Donor Letters

Wish me luck! Tomorrow (um, I guess actually today since it is 3:40am LOL) I am mailing out donor letters to friends and family. Here is the letter --let me know what you think!
September 16, 2008

Dear Friends,
As many of you know in December I will be leaving for a 3 week journey to volunteer in a "failure to thrive" clinic in Romania. I am writing this letter in hopes that you can help me fulfill my dream as well as help the children in Romania.
As a young teenager I vividly remember seeing the horrors Romanian children were experiencing in orphanages across their country. At that time I knew that I wanted to do something to help those children. Finally I have the opportunity to do so! Global Volunteers (GV), a non-profit organization, has been sending volunteers to Tutova Clinic for the last several years. Fortunately today the condition of the orphanages, now called "clinics," is no longer quite so bad. One of the main obstacles the Clinic faces is having an adequate number of adults to care for the children living there. The volunteers from GV assist the clinic staff (1 nurse and 4 staff during the day, 1 staff during the night!) in caring for the 26 infants and toddlers currently in their care. The staff have the responsibility of cooking, laundering, and cleaning everything -- including those 26 cloth diapers that need changed every 3 -4 hours! With all of these responsibilities it is virtually impossible for the staff to take the time to cuddle with the babies, read them a book or basically interact at all! This interaction falls to the volunteers. When the volunteers leave the clinic at 4:30 in the afternoon the babies are placed back into their cribs. They remain in their cribs (other than diaper changes) until the volunteers return at 9:00 the next morning! Can you even imagine?
The total cost of this trip is going to be approximately $4500 depending on airfare. In addition to the $4500 I hope to raise additional funds to purchase needed items (cloth diapers, diaper ointment, fresh fruits and veggies) "in country." With airlines charging such outrageous overage fees on baggage I think buying supplies for the clinic upon arrival is a better usage of the money. Luckily there is a Metro store - similar to a Sam's Club - located between the clinic and the area where I will be staying!
I am so excited about this trip! Being able to rock babies and show them 3 weeks of unconditional love is going to be such a blessing! My "baby" (12 year old Emily) is excited for me as well and counting down the years until she can head to Romania to rock babies. If you could donate $25, $50, $100..any amount I can assure you it will be put to good use! I will bring back plenty of pictures and hopefully video to share my experience with all of you!

Love,



Terri McCarter-Williams
1630 Sam McCarter Way
Sevierville, TN 37876

Email: teresamccarter@sevier.org or EmsMomme@gmail.com