Operation Orphan Hairbows for Ukraine

If you'll allow me to bend your ear for a moment, I'd like to tell you a story.

Six years ago when I was pregnant with Padraic, a coworker who had an infant son suggested to me that I visit Babyzone.com to learn about all things baby- and pregnancy-related. I found the message boards there and joined the one that had other women expecting babies during January 2005 as I was.

Over the years almost five dozen of those women and I have stayed in touch, sharing our parenting successes and oopsies, new pregnancies and some heartbreaking losses. We've built an amazing support system that some people might question since so many of us have never met in person. This group has seen me through plenty of my own highs and lows, and I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting a handful of them in various cities as I've traveled for work. Each woman in this group has made a positive difference in my life and my parenting.

So let me tell you a bit about my friend Brooke from this group. Brooke and I have not yet gotten to meet, but she is very dear to me. She is an integral part of our group and has been for most of the wild ride. There's one meaningful difference, though. Brooke hasn't been raising a biological child this whole time like the rest of us have. Until recently, Brooke and her husband were primary guardians for her 5-year-old nephew, and it was stories of his growth and development that she has shared with us and through her experiences with him she has become an amazing parent. Across the years they've also tried to start a biological family. Life being cruel as it sometimes is, they've lost several precious angels through miscarriage, which led her and her husband to start considering adoption as a means of growing their family.

As one step toward feeling out how they'd feel about adoption, Brooke and her hubby welcomed an 8-year-old girl from a Ukrainian orphanage into their home for three weeks over the holidays. This girl, Luba, changed their hearts and lives. They are now dedicated to adopting Luba and possibly other children from Ukraine to round out what will surely be a very happy family.

Luba is back in her orphanage in Ukraine now, but Brooke is able to keep in touch via various means, including other families who go over to adopt a child, and staff at the orphanage. One thing Brooke learned is that at Easter time the girls at the orphanage don't tend to get any presents. The day is honored as a religious holiday, but gifts are usually not part of the situation as they are here in the United States.

To bring some joy to the Luba and the other girls at the orphanage, Brooke started Operation Orphan Hairbows for Ukraine. Her goal is to supply each girl at Luba's orphanage with a new hairbow of her own by Easter. If she gets more hairbows than there are girls at that orphanage, she'll start sending bows to another nearby orphanage so those girls can have something special, too. She's looking for people who make hairbows or want to purchase and donate hairbows for this cause. At the same time, Brooke is operating a fundraiser to help offset the massive costs involved in international adoption. She'll be raffling off various goods and services to get them closer to traveling to Ukraine to bring Luba, and possibly some siblings, home.

If you are inspired to do so, please visit her blog at http://ourukrainianfundraiser.blogspot.com/ to learn more about what donation opportunities there are. Thanks!