Adoption Fund Brainstorming

I had such a blast writing my "A-Z's of Vegas" post that I thought I'd try the "A-Z" strategy for other subjects too!  :)  My current assignment?  The A-Z's of Adoption Fundraising...  Anyone who has looked into private adoption knows how ridiculously expensive it is, and my sister and I have been busy brainstorming away trying to figure out different ways to raise the money.  Here's what we've come up with so far:

Ask for money (Does anyone have any money you would like to contribute to my Adoption Fund? :); Avon (Would anyone even buy Avon if I decided to sell it?); Apply for adoption grants and loans; After school care for kiddos until their parents get off of work (Although, I don't think that my boss would appreciate a whole mess of kids running around the office in the afternoon.)

Be the "Biggest Loser" (Although that would probably involve that whole "diet and exercise" thing that I'm not overly-fond of); Bake Sale (Taking into account my considerable lack of talent in that "kitchen" room of the house, I think this would probably work better if someone else did the baking); Beg (It couldn't hurt anyway! :)

Change jars (I saw the cutest idea on an adoption funding website.  You just give baby bottles to friends and family and ask them to save their spare change.  When the bottle fills up, they give it back to you and get a new one.  I wouldn't be able to earn the $25K that way, but every little bit helps!); Cut coupons and Check ads (I have got to learn how to do this the right way.  You really can save a lot of money if you do it right.)

Direct deposit a portion of my paycheck into an Adoption Fund savings account.  (If I don't see the money, I won't be tempted to spend it.)

Ebay (I'm sure I've got all sorts of crap high-valued possessions that I could sell!)

Find "Free Stuff" websites (You can get all sorts of samples of things that you already use for free, so why not do it?  The more I can get for free, the more I can save when I don't have to buy it!)

Garage Sale (I think the best way to go about this would be to ask for donated items from friends and family, price only the higher-valued items, and advertise it as an "Adoption Sale."  Just have people make an offer for what they want to buy.  That way, friends and family can get rid of the junk in their houses, and I can save the money in my Adoption Fund when it's done.)

High-priced Call Girl (Why go cheap when you can get a great date out of it too? ;-); Hospital Sitter (My foster agency has a pool of sitters who are called on rotation to sit with children in CPS custody while they are in the hospital.  It's $10 an hour, and you can say "yes" or "no" any time they call you.  That would be a great way to still stay involved with foster care, but to earn some money for the Adoption Fund as well.)

Internet fundraising (You earn a small percentage of whatever their purchase when they shop online through your site for purchases they were going to make anyway.); "If you find it, pick it up...  All day long you'll have good luck!" (Wait a second, I think that's a combination of "See a penny, pick it up" and "If you build it, they will come."  Either way though, I'm not above picking up change off the ground!)

Jacks (Kids don't play jacks anymore, and I totally rocked at that game!  I could probably hustle some poor children for their allowance money if I had the chance.); Jelly and jam (Homemade from my kitchen and sold for a small fee...  Quality not guaranteed though.  It's me we're talking about here.)

Kids' Carnival (Get donated bounce house and other carnival things, set up games, etc. and sell tickets.  Fun family time!); Karate lessons (I can yell, "Hi-YAH!" with the best of them.  As Christy says, "It can't be that hard, right???" :-)

Lottery winner!; Lice removal professional (might as well get the practice if I'm going to have a constant stream of children in and out of the house)

Monitize my blog; Mystery shopping (It doesn't pay much at all, but it does pay you to shop! ;-)

Nude-y calendar (Not me!  I'll find me some hot guys and use them.  :-)

Offer my "sitting" services (baby-sitting, house-sitting, pet-sitting, etc.  I request house-sitting in ritzy neighbors with built-in pools and pet-sitting of fish only.); Organizational services (because I am a list and organizational freak!)

PayPal donation account (Planning on buying me a Christmas present or sending me a birthday card?  Just put the money that you would have spend into my PayPal donation account.  Helping to bring my baby home would be the best present in the world!); Pole dancing (I hear they make GREAT money!); Part-time job; Photography for friends and family (I'm not bad with the camera.  I could charge a $25 "session fee" to shoot the pics, edit and upload them to Snapfish or Kodak, and then the buyers could order their own prints from there.  I could do portrait sessions at area parks or even small events like birthday parties.); Professional Packer (seeing as how I've moved like 5,000 times).

Quilting (Although I have a feeling that might be rather time-consuming, especially because I failed the sewing portion of Home Ec.)

Raffles; Recylce for cash

Sell Scentsy (Although Katie probably wouldn't like me much if I took away her business.  Maybe she'd be willing to go in together and do a 50/50 thing.  What do you think, Katie?  We could go basket parties all the way!  We just need to make smaller samples so we can have a few parties going at a time and then promote like crazy!  I could even do most of the work so you could focus on your landscaping business if you want.)

Tutor (I was a "smart kid" in "special class."); Teach gymnastics (That's not as far-fetched as you might think.  I coached for about 5 years and loved it!  I kind of miss it.  Not sure I could do it right now with my leg all messed up though.); Toilet paper roll changer (because we all know how I feel about that by now ;-)

Use donated frequent flyer miles for adoption-related travel (would be especially handy if I end up adopting internationally)

Vegas, Baby!

Write and sell Facebook status updates for people who aren't that good with words or who just lead very boring lives.

X-treme water war (Charge admission and let everyone loose with water balloons, water guns, Super Soakers, spray bottles, and other containers full of water.  Why not?  It's 100 degrees outside!  It could be fun!)

Yodeling lessons for small children (I'm sure parents would love that one!)

Zen up people's houses (Because everyone needs a meditation sanctuary after a long day...)

Okay...  So some of those things are probably not going to happen.  I highly doubt I'll be donning "hoochie mama" clothes and looking for a "date" on street corners or trying my hand at pole dancing, but as I learned in school, "anything goes" when you're brainstorming.  While some of my ideas might prove to be lucrative, I have my suspicions that the adoption agency might frown on me listing my occupation as a "Lady of the Night."  I think I'll stick with my day job, and lean towards the more child-friendly ideas when it comes to funding the adoption.  I won't be turning down the money if I win in Vegas though!

What about the rest of you?  Any good adoption fundraising ideas?