were present, along with us and Tatiana. Tatiana explained about what Two Hearts for Hope was, and how much we all love the children of Kazakhstan. They were SO excited! Stacy also sent us a check for $150 for formula and bottles. It was really wonderful to be able to present this to them. THANK YOU AGAIN KIM AND STACY! I am excited for this to be our family charity when we get home to keep raising money for these adorable children!"

Isn't it wonderful to see how your donations are helping the children?! If you would like to take along a donation box please contact us.

Please don't forget about our raffle.



Friday, September 12, 2008

Clothing month

September is clothing month! Thank you to The Reece Family (MO), The Segebarth Family (MO) and the Bari-Guida Family (NY) for their wonderful donations this week.

Don't forget to purchase your raffle tickets for your chance to win a $100 gift certificate to snapfish. $100 can develop a lot of pictures of your beautiful family! See sidebar for purchasing details.

This weekend we are off to Washington D.C. for the Angels in Adoption celebration. We are thankful for this recognition and the opportunity to inform many others about the children of Kazakhstan. Our goal is to open hearts and gain support for these beautiful children.