Community Corner

Almonds Seek Joy in Second Chinese Adoption

High Ridge couple uses garage sales, fundraisers and bake sales to raise the money needed to bring a 2-year-old special needs boy into their family.

Ken and Trish Almond, of High Ridge, recently learned they were matched with a 2-year-old boy to adopt from southern China.

"His name is Jacob, and he has special needs," said Trish. "But we're about $7,000 short of the amount we need to get him."

The Almonds adopted 5 1/2-year-old Ellie from China exactly five years ago this coming May.

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On Saturday, the Almond family was out in the cold and windy weather at an annual garage sale hosted by the Eureka Chamber of Commerce at Six Flags. The garage sale booth is a familiar location for the Almonds as they try to earn enough money to buy a ticket to China.

Trish home-schools Ellie, and works part-time. Ken works, a lot. Saturday's event was the seventh garage sale in which they've participated to raise the $25,000 to $30,000 needed to adopt Jacob.

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Friends at Spring Hills Presbyterian Church chipped in to conduct a bake sale Saturday in conjunction with donating items for the Almonds' booth at the garage sale. Anyone wishing to help the Almonds can read more on their blog, or can help them make up the difference in the necessary financing. 

"We've been working for three years to save and raise the money needed to adopt a second child. We prayed every year about finding ways to raise extra money. All of a sudden, now that we found out about Jacob, things are falling into place," Trish said.

For those who would like to help the overall situation in general, Trish recommends sponsoring a child.

"There are 147 million orphans in the world, and we can't adopt them all, but we can help raise awareness of their lives and send some financial relief as best we can. There is a huge need to help these children," she said.

She said many children who are in international orphanages or group homes say that because they "have heard it is great to have a mom or dad, they guess it is."

Trish said they are willing to help other families who would like to adopt children. "We're not experts on adoption, but we have a real heart for it."

"We're so comfortable in our world, we forget what it's like for children who are waiting to be adopted," she said. "We ate more than a bowl of rice this morning."

Ironically, Trish and Ken soon will become grandparents at about the same time they are likely to become parents again in June. Ken's child from a former marriage is having a baby.


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