Does Age Determine A Child's Worth?

What do all these people have in common? Age didn't matter. Whether young or old, they were able to live their dreams. Ask yourself does age indicate your worth? Does age dictate what you will accomplish in your lifetime? Whether you are 9 or 79, there are no limits to what you can accomplish. If you believe in yourself, you can do anything. Right?

Jason O’Neill (9) started his own business called Pencil Bugs, selling hand-made bug-like pencil toppers.

Asya Gonzalez (13) launched Stinky Feet Gurlz, a company that designs, markets and sells 1940s-inspired t-shirts and apparel. Her company also donates a portion of every shirt sold to She's Worth It!, a nonprofit organization she founded, dedicated to ending human trafficking and child sex slavery.

Laura Ingalls Wilder didn't publish her first novel (Little House on the Prarie series) until she was 65 years old.

Japanese dancer and choreographer Kazuo Ohno did not undertake formal dance lessons until his late twenties and was 43 years old when he performed his first recital at Kanda Kyoritsu Hall in Tokyo in 1949.

Sab Koide, 85, of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., began running at the age of 56. Since then he’s completed 60 marathons.

For children left behind in orphanages and institutions, each year that passes is a reminder that the chance of adoption diminishes as they grow older. All that promise, all that is to be discovered together as a family starts to fade as a child grows older. We overlook the sweet smile of an older child who wants to be part of a family. A child who can discover a new lifetime of experiences with the right family. A family that believes in the child. These children just want to be part of a family. One wish. One dream.

I am asking you to believe in Laurel, a sweet 15 year old girl that has until August to find a family or she will be turned onto the streets. Laurel has arthrogryposis like my son Owen. She is in a wheelchair and will benefit from therapy and proper medical care. Large families and older parents are allowed to adopt in her country. How amazing for Laurel to be a part of a large loving family? If you cannot adopt, please donate to her Reece's Rainbow account. The more money she has in the account, the easier it will for her family to commit to her.

What will Laurel's family help her accomplish? What can love and support do for Laurel? So many dreams and hopes will be realized with one donation, one share via social media, one mention to a friend that may be considering adopting.

Please join me in helping Laurel find her forever family. Share. Donate. Bring Hope.

How You Can Bring Hope to 12 in 2012

There are an estimated 147 million orphans worldwide, many with special needs, that do not have access to critical medical care or to a supportive loving family.

Before I had kids, I never gave a thought to adoption or what happens to the kids that get left behind. Then I had kids and I understood how important the love and support of a family can help a child. Then I had my son Owen who has arthrogryposis. More than ever I realized how critical access to therapies and excellent medical care is for special needs kiddos. I can only imagine what Owen's life would be like if he didn't have access from the day he was born to therapists, doctors and more.

I used to think that one person couldn't make a difference, that it wasn't worth trying. I quickly learned how wrong I was. I am lucky to be on a team of dedicated women who have adopted special needs children, advocate for special needs children and believe that one person will make a difference. And it all starts with the first step.

We have created a project called "Bring Hope to 12 in 2012." Our goal is to raise awareness and increase financial support for 12 orphaned children with arthrogryposis overseas (Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific). We plan to raise a minimum of $5,000 for each child featured on the Reece's Rainbow site. Once a month one child will be highlighted on this blog (http://arthrogryposisadoption.blogspot.com/). Each week we will post an update on our fundraising, answer questions from readers and ask for your help sharing the news.

The Three-Step Plan

• Raise a minimum of $5,000 for each child featured from the Reece's Rainbow site.


• Help connect one of the featured 12 children with his/her forever family


• Crowdsource additional funds for families currently adopting an AMC child

How can you help?
Each month we are asking you to contribute $12 to support one child. It is a small amount (this could be a few trips to Starbucks, a lunch out, an iTunes album etc) that can make a big difference in the lives of these children. Can you contribute more? Absolutely. We want to set the goal within reason and let you decide what you can contribute. If you can commit to pledging just $12 for the remaining 11 months ($132 for the year!), we greatly appreciate your support.

Share our blog posts on your Facebook page, Twitter account, Google+, Instagram and YouTube channels. We will be posting some videos in the upcoming months and a simple share via social media can help us raise awareness and find a family. You can even add our badge to your Pinterest account under Causes You Support. One simple action can make a world of difference to 12 kids.

Each post and tweet will offer a quick link for you to donate and offer your support.

If you tweet, please reference the hashtag #bringhopeto12 and if you are inspired to write a blog post, please use the tag "bring hope to 12" and offer a link back to our site.

We will also be posting badges that you can add to your blog or Facebook profile to help raise awareness.

Why Get Involved?
You will make a difference by reading our post today and taking a minute to read about our featured child, Laurel. If we have inspired you, then please share this link with others.

2012 is the year of Hope, the year we saved 12 children.