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DAILY NEEDS
As with any household with a baby, everyday items—like food, formula, clothing, and diapers—take their financial toll. Imagine having over babies in one house! That is why we are always in need of “gift in kind” donations of the items used on a regular basis.
We welcome donations of all sizes. Below are some of the current items most in need:
1. Playtex Bottles (the ones with the bags in them)
2. Playtex nipples (we use all four sizes available)
3. Motrin and Tylenol (ages 2 to 11)
4. Pajamas for 12 months to 3T (both boys' and girls' styles)
5. Plastic-backed changing table covers
6. Mucinex expectorant liquid (ages 2 and older)
7. Preemie diapers
A complete Starfish Wish List can be found on Amanda's Amazon page under the chinese.starfishthrower@gmail.com address. Many of these items are very difficult to find in China and are of great benefit to the health and comfort of the babies. If using the Amazon list, we recommend that you contact Amanda (throwingstarfish0913@gmail.com) before purchase to ensure that the items have not yet been donated. An important note: Amazon is just a way to showcase Amanda's list of needs and by no means do you have to buy the products from Amazon. Any store you choose is fine.
Amazon (and many other stores) will not send items directly to China. If you do ship to China you must fill out the appropriate custom forms. The complete address for Starfish Foster Home (in both English and Chinese) can be found on our Contact page. Please mark packages sent to Xi'an to the attention of Amanda de Lange and email her (throwingstarfish0913@gmail.com) to notify her that the package is coming.
An alternative that we have set up is a central mailing post that you can ship your donations to in the United States. This will save significant postage dollars! Here is the address:
Stephanie Barbee
2564 West Martingale Circle
South Jordan UT 84095
phone number: 801.253.3536
Stephanie is a very good friend of the Starfish Team and she has coordinated a way with travel agencies to transport the products over seas. So please know that this alternative exists.
Additional shipping information can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page (FAQ #11). If you have further questions regarding shipping items to Starfish, please contact Patrick McLaughlin at paddymac0130@gmail.com.
Corporations and foundations have been very generous to the children of Starfish. Most recently, the Collette Foundation (division of Collette Travel) donated $14,000 to be used specifically for the nutritional needs of the babies in the form of infant formula and milk. This was an enormous help to our budget.
"Gifts in kind" are incredibly helpful to managing the daily operations of Starfish while staying within our budget. One of our largest recurring costs is baby formula. If you or someone you know may be willing to arrange a donation of baby formula, please contact board member Cindy Klaja- McLaughlin (cmklaja@yahoo.com).
VOLUNTEERING
Every year, over 100 volunteers come through the doors of Starfish Foster Home. Some stay for months and some stay for weeks, depending on the amount of time they can offer. Volunteers are a huge help to our nannies, who often take care of several babies at a time.
General Information about volunteering at Starfish:
Starfish is located in the South Western side of Xian in a suburb called Gao Xin, which is about 20 minutes away from the city center. We live in a huge complex that has the following services:
• Chinese herbal medicine doctors that do medicinal massages (US$5 a hour)
• Foot massages (US$4 Hour)
• Manicures and pedicures (US$ 3 to 6)
• Small convenience stores
• Green grocers
We are also in walking distance from the following:
• Starbucks
• McDonalds
• KFC
• Subway
• Haagen Daz
• Baskin Robins
• 2 Supermarkets
• A lot of Chinese Restaurants
Here is the address in English and in Chinese and an address for a taxi:
Amanda de Lange,
Maple Leaf New City,
Area C, Block B-502,
Ke Ji Road,
Gao Xin,
Xian 710075
CHINA
Postal Address : 陕西省西安市高新区科技路枫叶新都市C区B座502室
邮编:710075 CHINA
Address for Taxi: 高新区枫叶新都市 （西门)
Important telephone numbers:
86(China area Code)
86. 1348.812.4847 Amanda's Cell phone number
86.29.8839.0648 ( 502 Foster home)
Volunteering at Starfish -- Further Details
1) Volunteer apartment
You may contact Amanda at throwingstarfish0913@gmail.com if you want to stay at the volunteer apartment that is located at the foster home. The apartment is very modern. There are three bedrooms of various sizes, two Western-style bathrooms, and a kitchen with a microwave, small oven, and a refrigerator.
The volunteer apartment is not part of the foundation and we have to cover the costs. The rent is US$250 for the en suite bedroom and US$ 200 per month for the 2 smaller bedrooms that share a bathroom. The rent includes the utilities, guard fees, cleaning, and telephone except any long distance telephone calls. There is a wireless connection and a computer for your use. And, you are welcome to bring your own laptop.
Rent also includes a simple Chinese lunch that is served at the foster home every day. Volunteers manage their own breakfasts and dinners. We have a book of local knowledge that contains choices of restaurant within walking distance. And, many places deliver.
If you decide you would like to stay at the volunteer apartment, please contact Amanda to make sure there is room for you.
2) Volunteers
We welcome almost any one to come and volunteer. The common denominator is that all volunteers love the babies and want to help. We have short-term volunteers who stay a few days and long-term volunteers who have stayed months. Single people have come and large families have spent time with us. We have volunteers from all over the world including far-flung places like Iceland. We ask that adults accompany little ones.
If you have any skills we can certainly put you to use. You may choose to help with the baby care but we can use scrap bookers, handymen of all different varieties, sewers, administrative assistants, accountants, decorators, medical staff, etc.
The one prerequisite we require is that you be motivated to pitch in. Amanda and the nannies are extremely busy taking care of over 50 babies so it is not possible for them to pamper the volunteers. We want people to be self-directed. There are no start and finish times at the home and there are no tasks for you to be “assigned to” unless you ask for them. We are eager for volunteers to have a fulfilling experience and reach their goals but it is important for you to assert what you can do to help and then just dig in! For Starfish, the most important thing we can do is to love the babies as much as possible.
3) Recommended ways to travel
Look at www.flychina.com to get some good prices. It will give you an idea of how much you should spend in getting to China from the US. After your entry port you can find domestic tickets on www.elong.net and www.ctrip.com/en. Please note that you have to fly to Xi'an Xianyang Airport. Let Amanda know when you are coming and make sure to send her your flight information so she can arrange a pick up at the airport for you. You may also use the overnight train but that requires a lot of arrangements. It would be best if you leave from Xian on the train if you want to.
If you have any other questions that have not been answered please contact Amanda at throwingstarfish0913@gmail.com
A Volunteer’s Experience at Starfish.
“Volunteering at Starfish is great as everyday is different. I went for 3 months last year and I was able to go with the nannies to take the babies to dentist appointments and hospital visits. I also fed the babies, bathed them, took them on walks and played with them. The babies are all really happy and cute and they love the extra attention the volunteers give them. The nannies are lovely, they take such good care of the babies and they are happy to let volunteers cuddle the babies and give them their bottles.
Whilst I was volunteering at Starfish I stayed in Amanda’s volunteer apartment that was perfect as it is so close to the babies. If you stay there you get lunch cooked for you by one of the nannies, use of the internet and use of the washing machine.
I am going to volunteer at Starfish again this summer, it will be my third time and I’m sure I’ll keep returning for many years to come. I love it! “
FUNDRAISING
There are so many ways to help Starfish and they can be in the form of short-term or long-term efforts... Here is a recent example of how three high school students made a huge difference:
Emma Lindsay, Lauren White, and Rachel Parker are sophomores at Peters Township High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Every year Peters Township has a class requirement known as the Mahatma Project whereby the students select a charity to work on throughout the year. Emma, Lauren, and Rachel chose Starfish. Their assignment required them to come up with a fundraising plan and see it to fruition.
These students worked with the local middle school social studies teachers and put together a comprehensive presentation about what Starfish Children’s Services is and does. The teachers used this as a learning tool and in the process the girls raised money through the classrooms. The girls created a “competition” among the social studies teachers to see whose class could raise the most money for Starfish!
Over the Christmas Holidays, these young adults presented our board president, Pat McLaughlin with checks totaling $2,000!
During the course of their fundraising, Emma Lindsay relayed some heartwarming stories. One of the 8th graders from the Peters Township Middle School donated $100 of her own money. Her name is Emma Jean Held and she too was adopted from China when she was four month old. She is from Jaihgxi in South China and the foster home that she was adopted from was called Gan Zhou Social Welfare. Thank you Emma Jean!
While the social studies class fundraising competition was in process, two of the 7th graders from one of the classes went door to door in 15-degree (Fahrenheit) weather to collect money for their class team.
We are very grateful and impressed with the kindness, ingenuity, and tenacity of these students who wanted to do something to help our babies.
Thank you Emma, Lauren, and Rachel!
We have many Starfish Friends who have hosted fundraising drives for us at their schools and churches. Stefanie Bishop, a long-time friend of Starfish from Tennessee, has raised thousands of dollars through a coalition of church congregations.
Another woman from Southern California, Virginia, has dedicated her time to building a scrapbook for each Starfish child so that their adoptive parents can have a sense of their history prior to adoption. These scrapbooks are spectacular, and we appreciate Virginia’s time and enormous effort.
If you are interested in learning more about Starfish fundraising opportunities, please e-mail Board Chair Patrick McLaughlin (paddymac0130@gmail.com).
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