When her older brother Brandon was laying in a hospital bed after being diagnosed with acute leukemia in December 2007, 8-year-old Brandi Gonzalez of San Jose made a deal with God.
"She said, ÔGod, if you let my brother live, I promise I will do something nice for the orphans,'" Brandi's mother Norene Gonzalez said. The orphans Brandi was referring to are the residents of the Chosen Children Village orphanage in Cavite, Philippines.
The Gonzalez family visited the orphanage several times in recent years in hopes of adopting a child. After more than a year of legal wrangling with immigration services, Norene received the phone call she had been waiting for in January.
"They told me that we could finally come and get A.J., and I literally jumped on a plane the next day to go to the Philippines and get him," Norene said.
Newly adopted A.J., 3, arrived at a trying time for the Gonzalez family. The same month of A.J.'s arrival, Brandon, 11, began three months of chemotherapy treatments at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Jose and the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University.
The ordeal was made even more difficult for Norene and the children by the absence of her husband, Elias Gonzalez. Elias
Instead of viewing the addition of a new child at such a tumultuous period as a burden, however, Norene said A.J.'s arrival was a blessing.
"The kids already knew him from our visits to Cavite, and the orphans there only speak English, so A.J. came right in and really brightened our lives."
Elias returned home from Iraq to reunite with his family in late May.
The family's life was further brightened when Brandon responded extremely well to chemotherapy. True to her word, Brandi decided to organize a shoe drive to benefit the orphans in Cavite.
"I asked her, ÔSo do you want to ask people to donate their old pairs of shoes?'" Norene said. "She said, ÔNo. I want them to have brand new shoes just like I get.'"
Brandi, who just completed the second grade at Horace Mann Elementary School in San Jose, pledged to participants that she would personally generate the money to cover the expense of shipping the shoes to the Philippines.
Therefore, while working to solicit donations of new shoes for the orphanage, Brandi also began collecting recyclable plastic bottles and cans to raise funds for shipping costs.
Brandon also got involved in the effort, creating a Web site (www.shoes4orphans.com) for the shoe drive while recovering from chemotherapy treatments in the hospital.
Donations can be made at the San Jose Police Officers' Association office at 1151 N. First St. in San Jose, or at box No. 946 at the UPS Store at 2530 Berryessa Road in San Jose.
Shoes and money will be accepted until at least July 12.
Font Resize