Looking for Vendors/Crafters!

We are exciting to announce that we are seeking Vendors and Crafters for our first ever Elim Christian School/Reece's Rainbow Virtual Craft Fair!

The Virtual Craft Fair will be held from Sunday, November 16th to Saturday, December 6, 2014.


Only one representative from each company will be allowed to participate in the craft fair.  (For example, there will only be one Avon vendor.)

All sales will take place online.  In order to participate, you must have an online presence, such as a website, etsy shop or facebook page.

Vendors must be willing to donate 50% of their commission (or profits).   25% will go to Elim Christian School.  12.5% will go to Kimberley on Reece's Rainbow and 12.5% will go to Alicia on Reece's Rainbow.  (Our committee is more than happy to help you calculate/make your donations when the time comes.)  

A $5 deposit will be required to assure your spot but can be deducted from your final donation.  

The money donate to Elim Christian School will go to purchase ipads for the speech pathologists to use during group and individual sessions.  Almost every student at Elim has speech therapy so almost every student will benefit from your sales!  

Kimberley and Alicia are young girls with special needs who are available for international adoption.  International adoption is incredibly expensive.  The money raised will go into their grants to help offset the costs of their adoptions when their forever families are found.  

To get an application or to ask questions, please email Natalie at nkeller@elimcs.org

Thanks for your support!



Click here to see the confirmed list of vendors.

Click here to learn more about Elim Christian School.

Click here to learn more about Reece's Rainbow and Angel Tree.  

Check out our Facebook event page.

Meet Alicia!

Alicia is a 10 year old little girl living in an Orphanage in Eastern Europe. My niece and nephew were adopted from the same Eastern European country, so this is a country that is very dear to my heart. Sadly, Alicia has recently been transferred out of her orphanage to an institution for older children. This girl NEEDS out! 

Read more about Alicia here. 

I'll share some things about Alicia from a family that visited with her in July 2010. 

"From an adoptive family who visited with her in July 2010:  “ Alicia absolutely LOVES one on one attention. she is front and center if you are handing out kisses and hugs. You can see she wants a Mama all her own, and it will be so hard on her to have her sister leave to be adopted, as her other sister was already adopted.   (Their mother is deceased, most likely from AIDS).   She likes to swing.   She loved to lay her head in my lap while we were both on the bench swing and I would stroke her hair. The other kids didn't like to share my attention but Alicia was ok with it.   I could have two in my lap and she didn’t mind, but she didn't like being crowded out when the other child decided they wanted me all to themselves.  She likes sensory input.   She kept rubbing her arm across my husband’s unshaven face and shivering and making the funniest face and then immediately doing it again.  She likes to go down the slide again and again.   She really likes to be in the  middle of whatever is going on, and be included. But often she is excluded, even by attendants.  For Alicia it’s a vicious circle. She is delayed, she gets frustrated, they don’t let her do things the others are doing, she gets more delayed and more frustrated. She is VERY VERY SWEET AND LOVING.  She needs a family that has only a couple kids, not ten. She has HIV.   If you want a little girl to hug and kiss, she will GLADLY take all the hugs and kisses you can hand out. She is not afraid of men but is not inappropriate either. I saw her with my husband as well as another couple of young men who visit regularly.  Alicia is on the small side, like maybe size 4.  The children are valued and loved at this orphanage.   The grounds are visually stimulating and the kids get outside for a couple hours in the morning as well as afternoon.   They even go swimming in the pool they have there.   Hope someone will come for Alicia very soon!”   Alicia is toilet-trained and able to say when she needs to use the restroom.  She has tremendous potential if someone would take her home and love her!"

Alicia is a super LOVING little lady and deserves a mama and papa of her very own. 

Read the requirements below and prayerfully consider adding Alicia to your family. 

• Married couples only
• Married individual adoptions available for those who qualify
• No stated family size restrictions
• As of late 2011, there’s no longer an upper age limit for parents
• At least one parent must be a minimum of 15 years older than the child
• Total with travel approx $25k
• First trip, 2-4 weeks to attend court
• 10 day wait after court (parents can return home)
• Only one parent must return to complete the adoption for approx 14 days
• No diagnosed history of mental health conditions or certain infectious diseases
• No criminal history
• May adopt multiple unrelated children
• This is a very fast program! Start to finish is an average of 7 months. Families committing to children in this program, especially the children at risk of the institution, should be in a financial position to complete the adoption quickly. It is a blessing to be able to adopt so quickly, but leaves little time for major fundraising efforts.

Meet Kimberley

Kimberley is an adorable 7-year-old in a country that I love in Latin America.  (A country that Elim has sent teams to work in.)  A family recently adopted a little girl from there.  Is it believed that she was be the first child adopted from there with Down syndrome.  Another family is in process right now for a little boy with Down syndrome.  Wouldn't it be great if Kimberley was next?  

According to her Reece's Rainbow profile:

Girl, born Feb 2007
Down syndrome, congenital heart disease and hypothyroidism. Mental delays.

Report dated 2010

Kimberley is predominantly cheerful.  In the orphanage the girl is described as a sociable, smiling, loving, quiet girls, who enjoys being with other persons. Her sleep is normal. She enjoys eating pretty food, so the orphanage gives her vegetables, eggs, iron, etc.. However, they still give her vitamins and avoid foods with lactose.

Her communication is usually through gestures, cries and guttural sounds.  General gross motor and fine motor delays, common for a child with Down syndrome.

She participates in group activities and plays in partnership with other children.  She is cautious with strangers but she adjusts quickly to their presence.

I can't help but wonder how much progress she's made in the last four years and how much more she would make with a loving family?  

These are the requirements to adopt from her country:

• Single women or married couples, age 25-55
• Couples must be married 2 1/2 years
• Both parents, one trip of 4 weeks
• After the adoption finalization and new birth certificate, one parent can go home early (about 2.5-3 weeks); one parent remains for final visa exit interview and new passport
• Approx 9-12 months from dossier submission to travel
• No set restriction on family size
• Parents with mild mental health history may be considered on a case by case basis
• Two unrelated children in the same orphanage can be adopted together
• The agency seeks Christian adoptive parents
• Total cost approx $27,000 (additional child, add about $5000)

As you can see, the costs of international adoption are high.  Grants through Reece's Rainbow and other organizations help offset this cost.  Every purchase you make will help this little girl's future family.  Maybe that family is even you!  

What is Elim Christian School?

Since its start in 1948, Elim has served thousands of children with disabilities. Through Elim Christian School and its specialized autism programming (ACE), Elim provides educational, therapeutic, social, and vocational training for children with developmental disabilities.  (Taken from their website.)

Basically, Elim is a Christian, special education school that serves children who, for a variety of reasons, cannot be served by the public school system.  Elim believes in helping each child reach their God-given potential and teaches from a Christian perspective and world-view.  

Each day, approximately 275 children with disabilities travel to the Palos Heights campus of Elim Christian Services seeking the educational, therapeutic, vocational, and recreational services Elim Christian School offers. Approved by the Illinois State Board of Education, Elim Christian School offers diversified programs, including specialized autism programming, to students ages 3 to 21 who have developmental and/or physical disabilities.

While Elim receives funding for their day-to-day operations from the school districts they serve, every good teacher knows there are always so many more things you could use and would love to have.  Purchases from the virtual craft fair will allow the speech department to purchase ipads for use by during therapy sessions.  Almost every child at Elim receives speech services so almost every child will benefit from the new ipads.  

What are Reece's Rainbow and Angel Tree?

What is Reece's Rainbow?  

The mission statement of Reece's Rainbow is to advocate and find families for orphans with Down syndrome and other special needs by raising funds for adoption grants and promoting awareness through an online community, media communications, and other events.  (Taken from their website.)  

Reece’s Rainbow is not an adoption agency.  They are an advocacy and adoption grant/fundraising organization only.   They raise awareness for waiting children with Down syndrome and other special needs for the purposes of international adoption and social activism. They actively pursue donations as grants to offset the costs related to adopting the children they serve.  (Taken from their FAQ page.)  

Basically, RR is an organization that maintains online photo listings of children available for international adoption.  Advocates and families work to raise money for waiting children and adopting families.  Since 2006, over 1,200 children have found HOMES with their forever families because of Reece's Rainbow.  

What is Angel Tree?
Angel Tree is Reece's Rainbow's annual Christmas project.  Warriors sing up to raise at least $1,000 for each child listed.  They plan any and every type of fund raiser.  More important than the money is the advocacy.  Each child gets shared on social media and at local events in an attempt to find their forever family.  

This year, I signed up to raise money and awareness for Kimberley.  You can read more about my attempts to advocate for her here.

My friend Emily is advocating and fund raising for Alicia.   You can check out Emily's blog here.


MAKE SURE YOU CHECK BACK SOON FOR A MAJOR FUND RAISER FOR OUR ANGEL TREE GIRLS AND ANOTHER GREAT NON-PROFIT THAT HELPS PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES LOCALLY!