The Avilla Family's own....

Adoption Adventure

Our Report and Update on Charitable Donations - January 24, 2000

Immediately after returning from our first trip on March 14, I sent out a letter that included much of the content of this page. The kind response from numerous friends and family members was amazing! My sister, Beth, passed the letter around at work, and in a matter of a week's time, collected bags and bags of clothes. My dear mother dutifully sorted and packed the piles that accumulated in her entry hall and dining room. Kerry and I returned to Khabarovsk with 13 large (6.5 cubit feet each) boxes packed with clothes and sports equipment and supplies we bought with some of the money that was donated (see the itemized accounting below). Six of the boxes went to the children's home, the others were divided between the two Baby Homes. Many children and workers will be blessed daily by these gracious donations!

Now some great news! I learned that shipping and duty are two of the cash expenses that can limit the flow of donated clothes and items. Almost anyone with kids has things that get passed on to other families or dropped off to Salvation Army when they are outgrown, so the supply of clothes is not a big challenge. But to collect cash donations to be able to pay for shipping and duty, ah, that becomes the limiting factor! But not for us!!! I contacted an air freight company, Evergreen Air Freight in New York, (met one of their employees on our 1997 trip) and in December, after several months of discussion, they agreed to ship up to 3,300 pounds of clothes and supply donations four times per year for a minimal handling fee. This will save a lot of shipping costs because normal airfreight charges on Aeroflot for cargo to Khabarovsk are $4 per kilo. Additionally, duty charges can add up fast. I had called ahead on our last trip and asked for a letter from someone in the Ministry of Education Department requesting waiver of Customs Duty. The letter was waiting at the airport when we arrived! I spoke with the Customs Duty officer while at the airport in Khabarovsk and he agreed to continue to waive duty charges if we submitted a letter from the Ministry of Education with each shipment. Summary: That means a 50-pound box will cost about $19 to deliver!

Friends, the way has been paved for a very cost-effective channel for delivering donations to the orphanages in Khabarovsk. The shipments will be received by our trusted friend, the agency coordinator, and delivered directly to the orphanages.This is about as solid of a delivery channel as possible. (I spoke with the American station manager of the U.S.-based company that unloads the cargo in Khabarovsk and he said that he has never heard of an instance of pilferage of goods delivered to the secure area at the airport.)

I am very excited about these recent developments because I know many people are interested in participating in a grass-roots program to help those in need. I hope you will consider donating your used clothing, new items, or cash for needs on this list. The shipments are leaving from San Francisco. Please contact us so we can coordinate with your efforts and manage the flow of things coming in. Phone us at 408-848-4040, or email at davilla@adoptionadventure.com

David and Kerry Avilla
1640 Valley Oaks Dr.
Gilroy, CA 95020-7749
408-848-4040

Itemized List of Expenditures

Accountable stewardship is very important to me and I promised to publish a listing of expenditures. This list will be updated regularly, both to give an account, but also to show the kinds of items we have been able to procure on the needs list. There is currently an informal expenditure review board consisting of Kerry and me and my sister Beth.

• Recreation equipment: three soccer balls, a hand pump and extra inflation needles, two frisbees, two flip-toss sets, two paddle-ball sets with extra balls,
• Craft Items: sixteen small canisters of PlayDoh, colored marker pens, pencils, three pencil sharpeners. $120 for items in these first two groups.
• Shipping costs - Aeroflot waived excess baggage charges on three of the thirteen boxes. Each additional box was $80. We decided to spend the money for shipping on this trip because the Customs Duty situation for future shipments was still unknown at the time we traveled. We also were able to personally guarantee delivery of this first shipment and decided it was worth using the financial resources to deliver the clothes that had been collected. Shipping costs work out to about $1.71 per pound, which is a reasonable rate if you must pay! $800 total spent.
• Shipping boxes, one roll of packing tape - purchased in order to obtain the largest box size possible in a time-constrained situation. 15 boxes, $3.25 each. Total: $61.11

The Adventure of a Lifetime with consequences for eternity starts with one step for your family, too!...


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