Dear Aura’s House friends and supporters:

We are pleased to announce that our newest Main Project is up and running! We are joining forces with students from the Non-Profit Marketing class at The American University of Rome to raise $3000 for the Cape Coast School for the Deaf in Ghana. Students at the Cape Coast School are taught to read and write in addition to learning sign language. They also learn life skills including carpentry, farming, and dressmaking in order to be able to support themselves upon graduation. The school’s motto is “Disability not Inability.”

This project is also sponsored by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. You can read about their TeleFood project here and view a list of all current projects. Our goal is to buy for the students at the Cape Coast School a piggery, a chicken coop with chickens, and a vegetable garden. These gifts will help provide the students with meals as well as provide an agricultural education that will help them earn a living after they leave the school and return to their villages. Please consider a small gift of:

$10 = one box of plant seeds
$20 = one chicken
$30 = one pig

Learn more about this new project and the people behind it.

In addition to the fundraising help of the AUR students, we are also grateful for the sponsorship of MIB Flags. This Italian company will donate 5% of its online sales to the Cape School. So if you’re looking to order high-quality flags, check them out at www.mibflags.com.

A new Aura’s House partner

We’d like to introduce everyone to Christina Sidoti, the newest partner at Aura’s House. Christina is a digital artist and has actually been helping us behind the scenes for several years. In fact, her nickname is “web goddess” as she has been instrumental in updating site totals when Kristen is away, and she has been formatting the monthly newsletters for quite some time. She was our Featured Donor in our October 2005 newsletter, and her website is www.christinasidoti.com. We would say “welcome” but as she has been helping us for so long, she already feels like part of the team!

Small Project update

This month we are thrilled to have received photos and updates on three completed Small Projects. Photos for Small Project #10 for Emily and Juan Carlos are here and information on Small Projects 11 and 12 are below.

April 4 Edit: SP#13 for Lilian (4) of Guatemala has just been completed thanks to the generous $55 donation from donor, Richard Stokes. In addition to bunk beds, a wardrobe, and food, an industrial metal flat plate will also be purchased for Lilian’s mother who makes tortillas to sell in order to help supplement the family’s small income. Stay tuned on the site for updates and photos.

We at Aura’s House are very excited to be involved in all these projects, but we couldn’t do it without our donors. Thank you for your continued involvement and support!

Happy April everyone,

Kristen, Anastasia, Mike, & Christina (four is our lucky number!)

The New Ghana Project launches!

NEW! Cape Coast School For the Deaf Food and Education Project launches: 3/31/07.

Our goal is to raise $3000 to help the children at the Cape Coast School for the Deaf in Ghana. The funds raised will purchase a chicken farm, a pig farm, and a vegetable garden that will help feed the students as well as teach them agricultural skills that will help them become self-sufficient.

Please consider giving the gift of:
plant seeds -$10 a box
a chicken -$20 each
a pig -$30 each

See photos and video from the school.

Dayana of Small Project #11 Receives Her Gifts and Writes Letter of Thanks.

Thanks to the kindness shared by all of the wonderful friends and supporters of Aura's House, Dayana and her family received the following items:

Two twin size mattresses
Bunk Bed set
Set of sheets
Chest of drawers
Stove Desk
Chair
Bookcase
Mosquito net

Visit Small Project #11

The family is thrilled with the items they received, and expressed their thanks to all of you!

See Photos of Dayana's gifts made possible by your donations. Read Dayana's letter of thanks.

Evin of Small Project #12 Receives his gifts.

Evin and his family were thrilled and so very grateful for this wonderful blessing. They are truly appreciative of the opportunity you have given him to have a better life!

One full bed
2 sets of beddings for full bed
2 sets of beddings for twin bed
3 towels
1 stove
1 set of pots and pans
1 plastic wardrobe/cabinet 1 set of clothing for Evin
1 food basket
1 latrine
2 plastic chairs
1 fan
1 iron

Evin with his mother and food stuffs.

Visit Small Project #12.
See Photos of Evin's gifts made possible by your donations.

Welcome To Our New AH Partner!

Christina writes:

" I am very happy to announce that I have accepted a partnership with Kristen, Anastasia, and Mike for Aura's House.

I have been involved with Aura's House since 2005 when I took web classes with Kristen Palana at William Paterson University in NJ. It is now 2007 and I still am regularly involved with the site.

I am committed to the Aura's House cause: helping needy children and families. Thank you to the partners, the dedicated people who help with the site, and all of the generous donors that have made this site grow from one girl and one house to $37,000 raised so far for a multitude of children. It is a pleasure working with you all and I look forward to many more years of success together!"

What's Next :
We will continue fundraising for our new Ghana Project and our Small Projects.

You can also discuss voice your opinions and discuss our projects in our Community Forums.

We're also always looking for people to help out with fundraising, design, graphics, promotions, and keeping the site going. Interested? Please contact Kristen (kpalana@aurashouse.com) if you have any comments, ideas, questions, or suggestions. Volunteer Job Positions can be found here.

• Please note, this donation button, along all the others on the site are for our Main Projects. To donate online to our Small Projects section, please donate from this page.

I prefer to donate offline.

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