Our Beautifully Ordinary Life

In a very poor orphanage in China, there is a special room for special babies.

Gracie’s Room was born after a little girl, adopted from China, died from sudden onset leukemia. Her family and friends started Gracie’s Room as a memorial in her honor. It was a room where babies could get more individualized care from their designated nannies. This means more tummy time, more food, better care, more hugs, more laughs, more toys – well, you get the idea. A taste for them, really, of what most children get every single day from their parents.

Gracie’s room saw a need in the Xinxiang SWI and began a program there. That program has now grown to include 15 babies. 15 babies who would normally spend most of their time laying in a crib or in a walker or strapped to a chair are now able to play with toys, crawl around, and learn to stand. Just as importantly, they are learning that their nanny comes every single day to take care of them. She comes when they cry, when they are hungry, when they are wet. And every time she comes it teaches them to trust and those little brain connections grow a little bit more. They learn to attach, to bond – and these lessons are beyond priceless.

But there is a price. $250.00 per year. That’s what it costs to sponsor a baby in Gracie’s room. That’s what it costs to pay the extra nannies – you know, the ones whose presence means that the caregiver/child ratio is 3 to 1 instead of 10 to 1. There’s also the extras. The cleft feeders, the toys, the warm pajamas, the vitamins, the bandages, and the money they need to repair the broken windows in the infant rooms in the SWA and to winterize the room before the cold comes. They’d hoped to be in a new building this year but no such luck – so they have to do what they can with what they have.

I believe in this organization and what they are doing. I’ve seen some of the issues they are facing. I’ve spoken with the director(s). This is the real deal.

Can you help? You don’t have to sponsor a child (but that would be GREAT if you would!) to make a difference. I know they would appreciate anything. $1, $5, $25 – whatever you can spare. You can paypal, you can write a check, you can even shop their wishlist on Amazon if you want to send something directly to the babies.

Home organization page is here: Dianjing Kids International Projects.

And their Facebook page is here:  Dianjing Kids Facebook

Donate here: Dianjing Kids International Donate. If you donate here make sure you choose one of the Sponsor Gracie’s Room buttons.

Amazon wishlist here: Growing Gracie’s Room

And hey, they are a 501(c)(3) organization so this is a great place if you’re needing to get those charitable gifts in before the end of the year. Tax season is right around the corner and we all like deductions. AmIRight??

(Seriously, please consider sending a little something. These folks are doing an amazing thing and this is solely funded by people like you and me.)

P.S. Giving also makes you feel all warm and squishy and happy inside. Try it. You’ll see.

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