Giving Back!

Everybody knows how blessed we are to have Little Leah Caity B in our lives. We love her so much. Everybody knows how grateful we are for the major role Caitlin's played in making us so happy. We still keep in touch with her from time to time and are anxious to attend her graduation this May. She is such a go-getter and she has made us proud as we watch her make the right decisions for her life. College and military service have always been important goals for her and it makes us happy to see her stick to those goals that are worthy of someone with her potential.

As we have witnessed Caitlin making the right decisions in her life we often think of ways to give back. Not just to her, though we want to, but to the many other brave young women like her that have chosen to make something wonderful out of circumstances less than desirable. As we consider the struggles we have encountered to start our little family, we also think of those who are less fortunate; those that maybe do not have the resources to complete the adoption process. Adoption is such a mentally, emotionally and spiritually draining experience as it is, yet those in power seem to also make it financially draining or not possible at all due to money. Couples wanting to adopt are taken advantage of regularly by legitimate and illegitimate companies playing on their emotions and promising to bring them happiness. I do not see anything changing soon, but we want to be part of the solution for both the birthmothers and the adopting couples.

Sarah and I are in the process of establishing a foundation that we hope will do just that. Initially it will simply be a scholarship program funded by us that will offer financial assistance to qualifying birthmothers that have a desire to get their lives back on track via higher education. We hope there will be a day that we will be able to do regular fund raising and donation seeking to broaden the scope of who is affected by the foundation. Maybe we can offer low to no interest loans to couples wanting to adopt that cannot afford it. Then in turn, their repayment of the loan will continue to help others in the same way. Maybe we can help couples with the costs of fertility treatment or sponsor seminars and workshops that would raise awareness for the need to adopt or the support of adopting families or birthmothers. The possibilities will have no limit. (Consider yourself warned. We will likely come begging for money in the next ten to twenty years looking for donations! I know you will do what you feel you can.)

The thing holding us up right now is the name for the foundation. We are open to suggestions. We want the name to focus on families or adoption in some way. Here are a few names we have come up with already. Some are great, some are not. Please chime in with your suggestion or vote.

*Moving Forward *Foundation for Forward Thinking *Foundation for Forwarding Families *Further Forward Foundation *Another Step Forward *Families for Families *Furthering Families Foundation *Leah Caitlin Bliss Foundation *Families First *Life for Life Foundation *From Love ~ To Love *Giving Back Bliss Foundation *Trosper Family Foundation *Bliss-ful Family Foundation *Full of Bliss Family Foundation *Forwarding Families Foundation *Two Caitlin's Foundation *Forging Families Foundation *Foundation for Forging Families

Please let us know what you think.