Aura's House December 2008 Newsletter

Dear Aura's House Friends and Supporters,

As usual, we've been quite busy over at Aura's House. Here are the latest updates:

Small Project #20 Completed
Our goal was to give Lesly Viviana Culajay Larios (7) and her family of Guatemala City, Guatemala the following gifts: a bunk bed for Lesly and her siblings, a bed for Lesly's mother, a wardrobe closet, a small table top stove, and bed linens. We aimed to raise $500. By October 31, 2008 $508 was raised for Small Project #20. We are now awaiting an update and photos from Children International. Stay tuned!

Small Project #21 Completed
Our goal was to provide Aura Yesenia Solis Hernandez (15) of Guatemala tuition so she may have the opportunity to go to school in order to become a teacher. Children International reports that there is no one in Aura's village qualified to teach beyond the 9th grade. They have identified a private school an hour away that Aura can attend to obtain a Teaching Certificate. We aimed to raise $1200 for her first year of school and we reached our goal on December 3, 2008.

*Additional funds were raised as well. The exact amount will be available on 12/5/08. This extra money will go towards Aura's 2010 tuition. View Small Project 21.

A Roof Over Their Heads
Small Project #22 is set to launch the second week or weekend of December. You can have a preview of it here. Meet six year-old Naidelin Beatriz Jimenez Hernandez of Guatemala and her family who are in desperate need of a new roof.

Guatamala Bed Project Needs You
Well, there's no denying that a shaky world economy has made it much harder for us to help families in need. We are more than halfway to our goal of getting 40 Guatemalan families off the floor and into beds. However it has been slow going since September for the Guatemala Bed Project.

We've asked Children International to go ahead and purchase beds for the 24 families we've raised funds for so far. There are still 16 families with young children who sleep on a cold, dirt floor every night. Can we help them before the Holidays? Please make a small donation today. We only need $34 to buy the next family's bed. Every bit helps. Even $1.

Each $105 donated to our Guatemala Bed Project will add a new new virtual bed to the room and get waiting children off the floor. Once our goal has been reached, the real beds will be purchased for the waiting families on Children International's list.

Thanks so much for checking out our latest newsletter. Stay tuned for more photos and updates after the new year.

Best Wishes and Happy Holidays,
Kristen, Anastasia, Mike, Christina, Heather, and the Aura's House Team

Guatemala Bed Project Progress...

$2591 Raised as of December 3, 2008.
(24 out of 40 families helped so far..)

Only $34 needed to buy the next family's bed

Visit the Guatemala Bed Project.

I prefer to donate offline.

Previous Newsletters :

October 2008
July 2008
June 2008
February 2008
January 2008

Newsletters from 2007
Newsletters from 2006
Newsletters from 2005
Newsletters from 2004

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Double Your Donation
At NO COST TO YOU!
Learn about Children International's Company Matching Program. Just make sure to send us an email so we can have the matching funds earmarked for the Aura's House project of your choice.

See who our latest visitors are!

In 2005 Children International launched an online fundraising tool inspired by Aura's House called SponsorThon. Since then, it has now grown and evolved into the Lift One Project.

Just $22 a month will help a child get basic medical and dental care, schooling, clothing, and more. Learn more about Lift One.

If you are living in, studying in, or planning on visiting the Eternal City, this resource is for you. www.romereview.com

Small Project #21 Completes with Matching Challenge from Steven Krumholz and Olivia Palana

Aura Hernandez (15) of Guatemala

View the Small Project 21

$1200 Raised. Thank You!

Our goal was to provide Aura Yesenia Solis Hernandez (15) of Guatemala tuition so she may have the opportunity to go to school in order to become a teacher. Children International reports that there is no one in Aura's village qualified to teach beyond the 9th grade. They have identified a private school an hour away that Aura can attend to obtain a Teaching Certificate.

MATCHING CHALLENGE: Thanks to super-donors Steven Krumholz and Olivia Palana, all donations up to our first $1000 raised were automatically doubled.

Small Project #20 Completes with Matching Challenge from Steven Krumholz

Lesly of Guatemala

View Small Project #20
See photos of Lesly at her home.
Small Project #20 completes with a total of $508.

We are anxiously awaiting photos of Lesly with her gifts received because of your donations. Check in on the site for updates.

Aura's House donor Steven Krumholz created a matching challenge that doubled donations up to his matching amount of $150. Steven was a featured donor in our November 2006 Newsletter. Have a look.

Lesly with her mother and siblings

December 2008 Featured Donor - Tung-Kuen Li

Tung-Kuen Li has been a regular supporter of Aura's House projects over the past several months. This consistency was a relief in hard economic times and through the traditionally slow summer vacation season.

Tung-Kuen writes:

"I am so honored being asked to be Featured Donor for the December Aura's House newsletter. I really don't know how I deserve this honor.

My friends call me TK. I am a Network Support Analyst with a bank in New York City. I have three sponsored children (Yamiris, 10 years old, from Colombia; Luz Dary, 14 years old, also from Colombia; and Maria Gabriela, 9 years old, from Ecuador) through Children International.

Tung-Kuen Li in New York City

In my spare time, I volunteer in computer tutoring projects through New York Cares . I have been a sponsor since January of 2007. Being able to make the lives of my sponsored children easier, and to see the smiles on their faces is the best reward. I also donate to help families featured in Children International's blog, and to individuals or families who need help through Modestneeds.org. I also make micro-loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries through Kiva.org, so that they can make better lives for themselves and their families.

I discovered Aura's House through Children International's website. Aura's House is such a wonderful website that combines the power of many individuals together to help the needy families. I donate to Aura's House because I can be sure that the funds will directly benefit the individuals or families who need help, and I see the actual difference made. With the devotion of Kristen Palana, Anastasia Yecke, Mike Epler, Christina Sidoti, Heather LaBonte, and so many dedicated volunteers of Aura's House, we can make a difference."

Sincerely,
T.K.Li

T.K.'s sponsor children from left to right: Yamiris, Luz, and Maria

Friendly Neighborhood Reminders :

As usual, we will continue to fund raise for our current projects and keep you posted on the status of completed projects.

Don't forget that Aura's House is now listed as a cause on Facebook and Myspace. Join and help us spread the word about our small-scale doable projects that help needy families around the world.

Remember that 25% of all proceeds from our online shop go towards our Guatemala Bed project. You can also join iGive for free. Up to 30% of your online purchases go to our projects. There are over 680+ stores to choose from and include shops like Barnes and Noble, Travelocity, the Gap, EBay, Staples, Best Buy, and many more.

Aura's House needs YOU! We're always looking for people to help out with fundraising, design, graphics, promotions, and keeping the site going. Interested? Please contact us at info@aurashouse.com if you have any comments, ideas, questions, or suggestions. Volunteer Job Positions can be found here.

Over and out.

I prefer to donate offline.

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