“We found the need in Guatemala was even greater than we thought. Children, even very small ones, roam the streets, selling bits of candy and pencils, even lottery tickets, in a pitiful struggle to earn a living. Though there are child labor laws, and the government supplies some schools, Guatemala is 80% illiterate because there are not enough schools to go around, and even if there were, many children could not afford to go.”
– Jeanne Clarke Wood, from the 1st Children Incorporated newsletter, 1964
The beginning of our organization
In October 1964, Mrs. Jeanne Clarke Wood started a nonprofit children’s organization called Children Incorporated. What began with just 95 sponsored children in Guatemala quickly escalated to helping 1600 children in 10 countries within just two short years. With the loyal support of thousands of sponsors and financial supporters, Children Incorporated has blossomed over the last fifty years into an organization that now assists 20 countries and regularly provides aid to thousands of children each month. 
Children Incorporated began with work in Guatemala but quickly spread its outreach into many other countries, including throughout Central and South America and parts of Africa and Asia. Children Incorporated has also continued to expand its programs in the United States. Initially, the U.S. program division consisted of just one county in one state: Menifee, Kentucky. Today, US programs operate throughout the Appalachian region, on numerous American Indian reservations, and in major metropolitan areas such as Detroit, MI, New Orleans, LA, and Washington, D.C. Children Incorporated also aids youngsters in its hometown of Richmond, VA. As part of Children Incorporated’s work within the United States, children are fed, clothed, and allowed to attend after-school programs and summer camps in some areas.
The scope of needs that are met for children enrolled in Children Incorporated programs varies greatly, for assistance is provided in a child-specific manner. The volunteer coordinators within the children’s communities identify the children who become part of CI programs. Because these coordinators are often very familiar with the children’s situations and circumstances, they can meet the individual needs of the youngsters instead of taking the cookie-cutter approach of providing all children the same services.
Today, Children Incorporated has sponsorship programs worldwide and provides children with clothing and school supplies, medical care, and many other types of assistance as needed. Schools, dormitories, clinics, and housing developments have been constructed in various locations, and feeding programs fill the stomachs of children in many communities.
INTRODUCING FOUNDERS DAY
To commemorate the legacy of our founder, Jeanne Clarke Wood, we are officially launching Children Incorporated’s Founders Day on October 19th. The date was chosen because it is the date of our original incorporation, which officially made Children Incorporated a recognized nonprofit organization in 1964.
Children Incorporated staff members fondly remember the organization’s founder, Jeanne Clarke Wood.
Ron Carter, the current CEO of Children Incorporated, states, “Mrs. Wood treated her employees like family. She tried to do little things to make work life more like home life, including having gatherings and sharing meals with the staff. Mrs. Wood valued people; she was funny and personable, yet she didn’t take any mess off anyone.”
Steve Mitchell, Sponsorship Manager at Children Incorporated, recalls that Mrs. Wood always loved writing letters and talking with sponsors and supporters. He remembers that she loved to have fun, though she was earnest about the company’s work.
“Mrs. Wood’s dedication and passion for the organization she founded have never been questioned. Because Children Incorporated operated out of her home for its first four decades, Mrs. Wood was highly involved with almost every aspect of the company. She had a telephone on her bedside table, and she often answered incoming calls from sponsors late into the evening. If the work line rang, no matter how late the call, Mrs. Wood picked up the receiver. Long-time supporters of the organization recall speaking with Mrs. Wood late at night, yet she did not mind interrupting her time. Staff often came into work mornings to find little notes written in Mrs. Wood’s pen, advising them of such calls with instructions on how she wanted them to follow up, always keeping the sponsors’ needs paramount.”