Vote for Cole's Gift

I am feeling overwhelmed, thankful, and humbled today. I found out this morning that Cole's Gift is featured on the wonderful blog, Finding Magnolia. My sister-in-law, Cole's Auntie Melanie, made this happen. Finding Magnolia has a rather large audience, so I am thrilled that more people are going to read about Cole and see his sweet face. More importantly though, readers will have the opportunity to vote for Cole's Gift to be the recipient of a $200+ payment from Finding Magnolia's Give it Forward program. Please go to Finding Magnolia to vote, and as a bonus, you'll be linked to Melanie's blog, Like a Radio, to read her beautiful tributes to Cole. And if you hang out on Like a Radio, you'll see photos of my adorable nieces, and will discover what an incredible writer Melanie is. But I digress.

Voting is open until midnight October 23rd.

Cole's Gift: Update

The project that kept me very busy in September involved Cole's Gift. After my friend Beth Wendling, the President of Orphans Treasure Box Books in Champaign, IL, told us that she wanted to create Cole's Gift to help a family adopting a child with a life-threatening illness, Eric had the idea that we should host a book drive, then travel to Champaign to deliver the books. The timing could not have been more perfect given that Cole's death anniversary was in September. I created an "event" on Facebook and sent out a mass email to friends and family asking them to donate their used books. In about a two week period, I spent a good amount of time coordinating book drop-offs and pick ups. I did a lot of driving, met a few new people, and got to see some friends I don't see that often. It was fun and exhausting.

I figured we might receive a couple hundred books that would easily fit into my small SUV. God had other plans! The Tuesday before the weekend we were to go to Champaign, a friend of mine helped me count books for those who wanted receipts. We counted just over 1,000 books! Wednesday through Friday, I drove around town and picked up books from three or four other people, and the back of my car completely filled up at least twice. We easily received another thousand books. My car was not going to cut it for the Champaign trip, so we rented a minivan.

 

 

As you can see, the minivan worked out great! The rental company even gave us a break on the cost because we were transporting items for a charity. Thank you so very much to everyone who donated books. You honored Cole's memory beautifully!

 

Eric and I drove to Champaign on the 22nd and unloaded our books at a warehouse. A local Christian radio station recently donated that space to Orphans Treasure Box, and it's a good thing they did! Beth is up to her eyeballs in books. :) 

 



 

Eric, me, Beth, and her son at the warehouse

 

So what's next? Beth has told me that the amount of Cole's gift has been raised from $2,000 to $2,500! I need to begin doing some research so Eric and I can choose the family who will receive this special grant, which we hope to award around next April 27th, which is Cole's birthday. In the meantime, here's how you can help us. Orphans Treasure Box has a store on Amazon where the donated books are for sale. Beth and her volunteers have the tedious task of listing all of those books we brought plus any others they receive. Many, many books have already been sold to assist in the care of orphans in other countries, and Beth has been able to give generous grants to families adopting children who are older or who have special needs. Isn't that cool? You can be part of changing the lives of orphans by shopping the amazon site:

www.amazon.com/shops/OrphansTreasureBoxBooks

 

Books are organized alphabetically, so putting keywords in the search box can help. If shopping for books isn't your thing, and you'd still like to help, you can make a monetary donation. Please make out your check to Orphans Treasure Box and send to:

2511 Pinehurst

Champaign, IL 61822

 

 

We feel that Cole's Gift and working with Orphans Treasure Box is just part of the big purpose God had for Cole's short life. It's just another something to feel joyful about in the midst of our sorrow. We are truly blessed indeed. 



 





 



Cole's Gift

Last week, I reconnected with my friend Beth (thanks Facebook!). We have not seen each other or even talked for probably 4 -5 years. We wrote back and forth to catch up on each other's lives. She knew nothing about Cole, of course, so I filled her in and referred her to my blog. Beth started and runs a wonderful non-profit organization in Champaign, IL called Orphans Treasure Box Books. They sell donated, used books on-line through Amazon, and 100% of the net profit goes to orphan care and adoption assistance. In the midst of our online conversations this week, Beth decided that she wants Orphans Treasure Box to give a $2000 grant to a family who is adopting a child with a life - threatening illness. She wants to do this once every year that Orphans Treasure Box exists. She wants to call that grant "Cole's Gift". I read her message and was immediately overcome with emotion. Eric and I are both incredibly touched that Beth wants to honor Cole in this wonderful way. I asked her if she would be able to give us information on any of the families that receive the grant, and she told me she would actually like for Eric and I to be involved in the process of choosing the family. She even asked if I would research and find out which adoption agencies serve children who have life-threatening illnesses. Without question I'm going to do this. I have the time, and it will be good for me to have a project. I am so excited about what has transpired this week. It is such a God thing! Beth and I both can see God's hand in getting the two of us reconnected. He has plans, and those plans are big!

When I called my parents to tell them about Cole's Gift, my dad said something like, "Cole is still making things happen here". We told Eric's parents about it tonight, and my mother-in-law said, "Isn't God amazing?". Yes He is.


To "like" Orphans Treasure Box Books on Facebook, please click here.