We are beyond excited and are doing everything we can to be prepared to welcome a beautiful new life into our home. Since our honeymoon back in 2019, we started immediately collecting cute baby clothes and taking in baby items from friends who didn't need newborn stuff anymore, hoping one day soon we'd be able to put it to good use. We have been trying for a baby for a while only to be tested and told that isn't in the cards for us. Needless to say, this has been one of the most heartbreaking moments of our life together.
Even still, we remain positive. We know one day, we will hear the pitter patter of tiny feet running down the hallway and little voices giggling in a pillow fort in the living room late at night. It would be the best thing we ever got to do. The greatest title is to be called mom and dad.
We have been doing endless research on countries, timelines, how to apply, how to prepare for and pass your home study inspection and every other detail in between, for months. We are finally at a point where we are ready to take next steps, but the one thing holding us back is "how do we financially afford this?!".
So many couples who are fortunate enough to have a baby the traditional way may panic over lost wages from unpaid maternity leave followed up with hefty daycare costs (average is now $1,200/month in Tampa!). But now put yourself in the shoes of young couples like us who's only choice is to adopt, you now also add in adoption costs out of our young working professional savings - talk about a recipe for stress in what should be such a joyous time.
As part of our adoption process, we have started a crowdfunding campaign. It may surprise you to hear that adoption related costs (home study, applications, background and reference checks, lawyer fees, multiple travel costs overseas, country fees and more!) can easily total up to $55,000 or more. This is why we have set a goal of $50,000 to help ease the financial burden that often overwhelms adoptive parents.
They say it takes a village to raise a child, and we are surely finding that to be true. We know that this will not be an easy road, and will likely take a huge toll on us emotionally, physically, and financially. We are constantly thinking of ways to earn or save extra cash including Mike volunteering for overtime at work, a community yard sale fundraiser, cutting out unnecessary costs (bye bye Netflix and dinner dates out!) and applying for as many grants as possible, but that will only get us so far with our goal. Most importantly the love, support and selfless donations from our so many wonderful friends and family in our village can make our dream of having a baby possible and get us that much closer to our goal quicker.
We realize we cannot make this happen without your financial help, and we ask for it humbly. Every $1 counts and every $100 donated moves the needle even more towards our goal! There are a few ways you can give:
1) The first is to send a check directly to our home address. If you prefer this method, please reach out to Mike or Dakota for our information.
2) The second is to give to our account on AdoptTogether.org. AdoptTogether is a project of Hoping Hearts Foundation Inc, an IRS approved 501c3 organization and your donation is completely tax deductible. The funds we receive from this Crowdfunding Campaign go directly to our adoption agency.
This is how we can get to our goal:
10 people generously donate $1,000
10 people generously donate $750
10 people generously donate $500
20 people generously donate $300
20 people generously donate $250
20 people generously donate $200
50 people generously donate $100
100 people generously donate $50
125 people generously donate $25
We know we cannot do this alone; we need your help! Thank you so much for your consideration in partnering with us on our journey ahead! We are so thankful for each of you and the role you play in our lives. We are excited, nervous and hopeful for the road ahead and could not do it without your help. THANK YOU!
Please also keep checking back here for updates on the Adoption Agency we sign with, country we chose and we will post all detailed fees during each milestone with details as we move through this process! This is all so new to us, so exciting, we can't wait to share it with you all!
With Love and Thanks,
Dakota, Michael, Thor & Maverick… and Future Baby K
