Angel Tree 2012 - Meet Francis

I really wasn't planning to be an Angel Tree warrior this year - I had so much fun "bumping" other kids up last year, and gave away some of the money that was meant to be for my child (although she still got to her $1000), that I planned to just spread all my money around this year.

But then, on the last night with just hours to go until the Angel Tree started, there were still a couple of kids who needed warriors, so I signed up for Francis.

Poor Francis - the picture they have of him on the Angel tree is pretty bad - the full body picture of him is better, but they want a close-up of the child's face for the ornaments.  It's not obvious from the photo, but he has just turned 8.

I'm going to paste in an excerpt from Laura Jeremy's blog - she adopted a little boy (now called Seth) from the same institution where Francis still is, and met Francis while she was there:

Meet another one of Seth's friends

See this little boy sitting next to Seth?  The little boy in the orange chair?

 

 

We have a chance to help him.  His name on Reeces Rainbow is "Francis".  Francis likely lived the first 6 years of his life at the baby house with Seth and Cohen (Josiah).  He was transferred at least a year before Seth was.  Francis is living at the institution where Seth was.  At the institution, they were in the same room and usually sat side by side.  Francis is a little boy who desperately needs a family.  He, like Seth, has cerebral palsy.  He gets food and he's clean, but he gets no mental stimulation, no therapy, no stretching, no schooling.  He sits in his orange chair day after day after day.  I can't imagine the despair and loneliness that must cause.  I can't imagine waking up every morning, knowing that all I'm going to do is sit in an orange chair until bedtime.  Francis is very sweet, but very delayed and very locked inside himself.  He has the most amazing blue eyes and of all the boys who worried me while I was there, he was the one who worried me the most.  Francis has significant needs.  And he needs a family to step forward to help him. 

We have a chance to help change Francis' life. Francis has been nominated to be on the Angel Tree this year.