Bringing Home the Dough (For a VERY Good Cause)

Money.

That is the reason we went to the US. Every year a group of dancers and musicians travels from an orphanage in order to raise money for all the homes.

This year went phenomenally! At the church pictured above, the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, we received the collection for the day from all five services. And the second service raised a record breaking high for the church at $21,000!

Another night there was a dinner gala with live and silent auction at which approximately $480,000 was raised! And close to my heart, the 'donation auction' was specifically designated for construction at the new site and raised $240,000! Enough for two dormitories, an elevated water tank and part of the potable water distribution piping!

Except for designated funds, all the money goes to a general fund to help support the 3,500 children in our care. As you can imagine, the money goes pretty quickly when you've got a family of that size.

It certainly wouldn't begin to be possible, however, without the generous people we met, the hard working, incredibly professional staff in the fundraising offices and of course, the inspiriational children we all work for.