An Interview with Cheryl & Dustin sharing their adoption journey and their happily ever after with their son!
Read morePlay tag
One thing I've learned from years of volunteer committee work and fundraising is that when you ask someone one-on-one to help you the response is almost always yes, but when you shoot a mass-email out to 100 people the response is almost always... crickets. A couple people step up, but the majority are silent, saying neither yes or no.
This is where playing "tag, you're it" comes in handy.
Read moreCreate a signature for your personal email account
Let your email do the talking! Create a custom signature for your personal email account that links back to your online profile hosted and reminds people you're actively searching for a match.
Sometimes you’re too busy to focus much on your adoption outreach. You might be working on a project for school, planning a fundraiser for church, or trying to schedule next summer’s vacation. Whatever is keeping you busy is likely keeping you at your desk, sending and receiving lots of emails. Email is a great passive outreach method- once you set up an adoption-specific email signature you don’t have to think twice about it. Each email you send reminds people that you’re searching for a possible match.
Read morePay attention to your social media names
Pay attention to the names of your social media accounts!
It’s important to pay special attention to the names of your social media accounts. Keep it consistent! As you use your page to interact with others on social media (commenting, liking, tweeting, etc.), you want people that see your tweets and comments to know you are a hopeful adoptive parent seeking a match.
Read moreHold an adoption fundraiser garage sale
Double up! Hold an adoption fundraiser garage sale to not only raise funds, but to raise awareness of your adoption journey!
With summer just around the corner I know my thoughts turn to a favorite pastime- garage sale treasure hunting! Not only do I love grabbing my BFF and a tall cup of coffee to drive around town looking for sales, I love ending the summer with my own garage sale. In fact, it’s become a staple event for a group of friends to haul their loot over to my house and then we spend the day chatting, selling, grilling and generally having a great time together while making a little extra money.
If you’re adopting a garage sale can be a fantastic tool, not only as a fundraiser, but as a way to spread the word that you are hoping to meet someone that might be considering adoption. If you’re interested in a fundraiser to help defray the costs of adoption you can solicit donations of gently used clothing, household goods, toys, etc. from friends, neighbors, family, or your faith community. Send an email giving people enough time to gather used goods for the sale and then offer to pick up the donations or have a large bin at your home were people can swing by and leave donations. You will be surprised how willing people are to gather things to contribute to your sale!
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