Will you help rescue Ashlyn? - Giveaway!

(Please read the whole post, but just as a teaser, there's a giveaway at the bottom!)

It's that time of year.  The time when you consider Christmas gifts for others.  The time when you decide how much to give to all of the non-profits who send you requests for donations at the end of the year.

So, here's an opportunity to do both!  Maybe you have teachers and therapists who work with your kids and you want to honor them with a gift.  Maybe you have a relative who "has everything," thereby making gift-buying difficult.  Maybe you've done what our family has done and made a conscious choice not to load up cousins with more toys than they could possibly use and instead make a donation to a non-profit in that family's name.

Most of my readers have heard of Reece's Rainbow.  They advocate for children with disabilities in orphanages and institutions around the world and help raise money for their adoptions.  This year I am Ashlyn's Christmas Warrior.

Isn't she beautiful?  She turns two years old this month.  At her last evaluation, she was walking (meaning, she was walking before age two).  She has Down syndrome and a few health issues (see here for more information).  Do you see that bow on top of her head?  Rumor has it that orphanage workers put the biggest bows on the girls who are the orphanage favorites.  I'm not sure how they got that on her head... she doesn't have much hair. :-)  The one paragraph written about her talks about her loving to sing.  How sweet is that?!  This little girl doesn't have a mommy to sing her a bedtime song.  But she still sings.  Can you imagine how much more she'll sing when she has a family?

Now for the giveaway!  I have three codes for Shutterfly, all good for 25 FREE CARDS.  You will get an entry into the drawing for every $5 you donate to Ashlyn's ChipIn here on my blog.  If you donate $35, you will get 10 entries AND... a Christmas ornament with Ashlyn's photo on a mirror on one side and the Reece's Rainbow Christmas Tree logo on the other side (for the $35 donation, $30 goes to Ashlyn's account and the other $5 goes to the Reece's Rainbow general fund).

I realize that $35 is more than most people spend on a gift for a therapist or teacher.  Last year, I made one big donation and created my own cards for teachers and therapists using the RR logo and Ashlyn's photo.

  Here's the chip-in:

You must use the ChipIn to be entered into the giveaway (if you donate directly through the RR website, I won't know about your entry).
(if you are reading this blog post in your email, you'll need to go to my blog to see the ChipIn, I think)

Deadline for entry into the giveaway is one week from today (so that the winners have time to use their 25 free cards as Christmas cards, if they choose).
So, enter by 10:00pm CENTRAL time on Monday, November 21st, if you wish to be entered in the giveaway.

More important than my giveaway is that Ashlyn's family finds her soon.  Are you her mommy? or daddy? or sister? or brother? (if the latter two, let me know if you need me to work on convincing your parents that having a child with Down syndrome is one of the BEST things that could ever happen to your family) :-)