Go Fund Me pages tend to drive me nuts more often than not. Admittedly, that's because a childhood playmate of mine is using it to ask for money--$20k, I believe--to help "finance" her cancer treatments. But, she's on state health, and they pay 100% of her treatments, including medical transportation to and from, and her oral chemo, so I'm not really sure where the money is going. Yes, she's a single mother on disability, but that's 100% *not* related to her cancer.
Now, as far as the GFM for adoption expenses...
Our current pastor's family is fundraising to adopt a child from another country. I can't remember where. No GFM page. They are doing various fundraisers (garage sales, restaurant nights, etc) to get the $$$ for it.
A former congregant at our last church adopted a child from China, I believe, that had special needs. They had felt very led to adopt a child from a place where the child would have a tough life--so they adopted a medically fragile girl from China who would likely never be adopted there. They were continually asked what people could do for them, and they had always said, "Pray for the funding." When all was said and done, they were $5k short, I believe. They came in front of the congregation, explained their former two adoptions (bio sibs from somewhere in Asia, who were medically fragile), explained how they'd felt called to adopt a 3rd child, even how they had questioned if it was really the "right" thing to do considering their older two were now teens, and how they just couldn't get it out of their head despite asking for a clear "sign" of the foolishness of adopting a toddler while parenting teens. They now had the child matched, and they just needed the last bit of money to make it happen. Over the course of a year or two, they had been fundraising other ways (spaghetti feeds, ice cream socials, etc., at church), so it wasn't like they just came and asked for money, until that last little "blitz" for the final amount. The congregation was thrilled to be able to help them bring this little girl to her new home. (On a side note, we blew her mind when she found out my DD was adopted too. She hadn't met an adoptee who wasn't Asian! Still makes me giggle when I think of her amazement that adoption could be domestic or international, and that you didn't have to be Asian to be adopted)....
I'll admit I didn't ask anyone for any money in helping me adopt DD... but that's because I knew foster adoptions were usually inexpensive if there was an financial output at all, and that was what I needed to do to get DD (who was in the foster system when I met her).
I guess I understand people asking for help with adoption expenses, and I understand people wanting to help bring kids to their forever homes.
But GFM pages still rub me the wrong way.
--Mimi
Mom to Lala (2004), Bonus Mom to Big Sis 1 (1991) and Big Sis 2 (1992)
Grammy to Big Kindy Kid (2011), Big Pre-K Kid (2012),
Grandbaby Appendage (2014), and New Baby Grandboy (summer 2017)