I noticed on a post below that there is a Foster Care home in Bonaire...can someone give me the email address for the director? We could bring down clothes, shoes, toys etc. if they are needed? thanks for any info on this.

The director is Elly Albers, but she is leaving for her vacation today, and won't be back for about 3 weeks.

In the meantime, they do have a website under construction, you can visit it at www.infobonaire.com/hoppnerfoundation.

Hope that helps!

Susan

Great...thanks for the info...we are not getting to Bonaire till next Feb. So I can contact here when she gets back from vacation. I have a lot of kids clothing the my children have grown out of...so just thought we could pack it in a box and bring it down with us.

Lise,
Thanks for your interest in the Maria Hoppner home. The kids absolutely LOVE it when they get ANYTHING. They are so grateful.

Just so you know, a non-profit organization has been set up so people like you, who want to give something back, can also deduct the value from US taxes...not that this is the motivation for giving...but it is a nice benefit!

Here is the URL for Support Bonaire, Inc. http://www.supportbonaire.org/

You can ship items, deliver them to Jake Richter's house...or deliver them yourself if you want!

On behalf of the other members of the Board of Directors for Support Bonaire, Inc., thank you for thinking of these kids!

Scott

Great...I think we will just bring the things down with us in Feb. We will pack them in a large box that we can just leave with them. We will be in Bonaire for 2 weeks, so I would love to go and visit the foster home along with my twin girls. We work with a foster home near us here and have absolutely loved every minute of it. We are now in the process of getting two girls who will be able to come and stay with us on certain weekends. They have "release" weekends at this home and the kids can go and stay with "approved" families. We have not ruled out adopting them, but this is the first step. It is great you can offer the tax break...we would not need that but good for some I am sure. I have many things my girls have grown out of and also will start saving toys and things that they don't use ...this will be a great "service" project for my girls and we have till Feb. to gather the items. Thanks for the info.

Check with your airline too--some give a lot of grief for checked on "boxes," and some may make you ship it as cargo. You might want to rumage for an old suitcase or two instead of a box. Your good deed should definitely go unpunished.

Hi Lise, when Elly returns, I'll ask her to email you...........I do know she said they have lots of things they DON'T need, and lots of things they DO NEED, so that you don't end up bringing unnecessary items down. OK? Susan

Great idea...I will check with the airline as to what we can pack...I could always get an old suitecase from the thrift store. Susan, please do have her email me with a list of things she needs. I have many friends with young children and I am sure we could come up with some of the things they need!

Lise,

During Elly's absence, Esther, Elly's co-worker, is checking the Maria Hoppner mail box which can be reached at z.m.h.s@bonairelive.com

Jake