Monday, November 5, 2012

Exchanging Gifts for Water: a different kind of birthday

It's no secret that I'm incredibly proud of my kids. If you know me, you know this. I don't pretend that they are perfect; I live with them, so I know differently. But they are both pretty darn special with big hearts for injustice and for people in general.

Ellie is about to turn 6 (WHAT?) on December 3rd, and she has blown us away with her idea for this birthday. Instead of a party with her friends and tons of gifts, she is raising money for clean water in Ethiopia. Yes, she is. I told y'all I was proud, right?

Here's the deal: it takes approximately $2500 to completely set up a clean water system in Ethiopia. We have a puzzle (see the pic below) with 252 puzzle pieces. We are asking for anyone who'd like to help Ellie in this HUGE feat to give $10 per piece. We will write the donor's name on the back of the puzzle piece so that Ellie will be able to see all who believed in her and helped her accomplish this goal. By the time the puzzle is complete, she will have fully funded an ENTIRE system which we will take and set up in May, 2013.

All it takes is 250 people giving $10 each or 125 people giving $20 each for my girl's goal to be a done deal. Will you please consider helping her?

The truth is that Ellie knows full well the ramifications of drinking dirty water every day. She's lived it, and she's one of the survivors. And it's not okay with her that millions of others are living it still. This child is burdened for those still in Ethiopia, and my heart is bursting with pride and joy that she'd give up a big ol' party with her friends to do something that will literally save lives.

We are still going to celebrate her birthday, in case anyone is wondering. We will celebrate with a small family party at our house. But the big blowout is being put aside this year, and we're all okay with that.

If you'd like to help, please send money to Ellie Prosser at 1809 Jacks Creek Road, Richmond KY 40475. I promise to keep you updated on how much she has raised. I'd love so much to be able to have a COMPLETED puzzle by the time December 3rd rolls around.


Will you help us put this together??