Our Impact So Far
In 2024 and early 2025, Village of the Stars experienced transformational growth—thanks to the unwavering generosity of our community. What began as a small act of love multiplied into life-changing support for adoptive families, vulnerable children, and orphans across the globe. Together, we turned compassion into action—providing emergency relief, celebrating milestones, funding education, and building bridges of belonging. Here’s a look at the tangible impact your giving made possible.
Q1 2026 Impact Report
In the first quarter of 2026, Village of the Stars distributed more than $14,000 in direct support to 30 families and groups.
Here are some of the meaningful ways your generosity made a difference:
1. Empowering Faith Growth Through “Send Me”
Makaylah became the first recipient of our newly established “Send Me” project fund. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work at Indiana University, with the goal of becoming an adoption social worker. This summer, she will join a U.S.-based mission team traveling to Indonesia for two months through Salt Company — an on-campus ministry inspired by Matthew 5:13: “You are the salt of the earth.”
Makaylah is one of seven adopted children of Carrilynn and Tom Williams.
2. Honoring Elijah David’s Legacy
On March 1, we marked the heavenly anniversary of Elijah David, a beloved 14-year-old boy who passed away suddenly from heart failure. In his memory, we published a compilation of his mother’s reflections titled “A Mother’s 365 Days’ Longing for Her Son.” Through this tribute, our community raised $3,600 to support the family. Cindy shared her deep gratitude for the outpouring of love and compassion she received during this difficult season of grief.
3. Supporting JunJun’s Road to Recovery
After major surgery last year, JunJun requires intensive, long-term physical therapy to regain mobility and independence. Her family was forced to pause her treatment due to a steep increase in their medical insurance deductible — now $5,400 for the year.
Village of the Stars partnered with A Perfect Love Foundation to cover half of this cost. JunJun has now resumed therapy and is making encouraging progress.
JunJun is making her first step with help of PT session
4. Launch of “Bridge to Roots” Initiative
This quarter, we officially launched the “Bridge to Roots” project fund and began a partnership with the Nanchang Project. This new initiative provides partial financial assistance and logistical support to adoptees seeking to search for and reconnect with their birth families.
As we reflect on the first quarter of 2026, we are reminded that every story represents more than a need met — it represents a life touched by compassion, faith, and community.
Whether supporting healing, honoring remembrance, or creating pathways for connection and growth, your partnership makes this work possible. We are deeply grateful for your continued trust and generosity, and we look forward to building on this momentum together in the months ahead.
2025 Annual Report
We are pleased to share our 2025 Annual Report, which summarizes the work that we accomplished together over the past year. You can read the full report here:
A few highlights from 2025:
• $102,000 in donations were received from 309 individual donors, reflecting the generosity of our growing community.
• $107,000 was distributed to 67 families and community partners, helping meet urgent needs and long-term challenges.
• We continue to operate at near-zero administrative cost, ensuring that essentially every donated dollar goes directly toward supporting families.
• Several story-driven fundraising campaigns mobilized timely support for families facing crises, education needs, and medical or life-transition challenges.
• We launched new giving platforms (PayPal Giving Fund, website credit-card giving, and Benevity workplace giving) to make it easier for donors to participate.
• Our website was redesigned, our monthly e-newsletter launched, and our YouTube channel introduced to share stories of adoption, faith, healing, and hope.
• We also introduced two new initiatives: Send Me, supporting spiritual formation and mission opportunities for youth in adoptive families, and Bridge to Roots, helping adoptees seeking to reconnect with their birth families.
These efforts represent the collective compassion and faithfulness of this community. We are deeply grateful for your prayers, encouragement, and generosity.
Q4 2025 Impact Report
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Village of the Stars distributed $23,400 to support more than 40 families and groups through various VoS project funds.
For details of each project fund, read this page.
Highlights
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Christmas Wishlist Program
We invited 20 families to offer a wishlist of $400 in value, and all 380 gifts were purchased by our generous readers within 1-2 days of publication. In addition, we selected another 10 families to receive Amazon gift cards, $400 each, thanks to donations we received from our readers. (Read this year’s wishlist stories)
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Christmas Gift-Giving at Bethel China
We have gifts purchased for all blind children at Children Welfare Institutes in Zhengzhou, Henan and Shangrao, Jiangxi. They include toys, snacks, drinks and other daily necessities.
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Emergency supports
We provided emergency grants for 2 families in urgent need. One family was behind bill payment due to significant medical and care expenses; the other family lost their father from aggressive brain tumors.
We are deeply grateful for every supporter who stands with Village of the Stars through your generous giving and faithful service. Your support is not only a blessing to the families and children we serve, but also a source of encouragement and trust that strengthens us to continue this ministry.
Q3 2025 Impact Report
In the third quarter of 2025, Village of the Stars distributed $25,500 to support more than 26 families and groups through various VoS project funds.
For details of each project fund, read this page.
Highlights
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Milestone Scholarship (Education Fund)
For the second year, we awarded 7 college-bound adoptees the Milestone Scholarship of
$1,000 each — an increase from last year’s $750. (Read last year’s story)
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Extraordinary Support for a Student with HIV (Education Fund)
Beyond the Milestone Scholarship, we successfully raised funds to cover an entire year of college costs ($10,000) for one student living with HIV. This included a 50% matching fund.
(Read complete story)
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Supporting Maylee’s Paralympic Journey (General Fund)
Maylee, a talented wheelchair tennis player, has been selected to join the U.S. Team for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games. To support her training and tournament expenses worldwide, we launched a dedicated support fund that will provide her $500 per month for 3 years. So far, we have raised $12,000 including matched fund — about 65% of our target. We will continue this fundraising until we have reached the target. (Read complete story)
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Encouraging Adoptive Mothers (General Fund)
We sponsored two more adoptive mothers to attend the Mid-West Retreat organized by
Seas the Connection, offering much needed rest and renewal.
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Emergency Grants (Emergency Fund)
We provided 3 emergency grants totaling $5,000. This includes the matching funds provided by A Perfect Love Foundation:
One family grieving the loss of their son
One family in deep trauma needing a short healing vacation
One single mother covering martial arts tuition for her autistic daughter, which has been a vital therapeutic outlet
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Mission Work & Global Impact (Daniel Fund – Internation Orphan Aid)
We continue to support mission work that uplifts lives and saves souls:
Provided a grant to Saviour’s Project to purchase 3 milk goats, supplying nutrition for 35 orphans in Uganda.
Continued our quarterly grant to Open Hearts for Orphans (OHFO) for their orphan aid program in Uganda
Sponsored missionary training for a young man from one of our adoptive families
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Another Smile (Smiles Fund - Oral/Maxillofacial Surgeries)
We pledged $5,000 from the Smiles Fund to help cover the implant surgery for a fifth child born with cleft lip and palate. Her medical insurance does not cover this type of surgery, and although she is 18 and still in high school, she does not qualify for any of the child-focused grants since she is legally an adult.
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VoS YouTube Channel Launch
We launched the Village of the Stars YouTube channel, and in just a few months we have posted 38 videos across 11 playlists, reaching over 45,000 views and 148 subscribers.
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Website Revamp & Growth
We redesigned our website with a refreshed look, enhanced donation page, and expanded contents. It now serves as an online library with 64 adoption-related stories and resources in both English and Chinese.
Q2 2025 Impact Report
In the second quarter of 2025, Village of the Stars distributed over $17,500 to support more than 28 families under various VoS project funds.
Highlights
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We successfully concluded our fundraising campaign for Bethel China, raising a total of ¥43,680, which will provide three blind children from low-income families the access to special education classes at Bethel China.
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Two additional children received oral and dental surgeries funded through our Smiles Fund.
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We awarded three emergency grants to families facing crisis: two involving hospitalization and one following a car accident.
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We shared the inspiring story of a blind youth’s dream to fly and successfully raised funds for his education and training. Today, a special fund of $10,000 has been set aside for him, made possible through a 50% matching gift from SAIF Charitable.
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A special grant was provided to support a family traveling to Guatemala on a mission service trip with Wheels for the World.
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We distributed 10 free copies of Cooper is Super, an inspirational children’s book featuring a child with Down syndrome.
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Ten children received birthday gifts totaling $1,400, bringing them joy and encouragement.
Q1 2025 Impact Report
In the first quarter of 2025, Village of the Stars distributed over $34,000 to support more than 20 families across a variety of needs and programs. Here’s how the funds were used:
Emergency Fund
We provided urgent support to six families facing hospitalizations.
Notably, on March 1, Cindy Head tragically lost her beloved son, David Elijah. Through a special fundraising effort, we were able to contribute $10,500 toward funeral and memorial costs. This support offered critical emotional relief, helping Cindy grieve while continuing to care for her other children.
Celebration Fund
We distributed $1,800 in birthday gift cards to 11 children, recognizing their special days and affirming their value.
Bethel China Fund
We contributed ¥4,500 RMB to assist with the care and support of blind children. This is our first partnership in China.
Heritage Connection Fund
We funded the first semester of Chinese language classes, helping adoptees strengthen their cultural identity and heritage connection.
Daniel Fund
Two grants were awarded to support the care of orphans in Uganda, expanding our international impact.
Smiles Fund
We supported oral surgeries and dental treatment plans for three children, improving both their physical health and emotional well-being.
Education & Training Fund
We awarded the first Pathway Scholarship to an adoptee, covering half the cost of her pet grooming apprenticeship program, enabling her to pursue pet care career and to achieve independence.
Additional Family Support
Beyond our core funds, we also provided practical assistance to adoptive mothers:
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Covered the cost of new bedroom carpeting for one mother
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Sponsored the retreat expenses for another, offering much-needed rest and renewal
Annual Report Year 2024
In 2024, Village of the Stars experienced a remarkable surge in generosity, with total donations received growing from approximately $33,000 in 2023 to $198,000—a sixfold increase.
In 2024, $102,000 was directly distributed to support 77 adoptive families in need, a significant rise from $18,000 in 2023. In addition to these funds, our community of supporters contributed approximately $30,000 in direct donations to individual families, while our charitable partners provided $7,000 in matched grants.
Emergency Fund
We provided a total of $26,500 in emergency financial assistance to 17 families facing unexpected crises. This included relief efforts for Tornado damage in Tallahassee (May), Hurricane Helene (September), one family bereavement, multiple hospitalizations, and urgent medical needs. These funds offered critical, timely support, helping families stabilize during moments of profound disruption and distress.
Celebration Fund
We distributed $16,500 in gifts to over 70 families, primarily through our Christmas Wishlist and birthday gift programs. We also celebrated three weddings of Chinese daughters—a joyful milestone for the families we serve.
International Orphan Aids
We offered four small grants totaling $3,200 to Open Hearts for Orphans (OHFO). These funds supported the care of three abandoned babies, provided housing for a grandmother raising orphaned grandchildren, and helped a widowed mother care for her young children—offering hope and stability in vulnerable situations.
Education & Training Fund
We awarded the Milestone Scholarship for the first time to eight college freshmen, thanks to the generous support of SAIF Partner Charitable. We also developed proposals for three additional scholarships to launch next year: Hope Scholarship – need-based, Star Scholarship – merit-based, ad Pathway Scholarship – for vocational training. These efforts mark an exciting step forward in supporting the educational dreams of our adoptees.
Smiles Fund
Daniel was the first child to benefit from the Smiles Fund in 2024. Two more children are scheduled to receive support next year for their oral surgeries and dental treatment plans. These interventions improve not only their physical health but also their emotional well-being and overall quality of life.
Heritage Connection Fund
In 2024, we offered two online Chinese language classes to 11 adoptees through our partner, Holistic Education. Cultural programs like this help adoptees build a deeper connection to their heritage, embrace their identity with pride, and navigate cultural and personal challenges with greater confidence.