Tag Archives: bolivia

Shelley Callahan | October 18, 2021En Español

Throughout the year, our affiliated projects from around the world share special project proposals with us that will help improve the lives of not only the children that we support but their families as well. Thanks to our Hope In Action program, we are often able to support many of our projects so they can grow their programs and offer skills training and other important resources to impoverished communities in which we work.

A proposal from Bolivia

One such proposal we received in 2021 was from the Montero School in Bolivia, where our volunteer coordinator requested funds to construct an agriculture school on the same property as the existing school.

The new agricutural program at the Montero School will benefit both students and their parents.

“This area is mainly an agricultural area, and many children and adults have to go to nearby cities, even a few hours away to Santa Cruz to get better training,” explains our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet.

“With the support of this training institution, Children Incorporated is contributing to the whole community. The agricultural school will include a barn with cows, a pigpen, and a chicken coop in which students and their parents can learn how to take care of animals as well as grow food, skills they can then apply to their own lives to better their employment opportunities or gain income in the future!”

About the Montero School

The small, landlocked nation of Bolivia comprises rugged Andes Mountains and vast, high-altitude plateaus to the west (including a portion of Lake Titicaca, the largest high-altitude lake in the world) and lush, lowland plains of Amazon jungle to the east. Despite its wealth of natural beauty and resources, Bolivia bears the scars of centuries of conflict, beginning with the Spanish conquistadors and followed by almost 200 years of wars and internal military coups. Political and economic instability have brought about considerable poverty, resulting in widespread malnutrition, crime and disease.

Thanks to our Hope In Action program, we are often able to support many of our projects so they can grow their programs and offer skills training and other important resources to impoverished communities in which we work.

The remote town of Okinawa — settled in the 1950s by Japanese immigrant farmers — is no exception to these maladies. Here, in 1976, the Montero Home/School was founded as a girls’ home by local religious leaders to assist children of the Japanese settlers, as well as native Bolivians. Today, the school has expanded its mission, providing a safe refuge and learning center for impoverished girls and boys in the area. Some children who come to Montero Home/School have never experienced the comfort of a bed, a bath, or a nutritious meal – let alone an education. Here, children receive these basic needs, along with the opportunity to rise above the difficult socioeconomic circumstances from which they have come.

***

How do I sponsor a child in Bolivia?

You can sponsor a child in Bolivia in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members; email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org; or go online to our sponsorship portal, create an account, and search for a child in Bolivia that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | October 5, 2021

We are happy to share with you our Fall 2021 Newsletter, highlighting our work around the world thanks to our sponsors and donors and their generosity and dedication in helping children in need. Enjoy!

Thanks to our sponsors and donors, we have been able to help them in their efforts to keep children and teachers safe and healthy.

Providing an Abundance of Support to our Projects in 2021

Around the world, our volunteer coordinators at nearly 300 affiliated projects continue to navigate how they can best support children in need through the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to our sponsors and donors, we have been able to help them in their efforts to keep children and teachers safe and healthy while they work hard to provide impoverished students with a well-rounded education — whether at home or in the classroom.

Although the last school year has been like no other in Children Incorporated’s history, we have continued to provide children in our program with the resources they need to overcome the obstacles they face during the global pandemic. It is with a great deal of gratitude that we thank each and every one of our supporters for their role in these efforts.

Offering Hygiene Items to Girls in Kenya

Our sponsors have provided thousands of children with school supplies this fall.

More recently, some of the most important items we have been able to offer to children in our program has been hygiene items — masks, soap and hand sanitizer – for them to take home and use in their daily lives to help prevent illness and protect children and their families against all kinds of disease, most specifically COVID-19. Additionally, when we consider the needs of our sponsored children, we especially need to consider the particular needs of young girls who might not have access to feminine hygiene products — most likely because their families can’t afford them. When young ladies don’t have access to sanitary napkins, they often skip school to stay home which can be detrimental to their education.

This year, we have focused on providing three-month supplies of sanitary napkins to all girls at our affiliated project, the Dandora Community Centre in Kenya, on a continuous basis so that they may remain in attendance at school throughout the year.

Supplying Vitamins During COVID-19 in Guatemala

Children in Guatemala are pictured with their vitamin supply

In the last months, thanks to a contribution by our partner, Altar’d State, to our COVID-19 Relief Fund, we were able to provide funds to the Juan Apostol School in Guatemala for a three-month supply of vitamins containing vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc for all 102 children enrolled in our program. And, because our volunteer coordinator was purchasing these items in bulk for the benefit of children, the local pharmacy provided a four-month supply of vitamins to our coordinator at the cost of just a three-month supply.

We are incredibly grateful for the support from Altar’d State, as well as for all contributions that donors have made to our COVID-19 Relief Fund.

A Blessing During the Pandemic in Lebanon

We recently received a letter from our volunteer coordinator at the Father Andeweg Institute for the Deaf (FAID):

“A blessing came out of COVID-19. Several lockdowns reduced our face to face teaching time severely. So, we needed to find another way to help our children and their parents develop their educational skills. Our staff made several videos each week. Each video had a particular topic. The video “OPPOSITES,” for example, explained all about up and down, in and out, high and low, etc. These videos, made for WhatsApp, were easy for parents to use.

COVID-19 helped parents in Lebanon become teachers of their deaf children. Increased parental involvement enhanced building family bonds, which stimulated the children’s development even more, and most of all, reduced the emotional trauma that exists in families having children with special needs.

Providing audiology support, hearing aid maintenance and batteries during COVID is very challenging. Again, because of the help we received from Children Incorporated donors, we could put in the safeguards and precautions to make it possible. Thank you for all of your support in helping children at FAID.”

Supporting Agriculture in Bolivia

Throughout the year, our affiliated projects from around the world share with us proposals for special projects that will help improve the lives of not only the children that we support but their families as well. Thanks to our Hope In Action program, we are often able to support many of our projects so they can grow their programs and offer skills training and other important resources to impoverished communities in which we work.

We are incredibly grateful all contributions that donors have made to our COVID-19 Relief Fund.

One such proposal we received in 2021 was from the Montero School in Bolivia, in which our volunteer coordinator requested funds to construct an agriculture school on the same property as the existing school.

“This area is mainly an agricultural area, and many children and adults have to go to nearby cities, and even a few hours away to Santa Cruz to get better training,” explains our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet.

A sponsored child in Arizona poses with her new book bag thanks to our Back to School Program.

“With the support of this training institution that is being implemented, Children Incorporated is contributing to the whole community. The agricultural school will include a barn with cows, a pigpen, and a chicken coop in which students and their parents can learn how to take care of animals as well as grow food which they can then apply to their own lives to better their employment opportunities or income in the future!”

Time for Back to School Around the world

At the end of the summer this year, students at some of our affiliated projects returned to in-person learning for the first time since the spring of 2020. As our volunteer coordinators work hard to re-connect with these children as they see them on a regular basis for the first time in over 16 months, we are especially grateful that our sponsors have remained consistent in their lives during the difficulties they faced while being out of school and adjusting to a new life-style.

Welcome back to all the students who have returned to the classroom! We wish you a wonderful 2021-2022 school year!

READ THE FULL NEWSLETTER

Shelley Callahan | March 3, 2021

We are happy to share with you our Spring 2021 Newsletter, highlighting our work around the world thanks to our sponsors and donors and their generosity and dedication in helping children in need. Enjoy!

Tablets Are Bringing Education to Children Around the World

Many children in our sponsorship program are experiencing exceptional difficulties during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, as schools have had to shift to virtual learning. These adjustments have been hard on parents, teachers and children — especially for those students who don’t have the technology they need at home to keep up with their course work.

We are happy to share with you our Spring 2021 Newsletter, highlighting our work around the world thanks to our sponsors and donors and their generosity and dedication in helping children in need. Enjoy!

Thankfully, because of our amazing donors, Children Incorporated has been able to provide tablets to children in our program in Latin America, India, and in the United States over the last few months so that children can continue learning until schools are back to in-person learning in the near future. These tablets will allow students to keep up with their studies and do not have to be returned when classes resume so children can keep learning at home after the pandemic as well!

Bringing Joy to Children During the Holiday Season

Our sponsors and donors are often the only reason children in our program receive holiday gifts, and for that, we are incredibly grateful — especially after an exceptionally difficult year for so many families.

On behalf of all our volunteer coordinators around the world, we would like to share a message from Sandy at Beaver Creek Elementary in Kentucky to express our gratitude for the holiday gifts you provided:

“Thank you for all the support you give our children. You are our backbone. We couldn’t survive without Children Incorporated. Merry Christmas to all Children Incorporated staff and sponsors!”

Our Warm Clothing Fund Brings Smiles to Children in Need

Brain poses for the camera with this new clothes.

Every year, your donations to our Warm Clothing Fund do more than just keep children properly clothed — it also brings immense joy to children who otherwise might never get new winter clothes.

Our volunteer coordinator, Monica, at Gouge Elementary School in North Carolina wrote to us about Brian*, after she provided him with warm clothes, thanks to his sponsor:

“I showed Brian the new clothes I bought him, and he is loving it. He said, ‘I just love clothes!’ And I took the picture in that moment. The mask is hiding his laughter. We both got tickled because he got so much clothes, he couldn’t hold all of it. The socks are in his book bag.

This was definitely the highlight of my week. Thanks to Children Incorporated sponsors for all you do, and for letting me be a part of this!”

*Name changed to protect the child.

An Interview with Board Member, Liz Collins

Our President and Chief Executive Officer, Ron Carter, recently sat down with our Board Chair, Liz Collins, to discuss her long and valuable relationship with Children Incorporated.

RON: Liz, you first became involved with Children Incorporated in 2003 when you accepted a job as a sponsorship coordinator. You later served as Director of Marketing and Development. What are your recollections of your time as an employee of Children Incorporated?

I loved being able to share all of the amazing work that went on in our programs with our donors. As a result of their giving and the tireless efforts of our volunteer coordinators, we changed a lot of lives.

Liz Collins, Board Chair

LIZ: I loved being able to share all of the amazing work that went on in our programs with our donors. As a result of their giving and the tireless efforts of our volunteer coordinators, we changed a lot of lives.

RON: Do you have any special memories of that time?

LIZ: I do. The stories of the children who graduated from high school and went on to college are special to me. I recall one particular story of how we were able to send funds to have a child’s driveway paved so that he could use his wheelchair to get to the bus. Before that, his brother had to carry him down the driveway to the bus each day. I also think about the incredible artwork of Roberto Andrade, one of the children in Latin America who benefitted from our program. There are so many more wonderful memories!

RON: You left Children Incorporated in 2010, shortly after your son, Noah, was born, but I asked you to return to Children Incorporated as Board Member at the start of 2015, and you willingly agreed. Just a few months after you joined, Steve Holton, our then chair, was forced to resign due to health reasons, and you were selected as Board Chair. In your wildest dreams, did you ever see that coming?

LIZ: No! I was truly taken by surprise with the sudden turn of events, but honored and humbled to be able to serve the organization in a new way.

RON: As Board Chair, what are your impressions of Children Incorporated? What are you most proud of? What is it about Children Incorporated that you most value?

LIZ: Children Incorporated might be among the smaller sponsorship organizations, but it is by far the most personable. That’s what I love, and I truly believe our donors and volunteer coordinators value that attribute as well. We’re transparent in our funding, and we’re extremely conscientious about our overhead so that much more of every dollar raised can go to the children, families, and communities we serve.

RON: I agree that our personality as an organization, as well as our transparency, are the keys to our continued success. But I also have to say that we have a wonderful network of volunteer coordinators, and our small but loyal staff really is incredible.

Emily was very excited to receive school supplies thanks to her sponsor.

LIZ: Yes, I agree completely. That old saying “It takes a village” really applies. That is how I see Children Incorporated. The staff, our donors, and the volunteer coordinators, all working together, make it all happen. And, it’s a village I’m very proud to be a part of and to serve in.

Still in Need of Ordinary School Supplies

School closures have meant big changes for families and children in our program, but despite the adjustments that the pandemic required, students still need the most basic items that Children Incorporated has always provided for them.

While many of our sponsored children are learning remotely at home, either partially or wholly, they still need ordinary school supplies, especially the younger ones. Emily*, received a bundle of new supplies at home thanks to her sponsor and promptly wrote to him to say that she loved everything — especially the dry erase board and matching magnets. From her photos, you can see that Emily’s sponsor has made her incredibly happy as she adjusts to home learning!

*Name changed to protect the child.

A Special Thank You to Our Partner, the Jeunesse Kids Foundation

In January 2021, we were approached by the Jeunesse Kids Foundation to participate in a fundraiser they were hosting virtually. Jeunesse Kids is dedicated to creating a positive impact in the lives of children worldwide, and the foundation is funded and supported by a vast community of caring individuals who are passionate about building a better tomorrow for young people in underprivileged communities around the world — which very closely aligns with Children Incorporated’s mission and vision.

We are very proud of you, Kris!

Thanks to the efforts of all of the Juenesse Family, their fundraiser raised over $102,000 for Children Incorporated from donors around the world over the course of a weekend which will go towards purchasing tablets for virtual education children in Peru, Argentina, the Philippines, Kentucky and New Mexico, repairing a greenhouse at the St. Michaels Special Education School in Arizona, and towards expanding on skills training programs at the Montero School in Bolivia. We are incredibly grateful for their support!

From Sponsored Child to Attorney: Our Higher Education Fund at Work

We want to send our congratulations to Kris in Honduras for receiving her University Degree at the end of 2020. Kris has been in our sponsorship program since 1999. Thanks to her sponsor and our Higher Education Fund, she was able to attend school over the last twenty years and now has graduated as an attorney. We are very proud of you, Kris!

A New Roof at the Dandora Center in Kenya

While students were out of school for remote learning, we were able to continue to support our projects thanks to donations to our Hope In Action Fund so administrators could repair buildings in anticipation of the return of students in the near future.

At our affiliated project, the Dandora Center in Nairobi, Kenya, a new roof replaced an old worn one which will protect the children from poor weather and heat when they are back in classrooms.

READ THE FULL NEWSLETTER

Shelley Callahan | August 28, 2020En Español

Not unlike many of the other 21 countries in which we work, parents living in poverty in Bolivia are struggling to support their families while they are out of work. Many of Bolivia’s citizens live off of what they can sell daily in their communities, the COVID-19 lockdown has meant a lack of income — and an inability to buy vital resources for their children.

Many of Bolivia’s citizens live off of what they can sell daily in their communities, the COVID-19 lockdown has meant a lack of income — and an inability to buy vital resources for their children.

Thankfully, our COVID-19 Response Fund is supporting families during this time, making sure they are getting food and hygiene items on a regular basis while the nation patiently waits until it is safe to go back to work.

A Note from Cristo Rey Mission

We heard from our volunteer coordinator at our affiliated project, the Cristo Rey Mission, about the support our donors are providing to children and their families in our program:

“Good afternoon! I want to inform you that the Children Incorporated program is supporting children with the distribution of food and hygiene items. The situation of the pandemic in Bolivia is very complicated. Families suffer a lot because they are people with very low resources. They generally lived on what they earned from what little they sell. Now it is forbidden to go out to sell and they have nothing to subsist on.

As you can imagine the families are very grateful for the support they received. Thank you for your help!”

Parents of ous sponsored children in Bolivia are incredibly grateful for the support from our sponsors.

About Bolivia

Despite its wealth of natural beauty and resources, Bolivia bears the scars of centuries of conflict, beginning with the Spanish conquistadors and followed by almost 200 years of wars and internal military coups. Political and economic instability have brought about considerable poverty, resulting in widespread malnutrition, crime, and disease.

Our work in Bolivia

Children Incorporated works with twelve projects in Bolivia: Colegio Don Bosco, Cristo Rey Mission, Gattorno School,Guarderia El Angel, La Inmaculada School, Lourdes School, Montero Home/School, Pedro Poveda School, Sagrado Corazon School, Santa Clotilde Home, Santa Rosa School, and Villa Emilia/San Juan.

La Inmaculada School
Sucre, Bolivia

Established in 1928, the La Inmaculada School offers support for girls from impoverished homes in Sucre. The school provides a refuge where young women can receive educational support from a caring and compassionate staff. The Children Incorporated sponsorship program also works within the community surrounding La Inmaculada School to help provide food baskets, uniforms, and other essentials to boys who attend local public schools.

Lourdes School
Santa Ana de Yacuma, Bolivia

Founded in 1950, the Lourdes School is dedicated to providing education, care, and safety for children in need in this troubled community. In a difficult world where families struggle with few employment opportunities and malnutrition is rampant among the children, the Lourdes School is vital to families’ survival.

La Recoleta School
Sucre, Bolivia

La Recoleta School has been serving Sucre’s impoverished children for more than 80 years. Many of these children live in slum conditions. Their homes often lacking running water, electricity and even the most rudimentary sanitation. Very few families in this area are able to pay for tuition or purchase school supplies. Children Incorporated works in conjunction with the La Recoleta School by assisting with tuition and basic necessities to help improve the lives of children in the area.

Montero Home/School
Okinawa, Bolivia

In 1976, the Montero Home/School was founded as a girls’ home by local religious leaders to assist children of Japanese settlers, as well as native Bolivians. Today, the school has expanded its mission, providing a safe refuge and learning center for impoverished girls and boys in the area. Some children who come to Montero Home/School have never experienced the comfort of a bed, a bath, or a nutritious meal — let alone an education. Here, children receive these basic needs, along with the opportunity to rise above the difficult socio-economic circumstances from which they have come.

Thankfully, our COVID-19 Response Fund is supporting families during this time, making sure they are getting food and hygiene items on a regular basis while the nation patiently waits until it is safe to go back to work.

Gattorno School
Sucre, Bolivia

Founded in 1882 by the Catholic Order of the Daughters of St. Anne, this prestigious school has long been a place where impoverished children of Sucre receive an education in a safe and supportive environment. The Sisters here strive to provide for the children’s immediate basic and educational needs so that students may have the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty.

Cristo Rey Mission
Sucre, Bolivia

The Cristo Rey Mission serves as a safe haven for the children in the impoverished Sucre neighborhood that surrounds it. This social service center assists children, emphasizing education and skills training. At the center, children receive the encouragement and support necessary to help them excel in school.

Colegio Don Bosco
Sucre, Bolivia

Families are receiving bags of food and hygiene items on a regular basis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recognized as one of Sucre’s best schools, Colegio Don Bosco serves impoverished children in this troubled region. It has been operational for over 100 years, originally as a rectory for parish priests and then as a school for orphaned boys. Today, it serves boys and a growing number of girls from both affluent and poor families. For many of the impoverished children here, Colegio Don Bosco is their only hope for a future beyond the confines of poverty. Since many of the families that send their children to Colegio Don Bosco cannot afford the yearly tuition, your Children Incorporated sponsorship is vital in covering this and other basic needs.

Villa Emilia/San Juan
Santa Cruz, Bolivia

The History of Villa Emilia starts with the remote, jungle community of San Juan de Yapacaní, which was founded in the 1950s by Japanese immigrant farmers. Here, nuns from the Order of Adoratrices founded the San Juan Mission to provide support for the local impoverished families. Eventually, the population grew beyond the capacity of available work, and many families migrated some 75 miles to Santa Cruz. There, the same Adoratrices Order established Villa Emilia to provide continued assistance to these vulnerable families. Today, children enrolled at Villa Emilia receive counseling, community support, and housing in a beautiful complex of small units. Adults also participate in skills-training and job-placement programs.

Santa Clotilde Home
Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Founded in the late 19th century, the Santa Clotilde Home has long served as a safe haven for destitute and orphaned girls of Sucre. The nuns who operate the home provide the girls with accommodations, nutritious meals, and skills training. Thanks to the nuns’ dedication and the assistance of Children Incorporated sponsors, these children now lead pleasant and wholesome lives. Their immediate basic needs are met, allowing them to pursue an education.

Thanks to the nuns’ dedication and the assistance of Children Incorporated sponsors, these children now lead pleasant and wholesome lives.

Padilla School
Padilla, Bolivia

One of the nation’s poorest regions, located about 100 miles southeast of Sucre, is the town of Padilla. Most residents must rely upon subsistence farming for survival. Illiteracy was also widespread here until 1962, when nuns of the Daughters of Mercy established the Padilla School. This school continues to serve as a safe haven where children receive nutritious meals and an education that empowers them to rise above the difficult circumstances in which they live.

Pedro Poveda School
La Paz, Bolivia

At 12,000 feet above sea level, La Paz is the highest capital city in the world. One of the city’s most impoverished areas is its slum neighborhood Villa Armonía. With no sanitation or potable water, disease and malnutrition run rampant here. Moreover, this area is located in a “black zone,” where landslides capable of demolishing several residential blocks at a time are common. The school provides them with a clean, safe environment, where students receive a well-rounded education.

Guardería El Ángel
Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Founded in 1982, the Guardería El Ángel serves as a daycare center for the impoverished children of Santa Cruz. The vast majority of these children come from single-parent homes — or at least homes where there is no responsible father in the picture. Often, working mothers have no recourse but to leave their children at home to fend for themselves all day while the mothers themselves work for pitiful wages in the city. The nuns that run Guardería El Ángel strive to provide each child with much-needed food, medical attention, education, and love.

Sagrado Corazon School
Sucre, Bolivia

Founded in 1912, the Sagrado Corazon School serves as a beacon of hope for this community. In the early 1970s, the school sought Children Incorporated’s help for a number of children who could only attend class at night because they had to work during the day to help their families. Gradually, such students have been added to the day school program thanks to the generous assistance of Children Incorporated sponsors. Children Incorporated and Sagrado Corazon School continues to pursue our mission to place education within the reach of children in this part of Sucre.

Santa Rosa School
Yotala, Bolivia

Yotala is an agricultural suburb of Sucre that is prone to drought, which not only diminishes the crop yield, but also forces families to purchase water for drinking and bathing. Many in this community are very poor. They rarely manage to grow enough food to feed their families and to sell at the market. It was founded to assist the children of Yotala’s subsistence-farming families, encouraging them to stay in school to receive the skills necessary to gain employment.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN BOLIVIA?

You can sponsor a child in Bolivia in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members; email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org; or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and search for a child in Brazil that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Ron Carter | July 28, 2019En Español

In 1964, the average cost of a new home in the United States was $13,050. Postage stamps were 5 cents each, and a gallon of gasoline cost just 25 cents more than that. One could buy a loaf of bread for less than a quarter, and a ticket to see one of the latest theatrical blockbusters — Goldfinger or Mary Poppins — was $1.25.

Reports from those early days indicate that funds raised for and provided by Children Incorporated — the organization started by Mrs. Wood — were life-changing.

The Ford Motor Company introduced its iconic Mustang with a suggested retail price of just $2,368, and a young boxer then known as Cassius Clay won the Boxing World Heavyweight Championship against Sonny Liston. Additionally, four young men from Liverpool, England —collectively known as The Beatles — took the world by storm, at one point holding down the top five spots on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart.

A legend of her own

In the midst of all of this, a young woman named Jeanne Clarke Wood started a small nonprofit organization out of her home in Richmond, Virginia to improve the lives of children who often went hungry and without their most basic needs met.

Mrs. Wood contacted friends she had met through previous employment, and with the help of her philanthropist father, she began a child sponsorship program consisting of just 95 youngsters in poverty-stricken Guatemala.

Mrs. Wood visited our affiliated projects around the world for decades as the founder of Children Incorporated.

Reports from those early days indicate that funds raised for and provided by Children Incorporated — the organization started by Mrs. Wood — were life-changing.

Hungry children were fed. Children who had been wearing threadbare pants and shirts and shoes with holes in the soles were outfitted with sturdy clothing. Young people, who had gone without paper, pencils and necessary schoolbooks were provided with them.

Standing the test of time

Fifty-five years later, the work of Children Incorporated is still changing lives. Through our child sponsorship program, many individualized needs are met daily as our network of nearly 300 volunteer coordinators worldwide seek out and identify those things that the children they serve need most to succeed in school and life.

Our Hope in Action Fund assists children, families and communities with everything from replacing items lost in house fires and natural disasters to building schools, dormitories, gymnasiums and housing units. Our Higher Education Fund allows qualified students to attend colleges, universities and to take vocational classes.

Our wonderful sponsors and contributors make our work possible today, just as they did when Children Incorporated began in 1964, and for that, we are extremely grateful.

Our Skills Training Programs give young people the opportunity to learn a trade they can use to support themselves and their families while giving back to their communities.

Changing lives all over the world

In these ways and many others, Children Incorporated has reached, touched and changed the lives of approximately 300,000 children and their families over the last fifty-five years. Our dedication to improving lives and providing education, hope and opportunity is as strong — if not stronger — than ever.

We always strive for transparency and integrity in how we use the funds entrusted to us. We honor the fact that we have such high ratings among the main charitable monitoring groups — 4 Out of 4 Stars from Charity Navigator and a Grade “A” rating from Charity Watch, among others — because we respect our donors immensely. They are our partners in all that we do, and we owe them nothing less than our best.

The need still exists today

New homes now cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Postage stamps and gallons of gasoline are each currently ten times more expensive than they were in 1964, and tickets to popular movies now run between $12 and $16 nationwide. A loaf of bread now goes for around $4.00, and Cassius Clay — later known as Mohammed Ali — passed away three years ago.

Ford is still making the Mustang, though the list price is now approximately $35,000 for a new one, an increase of a whopping 1475 percent! Two of the Beatles now survive, each approaching 80 years of age, and the Queen of England has knighted both.

Many things have changed since 1964, yet the needs that exist in the world — for food, clothing, school supplies and other essentials — remain as real and constant as ever. Children Incorporated is still working to meet as many of those needs as possible.

Our wonderful sponsors and donors make our work possible today, just as they did when Children Incorporated began in 1964, and for that, we are extremely grateful.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD WITH CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

You can sponsor a child with Children Incorporated in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members, email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org or go online to our sponsorship portal, create an account, and search for a child that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | November 13, 2018En Español

As we reach the end of the year 2018, we want to take time to reflect on what we have been able to accomplish, thanks to our amazing sponsors and donors, over the past year. Because of our supporters around the globe, not only have we provided basic needs for thousands of children at nearly 300 affiliated projects through our sponsorship program, but we have also funded dozens of special programs that expand our reach to even more children, their families, and entire communities. The following are some of our successes that you have made possible – and we are extremely proud to have this opportunity to share them with you.

We are so grateful for each and every person who helped make 2018 such a successful year! We look forward to another great year helping children in need in 2019!

Our accomplishments

– We provided regular aid to thousands of children in eight U.S. states and Washington, D.C. As the heart of our organization, our sponsorship program provided for the basic, health, and educational needs of vulnerable youth, as well as the opportunity for our caring sponsors to correspond with their sponsored children.

– We provided hand tools, seeds, plants, soil conditioners, and other materials to a school in Martin County, Kentucky. Our volunteer coordinator there was selected as a “Healthy School Hero” by Kentucky’s Action for Healthy Kids for having spearheaded the establishment and expansion of a school greenhouse and garden. The students there enjoyed outdoor lessons, continued working and learning over the summer, and took the harvest home to their families.

– We facilitated the attendance of interested children enrolled in our program in Alleghany County, North Carolina at the Junior Appalachian Musicians after-school program. The young students took lessons in traditional Appalachian instruments, like the banjo and dulcimer; as well as in an area of cultural enrichment, like clogging, stories, and singing.

In 2018, we supported children in India with one meal a day during school days.

– We enrolled 25 new children at the Rainbow Center in Ethiopia, 25 at Fortune’s Children at Parang in the Philippines, thirty at the Pinagpala Children’s Center in the Philippines, 25 at the Dandora Community Center in Kenya, and we supported 200 children at St. John’s Community Center in Kenya.

– We provided materials and supplies for a reading pergola and native canyon grape vines at a school in the Navajo Nation in Arizona. The vines were trained up the pergola to provide shade, and students will make jam from the grapes. The kids love the pergola, and our volunteer coordinator at the school has already seen increased reading activity because of it, which means improved literacy.

– We provided additional warm clothing for children attending a special education school in Arizona and at a charter school in New Orleans.

– We supported Backpack Feeding Programs for weekends and holidays for children in Kentucky and Washington, D.C.

– We provided assistance that allowed nine high-achieving graduates who were in our sponsorship program in the United States to attend college.

– We supported children at five schools in India and the Philippines with one meal a day during the school days so that they could stay focused and alert, experience improved physical development, and perform better academically.

– We provided emergency relief for families after a volcanic eruption near Antigua, Guatemala, where our affiliated project Sagrada Familia is located.

We are so grateful for each and every person who helped make 2018 such a successful year. We look forward to another great year helping children in need in 2019!

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD WITH CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

You can sponsor a child with Children Incorporated in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members; email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org; or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and search for a child that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD