Dear Aura's House friends and supporters:

This holiday season, over 4,000 slum children in the Philippines finally have the gift of a newly completed classroom to call their own. Of course, you can't fit so many children in just one room, but the ripple effect is this: the new classroom will help alleviate overcrowding, make it possible for children to continue class during inclement weather, and help ease the current rotating shift system at Santo Nino. This was our largest fundraising project yet, with $7,000 raised and an additional $887.25 raised for desks and supplies. Thanks to the hard work of our volunteers and donors, thousands of Manila kids now have hope for a brighter future through education! Let's take a moment, pause, and pat ourselves on the back for a job well done. Before we finish patting, we should also recognize that as of December 4, 2006 the site has raised a total of over $30,000! For a sample of the impact this money has had so far, please visit our Past Projects.

In other news, during the month of November alone, Aura's House made good progress on our current projects as well. $700 more was raised for the Kenya School Project bringing the total as of December 4, 2006 to $1500. Small Project #10 for Emily of Guatemala and Juan Carlos of Mexico also launched in November with $331 donated. There's only $169 left to raise so that both childrens' families may make badly needed home repairs, receive furniture, clothing, food and supplies. Almost there!

So what's cooking for December you ask? Well to start, a number of new fundraisers and matching donation challenges are coming up in the months ahead, starting with the brilliant and amazing Aura's House Partner, Anastasia Yecke's Miami Fundraiser for our Kenya School Project. Read below for more details and stay tuned for more information on future fund generating activities on behalf of needy families around the world.

So what if you don't live in Miami and still want to help? Visit our Online Shop and get your loved ones Holiday Cards and Gifts. 25% of proceeds will go directly to the Kenya School Project. (In case you were wondering, the rest of the funds go to CafePress.com who create our custom products and handle the secure orders and domestic/international shipping.) Check out the latest holiday cards, t-shirts, hoodies, caps, magnets, journals, posters, buttons, and more. We are also affiliated with IGive.com. Here you can shop through their online mall at your favorite stores (Barnes and Noble, EBay,Travelocity, you name it..) and they will donate a portion of your purchases to our Kenya Project at Aura's House at no cost to you. What else can you, a mere lone individual in a big overwhelming world do? Visit our How You Can Help page. Here the theme is, Power to the Puny! We need you and so do the world's poorest kids.

Thanks again to our supporters for making our project goals into realities. We couldn't do it without you. Happy Holidays in advance. Hugs from Rome!

Kristen Palana, along with Anastasia Yecke, Mike Epler, Christina Sidoti, and the Aura's House Team

------------
ps. Kristen was recently a contributor to the monthly Rome Review podcast which is a resource for English Speakers in the Eternal City. You can listen to her goofy self (aka: Tiny K) in Episode #3 found on iTunes here. Just click and listen!

December's Featured Donor: Alex Epler of Simi Valley, California

Alex Epler

Alex is a junior at Chaminade High School in West Hills, CA. During the summer of 2007 she plans to volunteer in Costa Rica for 3 weeks, working with small children through Cross Cultural Solutions. She is thinking of majoring in Psychology and working with children after college.  Alex says: "Several years ago I decided to give up holiday presents and instead donate the funds to those who need them more. I chose Heifer International because they provided animals to families to raise and sell.  Last December I decided to do something different and I chose to sponsor a child through Children International. I knew there were so many kids out there who were less fortunate in terms of material needs and education.  I thought if I was going to try and a make a difference I had to start somewhere, so I chose Lilian online at the Children International website. I greatly appreciate all Aura’s House has done and continues to do for those around the world.  I look forward to my future Aura’s House Small Project for Lilian and her family. Keep up the great work and thank you for this honor."

Holiday Cards and Ornaments... 25% of proceeds from the Aura's House online shop are donated to the Kenya Project.     What's Next : We'll continue fundraising for our Kenya Classroom Project along with sponsors from the Galilee School and members of Kenya Kids in Need. Knowledge is power! We could use the help of our donors and supporters in spreading the word about this project by emailing friends and family, posting in the Volunteers Section of Craigslist Sites, and on group message boards at Myspace, Livejournal, etc. Sample emails/postings you can use are here. Feel free to edit freely or make your own announcements. We'll also continue to work with interested Children International sponsors on our Small Projects Section. We also pledge to keep you up to date with all of our other projects past and present. Please check out our Community Forums for news and updates. Don't forget to stop in and introduce yourself. 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 the current Kenya Classroom Project. To donate online to our Small Projects section, please donate from this page. I prefer to donate offline.

© Kristen Palana 2003-2008.
This website is for nonprofit, charitable purposes only