Team Assignments and FUNdraising Results

Ashton and I are so excited that we were assigned to the School Team. The school team will install and paint new playground equipment for the Vinh Quang school. We will also set up a computer center in the library and distribute bikes to the new students. We can't wait for our first team conference call to start the preparations.

As for our FUNdraising efforts... well, to date, we have raised... drumroll... $1,015. Can you believe it?!?! That is so very amazing to me and the generousity of my friends and family is touching. My goal was to raise $1,000 and Ashton's goal was to raise $500... looks like I am done and he has $485 more dollars to go ;-) Just kidding! We will work on raising our last $485 together with either a yard sale or something like that.

Thanks again to all of you amazing donors... you all ROCK!

March 2010 Goals

The Vietnam Aid Expedition held every two years provides direct assistance to the children we serve in Vietnam. This is a good will, volunteer trip. We have 85 volunteers, as young as 7 years old, traveling from across the U.S and Canada in March 2010 to Kien Giang.

Over 100 volunteers have traveled with us to Vietnam in the past and each of them has been deeply moved by the children they meet. This "volunteer vacation" is rewarding for everyone involved.
Here are our goals for March 2010:

HOME TEAM

$3000/home

Shelter from rain, wind and sun is a basic human need. The Home Team will renovate five homes in four days for children that have been sexually abused. This new home will give these families shelter, self-respect and the hope of a better life.

MEDICAL TEAM

$20/patient

To be a part of a more concerted effort to address child health problems and malnutrition for the children and families living on the garbage dump, a team of doctors, nurses and medical volunteers from Catalyst Foundation will provide basic medical and dental exams. The cost of $20 per patient covers a full series of Hepatitis B vaccination and fluoride treatments. We are expecting 800 patients in four days.

SCHOOL TEAM

$55/bike (80 bikes)
$2500 playground

$200/computer (100 computers)

The children attending Vinh Quang school are in need of larger playground equipment, computers for the library and bikes for our new students. The school team will install and paint the new playground, set up the computer center and prep the bikes. We will purchase equipment from the “one laptop per child” program. They are extremely durable, brilliantly functional, energy-efficient, and fun.

CAMP

$30/child

We’ll take all of the 130 children from our Vinh Quang school to play on the beaches of Ha Tien!

IN KIND DONATIONS

T-shirts/Shorts/Flip-flops for children and adults (all sizes!)

Arts & Crafts Supplies Beach toys – Frisbees, beach balls, temporary tattoos

Small toys - yo-yos, marbles, cards, jacks, matchbox cars, etc.

Stickers, stickers, stickers

Small first aid kits

Toothbrushes/toothpaste

Travel size soap, shampoo, washcloths

Onesies- for infants under 12 months

Board games & coloring books (for the library)

Thank You

Thanks to all of you that donated and/or sending pictures and artwork. Your efforts are so very much appreciated. I don't have the final numbers yet, but I do know that the 2010 Aid Expedition raised over $5,800 in less than 24 hours. That is simply amazing...

We are now well on the road towards making a difference!

Give to the Max Day

I woke up this morning to find that today is "Give to the Max Day". Who knew? Certainly not me. What exactly is Give to the Max Day, you might ask... It is a day where you can donate to VN Aid Expedition and your donation will be DOUBLED. Dollar for dollar will be matched until 8 a.m. CST on November 18th.

Click here to donate or for more information:

http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Vietnam-Aid-Expedition

Fundraising Goals and Request of Artwork

Ashton and I have a combined fundraising goal of $1,500 for the 2010 Aid Expedition. This money goes directly to the purchase of rice and other food neccessities for the families living in the Rach Gia garbage dump. Ashton and I are also collecting small toys (i.e. matchbox cars, stickers, crayons, etc.) to take to the children in the Vinh Quang Primary school. We do not need any donations of the small toys as we can gather more than what we can carry from our own play room ;-)

However, we are asking for our friends to help with creating children's artwork and pictures. If anyone could have their children (which might be a nice holiday family activity), or girl scout group, or sports group create pictures/paintings/drawings we would really appreciate it. Ashton and I will be visiting the Vinh Quang School and would love to distribute these. The more colorful and vivid the pictures, the better. Ideas include: Pictures of child's favorite activity (my daughter's favorite activity is horseback riding), pictures of favorite vacation spot, a normal day, the seasons, a favorite holiday, etc.

Iron Chef Dinner and Silent Auction

Catalyst Foundation held it's Iron Chef - Vietnam dinner and silent auction on October 24th:

Ashton and I worked on this Snuggly Basket to be auctioned off during the Silent Auction (THANKS to everyone for all of your great ideas and suggestions):

Our basket sold for $95... woohoo!

Living in a Garbage Dump

2010 Aid Expedition

We are excited to begin our preparations... for the 2010 Vietnam Aid Expedition Trip. We have partnered with the Catalyst Foundation for this journey. This is their mission:

"Our mission is to improve the lives of at-risk populations in Vietnam through child trafficking prevention and community capacity building. Families living in extreme poverty are most vulnerable to child trafficking. Our goal within each target community is twofold: to equip families with the tools to get out of poverty and to raise awareness of trafficking at the grassroots level in order to strengthen community protective mechanisms."

http://catalystfoundation.org/home.htm