My wife and I run a non-profit organization called Little Flowers Foundation. The meaning behind the name is two-fold. It is named after our patron, St. Thérèse, the Little Flower, whose feast we celebrate today. The name also reflects the “little flowers” that we are trying to help – children who do not have families to care for them and love them. As Mother Theresa once said, “How can you say there are too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers.”
Our mission is to assist Catholic families with the costs of adoption, especially the adoption of special needs children. It is a small practical way to combat the anti-life mentality that grips our world. In the past year alone we have granted over $30,000 to assist in bringing 11 children into their families, and over our 7-year history we have granted over $150,000 to Catholic families.
Due to a high demand for grants as well as lower-than-usual donations this year, we have very little money left in the bank; however, we have a number of very good applications for grants pending. We really need donations so that we can assist these families in bringing a child into their Catholic family. We are an all-volunteer organization (our only expenses are small mailings we send out to our donor base twice a year), so close to 100% of your donation goes directly to families.
Here is an excerpt from our latest mailing:
Now we would like you to meet two more families that have applied to us for help with their adoption expenses. One of them is adopting a child from Ukraine. This little boy has Down Syndrome and has lived in a rural orphanage since birth. He is two-and-a-half now. Children with special needs such as his are transferred at age four to a mental institution if they are not adopted. This family is asking for help with the final $5,000 of his $22,000 adoption. Can you help bring Vanya home to a loving family?
The second family is adopting a daughter from China with spina bifida and severe cognitive delays. I’d like you to read what this mother has to say about this, their second special needs adoption:
“We were told by our agency to expect a lengthy wait…Much to our surprise a few weeks later we saw a picture of a beautiful 2 year old girl, Lian, at our agency’s website and we instantly fell in love…We heard that she could not crawl, walk, feed herself or talk. We learned that she has shut herself off from the world and that she rarely plays with other children…[This] made our desire to adopt her stronger… She was abandoned by her birth parents on the day she was born and has lived her entire life at the orphanage with nannies who were unprepared to care for a child with her spinal condition. When she was a year old she was matched with a family… They had her for less than 24 hours then they returned her to the orphanage saying that…they no longer wished to adopt her. Under normal circumstances a disrupted adoption would seal a child’s fate and she would never be made available for adoption again…”
This couple calls it a miracle that they were even able to get a referral for her. However, instead of the 10-12 months they expected to have to save up for an adoption, they had only two months to pay the bulk of the money and within just a few months more will need to pay for travel and other remaining expenses. They need your help to bridge the $4,500 gap between what they are able to pay right now and what it will take to bring Lian home.
All the families we assist are solid Catholic families who plan to have their children baptized and raised in the Catholic Faith. I realize times are tough for many people, but if you are able to donate even a small amount, it would be greatly appreciated.
You can make a secure online donation here or you can mail a check (made out to “Little Flowers Foundation”) to:
Little Flowers Foundation
P.O. Box 87143
Gaithersburg, MD 20886
God bless you!
St. Thérèse, pray for us!
