Fast forward to the next year, my company picked a different charity to support. But I couldn't forget my Adopt-a-Family experience, so I decided to do it on my own. I adopted a needy family of 6 and set (what I thought to be) a lofty goal of raising $500. I somehow managed to raise $1200. I bought that family everything they asked for, hinted at, and didn't know they wanted. And it was glorious.
Blown away by the previous year's generosity, in 2014 I upped the ante. I adopted THREE families, 13 people total, ranging in age from 6 months to 62 years. And I raised almost $3k. And my heart exploded.
This year I have two families, with the plan to adopt a third if the donations make it possible (or even a fourth or fifth). Two single mothers, one with 3 kids, one with 2 kids.
I accept donations in any form, but easiest would probably be PayPal, Chase Quickpay, Google Wallet, and Square Cash by sending payments to notcontrary [at] gmail [dot] com.
I take 100% of the donated money and purchase things like clothes and household goods for the families, toys for the kids, as well as gift cards for grocery stores they have requested.
Again, any bit of generosity is greatly appreciated. Even if it’s just $5, everything counts!
