Tag Archives: child poverty

Children Incorporated | January 13, 2025

Child sponsorship has a direct impact on the children that are supported. Children have an overall improvement in their confidence, resilience, and well-being. also can break the cycle of poverty, creating lasting change for individuals and their communities.

Sponsors help children develop confidence and resilience, which can help them overcome challenges and break the cycle of poverty.

How sponsorship empowers communities by creating sustainable change

When you choose to sponsor a child, you transform not only their life, but the lives of everyone in their community. That’s because the most effective way to make sure positive changes have a lasting impact is to empower them to make a lasting impact for their families and their communities.

Although your donations to your sponsor child go directly to them, and are not shared with their families or the community at large, when you help an individual child succeed, they are then able to help their own families and their own communities. Sponsors help children develop confidence and resilience, which can help them overcome challenges and break the cycle of poverty. This in turn, can help them as they grow into adults who are contributing members of their own communities, therefore creating sustainable change.

A story from our volunteer coorDinator

Children Incorporated has helped so many students at Swansboro Elementary School gain access to the basic needs that help them focus on what is important: school. One of my students this year has struggled with consistently having food in the home. The parents are doing their best but they are unable to work due to intellectual and physical disabilities. Sometimes there are gaps in when they receive their benefits, so they don’t always have a fully stocked refrigerator or pantry. Children Incorporated funds help feed this family when their benefit funds are low. It doesn’t happen often, but every few months we go grocery shopping to get them by until their benefits kick in.

The family is so appreciative, and the student understands that these funds are coming from individuals who are caring enough to donate their own money. Just recently, the sponsored child told me, “Ms. Greenshields, thank you so much for getting food for my family.” I wish that this student didn’t have to be so aware of the reality he is facing, but children are smart and they pick up on more than we think. I’m glad that at least he knows there are people out there that are willing to help. With funds from Children Incorporated, I can help the family in a way that is not judgmental and is actually very easy and seamless. These generous donations from his Children Incorporated sponsor help this student have dinner and breakfast so that he can come to school prepared to learn, and that is truly a gift.

Children Incorporated also helps in ways that people may not think of. Food is vital for everyone, but funds from Children’ Incorporated also help provide items or experiences that are important in different ways.

Several of my sponsored students have been given the chance to go to camp this summer for free. While the tuition is paid for, the students don’t always have the clothing necessary to go away for a whole week. They would probably get by, but they wouldn’t have as many options as the other students at camp. Some of our students don’t have bathing suits, bath towels, swim shoes or extra pillow cases for example. These things aren’t 100% necessary, but being able to help buy these items will make their camp experience so much better. They won’t have to worry about swimming in their shorts and tee shirts or not having the right bedding for the bunk beds.

Sometimes it isn’t always about necessities, but ways we can make students feel comfortable enough so they can focus on having fun like all the other children. Children Incorporated funds allow us to buy them the items that will help them have a fun time at things like summer camp, so they can come back to school in the fall feeling refreshed and feeling like a kid who is ready to learn. I am so appreciative to partner with Children Incorporated, as it truly makes a difference in the lives of my students. The funds that individuals so generously send really help our students in the biggest way.

Thank you,
Kimberly

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How do I sponsor a child with Children Incorporated?

You can sponsor a child 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 that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | January 12, 2025En Español

Renée Kube, Kristen Walthall, and I arrived in New Orleans on a Tuesday afternoon in early December 2024 with the plan to visit our five affiliated sites over the next two days. In New Orleans, Children Incorporated partners directly with Communities in Schools (CIS) Gulf South to help implement our sponsorship program within the local schools, and their Chief Program Officer, Shayne, graciously offered to pick us up and be our tour guide for the few days we would be visiting.

For families living in poverty, this also meant that they could choose which schools to send their children to and were no longer beholden to the school districts in which they lived.

After getting a restful night’s sleep, we woke early on Wednesday morning, ready to meet Shayne outside our hotel to take us to our first school — the Arthur Ashe Charter School. All of our affiliations in New Orleans are charter schools, and in fact, the city is the only one in the country with an entire charter school system in place. While taking the short drive to the school, I took the opportunity to ask Shayne more about the charter school system and how she understood it as being different than the public school system that many of us were more familiar with.

Understanding the Charter School System

Shayne explained that after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with 90% of public schools destroyed and the city in shambles, it was decided by the State of Louisiana Board of Education that the city of New Orleans would work under the charter school system to address the issue of poor school performance and the lack of trust that many citizens had in how the public schools had been operating before the hurricane.

It was a fresh start for the city’s schools — a way in which to recreate the way the whole city felt about the education system — one in which the schools were autonomous in decision making, yet still publicly funded. For families living in poverty, this also meant that they could choose which schools to send their children to and were no longer restricted to the school districts in which they lived. According to Shayne, when enrolling their children, parents choose their top three schools, and there is an application process for their child to be selected. No matter where the child lives, regardless of how far away, the school provides transportation for that student, which is a huge barrier for parents who already have a difficult time making ends meet.

Getting to Meet with Jamila

When we arrived at the school, located in a quiet Gentilly neighborhood, we met with Maria, the Executive Assistant for Communities In Schools Gulf South, who was waiting outside for us. Maria works closely with Shayne in the CIS Gulf South office and serves as a close liaison between Children Incorporated and the individual volunteer coordinators at each of our affiliated schools in New Orleans. We greeted Maria warmly, and all made our way inside.

Jamila (center) is pictured with Arthur Ashe Charter School staff members Caroline (left) and Kylan (right) during our visit.

Once checked in at the front office and then met Jamila, our volunteer coordinator at the school, who is in charge of enrolling our sponsored children at Arthur Ashe and reporting back to Renee and Kris about how sponsorship funds are really helping kids at her schools. We made our way to Jamila’s office, which is also the resource center for the school and a place where children can also come to receive emotional and physiological support when they are having a tough time at school. Basic needs support is also provided as needed, which is where our amazing sponsors make such a difference.

How Our Sponsors Are Helping

Jamila explained to us that the school has two counselors and a social worker at all times since many of the children in attendance were from impoverished households and faced daily challenges going without their basic needs met. She is incredibly grateful for our sponsors and says that the biggest help to the kids is with winter clothes like long pants and jackets for the students, household items, and hygiene items. See also buys bed sheets and linens for the students as needed, which many of them would go without if it weren’t for Children Incorporated funds.

After talking with Jamila, we had a chance to meet a few of our sponsored children briefly, as we didn’t want to keep them from their classwork for too long, and then we took a tour of the school. We visited a few classrooms, as well as the library and school kitchen, where students had the chance to cook their own food and learn skills that they could use at home and in the classroom.

I was so impressed with how nice the school was — bright, clean and modern — and I couldn’t wait for our other visits coming up later in the day and the next. Now that I was starting to understand the charter school system and had the chance to visit a charter school for the first time, I was excited to hear from our other volunteer coordinators about how our sponsors were helping each of their unique schools in this truly unique city.

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How do I sponsor a child with Children Incorporated?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | January 12, 2025

Children Incorporated consistently provides more than 85% percent of all donations directly to the child or children you are supporting. Even with administrative and management costs fluctuating year after year, we often donate as much as 88% of all donations to our programs. Your sponsored child directly receives your sponsorship donation every month — our efforts to support families, healthcare, and community initiatives are made through contributions to our Special Funds and Special Projects. Your individual sponsorship donations are not shared among family members or community members. You can rest assured that your donations are going directly to your sponsored childrne for their immediate needs only.

How we maintain our transparency

One of the ways that we ensure our transparency with the public is through third-party charity rating websites. Ratings of charitable organizations exist to provide the general public with knowledge about the finances of particular charities, including identifying their incomes, business expenses, and the amount of money it takes for them to acquire donations.

Information from charity rating organizations also tells donors how much of their donations will be used to support charitable causes and what portion of them will be dedicated to the charities’ operating expenses. Additionally, it lets donors know how financially stable and self-sustainable charities are. In the case of charities that do not appear to be self-sustainable, because donations may not actually reach their intended recipients, donors’ money might be better spent with other organizations.

HOW ARE CHARITIES RATED?

Most often, charities are rated by evaluating their financial health, accountability, and transparency. This way, donors can see how efficiently charities will use their support, how well they have sustained their programs and services over time, and their level of commitment to accountability and transparency.

Information from charity rating organizations also tells donors how much of their donations will be used to support charitable causes and what portion of them will be dedicated to the charities’ operating expenses.

The financial health of organizations is based on the financial information they provide in their informational tax returns, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Forms 990. Accountability and transparency are also determined from the same forms, as well as from information that organizations present on their websites involving best practices of governance and ethics and whether or not charities make it easy for donors to find critical information about them, such as their bylaws.

TOP RATING AGENCIES AND THEIR METHODOLOGIES

There are a few very reputable charity watchdog agencies: Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, and GuideStar are at the top. Though each of these agencies uses a different methodology for rating charities, they all utilize charities’ financial documents, particularly their Form 990, as their primary sources of information.

CHARITY NAVIGATOR

Charity Navigator is an independent American charity watchdog organization that evaluates charitable organizations in the United States. Its stated goal is “to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace in which givers and the charities they support work in tandem to overcome the nation’s and the world’s most persistent challenges”. Children Incorporated has a four-star charity rating with Charity Navigator – the highest rating that an organization can obtain.

CHARITY WATCH

Charity Watch exposes nonprofit abuses and advocates for the interests of donors. Their ratings include the percentages of charities’ budgets that are spent on program services, how much it costs charities to raise $100, an accountability measure, and the salaries of the charities’ highest-paid employees. Children Incorporated is a top-rated charity with Charity Watch, with an “A” grade.

BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU WISE GIVING ALLIANCE

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance implements a rating system in which 501(c)(3) organizations are required to meet a minimum of twenty standards before receiving a “BBB Accredited Charity” designation. The Alliance’s standards include spending at least 65 percent of total expenses on program activities, no more than 35 percent of donations on fundraising activities, and having no more than three years of financial resources in reserve. Children Incorporated is a BBB Wise Giving Alliance recipient.

GUIDESTAR

GuideStar specializes in reporting on nonprofit organizations in the United States. In 2016, its database provided information about 2.5 million charities. GuideStar was one of the first central sources of information about nonprofits in the United States, and it is the world’s largest source of information about nonprofit organizations. GuideStar serves to verify that organizations are established and that donated funds are spent where donors intend them to be – for individuals hoping to give in the wake of disasters. Children Incorporated is a Gold Participant with GuideStar – the highest rating that a charity can receive.

AccountabIlity on our Website

Children Incorporated believes in full transparency of our financial management. This protects the trust that you place in us as stewards of your generosity. For more information about our financial status, accountability, and transparency, visit the Accountability page of our website to find our most recent Form 990s and financial reports, as well as other administrative documents.

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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

Children Incorporated | January 11, 2025

WHAT IS SPONSORSHIP, AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

The sponsorship relationship enables a donor to support a child by means of monthly contributions and, if the donor so desires, through the exchange of correspondence. A sponsor’s friendship and encouragement are priceless to a child in such circumstances. Indeed, many children value the relationships they establish with their sponsors as much as they value the financial help they receive. Our current monthly sponsorship rate is $35, and it goes toward providing basic necessities, such as school supplies and fees, food, clothing, and access to healthcare, among other services.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO VISIT MY SPONSORED CHILD?

It is possible to visit sponsored children; however, since we work with a network of volunteers and sites, and circumstances vary from area to area, we cannot guarantee that all affiliated sites are open to sponsor visits. If you are interested in visiting a sponsored child, please contact us for specifics relating to the child and the location.

If your child’s affiliated site does allow visits, we ask that you contact us at least 45 days prior to your planned visit. One of our sponsorship managers will assist you in making arrangements with the affiliated site, parents, and site volunteers. Children Incorporated has forms to request the visit and a child protection policy that we ask sponsors to follow. This includes a background check at the sponsor’s expense.

HOW LONG CAN I SPONSOR A PARTICULAR CHILD?

We hope that you will assist your sponsored child until he or she leaves our program. This typically occurs when a child graduates from high school or moves out of our service area. Due to the transient state of many families and the trying circumstances of the regions where they reside, we cannot predict or guarantee how long a child will remain enrolled in the Children Incorporated sponsorship program, although we make every effort to provide services to children for as long as possible.

WHAT IF I NEED TO CANCEL MY SPONSORSHIP?

Sponsorship is not a binding agreement, and you may cancel your child sponsorship at any time. We recognize that circumstances change, and you may be unable to continue your regular contributions. We simply ask that you notify us of your decision so that we may find a new sponsor for the child you sponsor. If you would like to continue supporting Children Incorporated, there are many ways you can help that do not require a monthly contribution. Please see “Other ways to give” for more details.

WILL I RECEIVE UPDATED INFORMATION ON THE CHILD I SPONSOR?

Yes. We will send you updated information and an updated photo about once a year, although the frequency may vary depending on the child’s location. The typical progress report includes information on the child’s grade level in school, hobbies, and interests.

HOW DO I PAY FOR MONTHLY SPONSORSHIP?

Sponsorship contributions may be made by check, money order, credit/debit card, or ACH transfer (debit from a checking or savings account). Please call us or visit our website if you would like to set up automatic recurring contributions on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or yearly basis.

MAY I SEND PACKAGES TO THE U.S. CHILD I SPONSOR?

Yes! Sending a gift can be a great way to give your sponsored child extra help at certain times of the year or to simply let the child know you are thinking of him or her. Here are some suggested guidelines: Please send monetary gifts directly to our North Chesterfield, Virginia office, as our site coordinators are not able to process checks or cash. Packages of already-purchased items should be mailed directly to your sponsored child’s site address. We recommend using a tracking service, if possible, when shipping a package to the child you sponsor.

MAY I SEND PACKAGES TO THE INTERNATIONAL CHILD I SPONSOR?

Due to high customs duties and the likelihood of loss, we do not recommend sending packages to our sites outside of the U.S. Children Incorporated cannot guarantee receipt of any packages you send internationally.

MAY I WRITE TO THE CHILD I SPONSOR?

Yes! Corresponding with your sponsored child can be a wonderful experience. Our site volunteers will translate your letter, if necessary, and deliver it to your sponsored child. You will find the affiliated site’s mailing address in your child’s information brochure.

Children Incorporated provides resources for children in need in the United States and abroad because we passionately believe that children everywhere deserve education, hope, and opportunity.

WHAT SHOULD I WRITE ABOUT?

The children enjoy learning about the lives of their sponsors. Writing about your own family (children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, etc.) is always a good place to start. The children also like to learn about your part of the world, what you do for a living, your hobbies and interests, and any pets you may have.

WHAT IF I HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS REGARDING THE CHILD I SPONSOR?

Please call us at 1-800-538-5381 or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org. Depending on the nature of a child-specific question, we may need to contact our volunteer coordinator at your sponsored child’s affiliated site. We will get the requested information to you as soon as possible, as long as it does not violate the child protection and privacy laws to which we adhere.

MAY I SEND ADDITIONAL GIFTS FOR MY SPONSORED CHILD (FOR BIRTHDAYS, HOLIDAYS, BEGINNING/END OF SCHOOL YEAR NEEDS, ETC.)?

Yes. Contributions beyond regular monthly sponsorship amounts are always welcome, and there are no minimum or maximum amount restrictions.

With these additional gifts, the needs of the child you sponsor will be addressed first and foremost, and any remaining funds may be shared among other children in need at the same affiliated site at the volunteer coordinator’s discretion. Children Incorporated will designate 10% of your additional contribution to cover our administrative and processing costs; this means your sponsored child and possibly other children at the same affiliated site will benefit from 90% of the total you send as an additional monetary gift.

ARE THERE DEADLINES FOR SENDING ADDITIONAL MONETARY GIFTS FOR THE CHILD I SPONSOR?

Yes. It takes time to process a gift and send it to the child you sponsor, particularly if your child lives in a foreign country. To send additional monetary gifts to your sponsored child, please ensure the gift arrives in our Richmond, Virginia office at least sixty days before the date you would like it to be received by the child.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE CHILD I SPONSOR LEAVES THE PROGRAM?

When a child leaves our program for any reason, our policy is to promptly notify you by mail and provide you with information on another child who is equally in need of your support and encouragement in the hopes that you will accept him or her as your new sponsored child. If, in the event that your sponsored child leaves the program, you would like for us to contact you before sending information on another child, please let us know by telephone or email.

Unfortunately, we usually lose contact with children once they leave our sponsorship program. Rest assured: the positive impact of your generosity on each child, as well as on his or her community, endures for a lifetime!

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How do I sponsor a child with Children Incorporated?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | January 11, 2025

Our sponsorship program is managed by our staff in our office and our 300 volunteer coordinators at our affiliated sites in 20 countries around the world. Our volunteer coordinators work closely with our sponsored children to ensure their particular needs are met and relay those needs to our sponsors.

Sometimes our sponsors chose a child based on age or location, or they chose a child who has been waiting the longest for a sponsor. The decision is yours. We work in 21 countries with children from ages 5-20 years old who are enrolled in schools worldwide. We would love to work with you to match you with a sponsored child that will give you both a meaningful relationship.

Ideally, a child is sponsored throughout their school years leading up to higher education or when they leave our sponsorship program between 18 and 20 years old. However, due to the transient state of many families and the difficult circumstances of the regions where they reside, we cannot always guarantee how long a child will remain enrolled in the Children Incorporated sponsorship program. However, we make every effort to provide services to children for as long as possible.

Sponsoring a child with Children Incorporated is a very simple process. You can sponsor a child 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.

to sponsor a child online

To sponsor a child online, start by clicking the blue “SPONSOR” button, located at the top of any webpage within the Children Incorporated website, to view information about children currently awaiting sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

For each child, his or her photo (if international), name, country in which he or she lives, and birthday and age will display by default. You may view additional details about a specific child (such as his or her current grade level and favorite school subject or color) by hovering your mouse over his or her “About [Child Name]” link. (Please note: In accordance with our Child Protection Policy, photos for children living in the U.S. do not display on this screen. However, upon sponsoring a U.S. child, you will be able to view his or her photo in your online account within a business day and will also receive a copy as part of your sponsorship welcome packet!)

To narrow your search to a specific age range, gender, and/or country, please use the corresponding dropdown fields, located along the left side of the screen, to select your preferences and then click “SEARCH”.

Once you have found a child you’d like to sponsor, click the child’s “SPONSOR ME” button. Then, to finalize the sponsorship process, click the heart-in-cart icon within the popup window that appears OR located in the top right corner of the screen.

It is very easy to sponsor a child by going to our website, calling our office, or emailing Children Incorporated.

Lastly, if you have not already logged into or created your Children Incorporated web account, the site will prompt you to do so now. Then/otherwise, you may select your desired frequency for recurring sponsorship contributions (monthly, yearly, etc.), select or add a method of payment, and click “CHECK OUT”.

Congratulations! Once you have completed these steps, you will receive a confirmation email, and, within a few business days, you will also receive a sponsorship welcome packet containing additional details about your sponsored child or children!

DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR GIVING

Outside of sponsoring a child, we also have other ways in which you can donate to help children in need. Donations to our special funds help children, families, and communities in need by offering support beyond sponsorship, often due to unexpected emergencies. These funds include our Clothing Fund, Back to School Fund, Mosquito Net Fund, Hope In Action Fund, and Feeding Programs Fund.

You can also donate to our Special Projects, which allow our donors to support construction projects, expansion projects, community and school gardens, and other efforts to help improve our affiliated sites around the world. Throughout the year, our volunteer coordinators inform us about Special Projects at their particular sites. You can donate directly to these Special Projects online through our Hope In Action Fund. If you would like to receive additional information about our current Special Projects to make a donation to a particular type of project, please contact us today.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD WITH CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | December 30, 2024

I last visited New Orleans, Louisiana, in the summer of 2007. As I do now with my work with Children Incorporated, I worked with a nonprofit that supported children’s education. I visited local schools to provide free books to students living in low-income neighborhoods all over the city, and it was a rewarding and eye-opening experience.

As Renée, Kristen, and I prepared for our trip to New Orleans, I took some time to read letters from our volunteer coordinators in New Orleans from this past year that I wanted to share and reflect on before meeting them in person.

At the time, New Orleans was still recovering from the devastation of the 2005 hurricane and subsequent flooding caused by the breaking of the levees that occurred. As my co-worker and I made our way around town, we saw more closed schools than open ones and realized how much the devastation was really affecting children’s ability to get an education. When I started working with Children Incorporated 7 years later, I understood firsthand how our sponsorship program was greatly impacting students in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina thanks to my previous work there, and then had the opportunity to learn even more from our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube. According to Renée, our volunteer coordinators are incredibly supportive of our program, and find it invaluable to the success of their students daily. When I found out I would be returning to New Orleans in December 2024 to visit our affiliated sites with Renée and our Assistant Director of U.S. Programs, Kristen Walthall, I was delighted to know I would be able to hear more about how our sponsors are changing the lives of children in need directly from our volunteer coordinators.

As Renée, Kristen, and I prepared for our trip to New Orleans, I took some time to read letters from our volunteer coordinators in New Orleans from this past year that I wanted to share and reflect on before meeting them in person, as they express their deepest gratitude for all our program can do for children at their schools.

Langston Hughes ACADEMY

Over the past year, the Children Incorporated program has continued to support students and families in the Langston Hughes Academy. Funds from the program have been instrumental in meeting various needs, including food, clothing, school supplies, and technology, ensuring students have the necessary resources to succeed at school and in their communities!

One of the most memorable and impactful supports we received from Children Incorporated this year was providing bi-monthly fresh food deliveries to an LHA family. This initiative was supported by a Hope In Action grant. The family had recently migrated to the USA and struggled to find support for their basic needs. The students were experiencing health issues and not attending school regularly. Partnering with Children Incorporated to provide food deliveries significantly improved the students’ attendance, engagement, and health. The school translator noted the substantial positive difference this support has made, and the family was very appreciative of the delicious food they received. Funds were used to supply uniforms, outside-school clothing, and raincoats. We also purchased rain gear and umbrellas for students and families that walk to and from school, ensuring they are prepared for all weather conditions.

The Children Incorporated program at LHA has been highly appreciated by families, students, and school staff. The support provided has addressed needs that might otherwise have gone unmet, fostering a stronger connection between families and the school. The feedback from the community has been overwhelmingly positive, highlighting the program’s effectiveness in improving students’ well-being, self-confidence, and academic performance. The Children Incorporated program remains a crucial support system for our school community.

We look forward to continuing our partnership to meet the needs of our students and their families, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to thrive both academically and personally. Thank you, Children Incorporated!

Sincerely,
Nicole

Samuel J. Green Charter School

Samuel J. Green Charter School has been privileged to partner with Children Incorporated. With generous support from Children Incorporated, I was able to purchase new computers and tablets for the Green graduating 8th graders. These devices are essential for their future academic journey, ensuring they are well-prepared for high school and beyond. Before graduation, several Children Incorporated students expressed concern over attending high school unprepared and without the needed supplies. I saw this as an opportunity to use Children Incorporated funds to help alleviate their worries. The students were so excited and proud when they received their last Children Incorporated bag from Theressa, who reported that it was an excellent way to end their time enrolled in the Children Incorporated program.

I also used Children Incorporated funding to purchase winter coats for all Children Incorporated students. These coats were immensely beneficial, as they kept the children warm and allowed them to attend school regularly without being hindered by New Orleans’s ever-changing weather. Parents reported being incredibly grateful for the coats, noting the significant relief this support has brought their families this year and in years past!

One family in the Green community faced a challenging situation with their power bill before the winter holidays in 2023. They were in danger of having their power shut off right before Thanksgiving. Thanks to the funds from Children Incorporated, we could cover their power bill and ensure that their home remained warm and safe. This assistance provided much-needed stability for the family, allowing the children to focus on enjoying their time off from school with their family in a warm home.

This support was crucial in providing the family with a safe and healthy living environment. The new beds and bedding have contributed to better sleep and overall well-being for the children and given them comfort and security during a time of immense change and uncertainty.

The funding from Children Incorporated has been instrumental in transforming the lives of our students and their families! Children Incorporated has allowed us to create a more supportive and conducive learning environment by addressing critical needs such as education and technology items, summer and winter clothing, utility bills, and other critical basic needs support. Our students perform better academically and are more enthusiastic about attending school when they have support from Children Incorporated!

Best wishes,
Theresa

Phillis Wheatley COMMUNITY SCHOOL

Phillis Wheatley Community School has greatly benefited from the support provided by Children Incorporated over the past school year! This report outlines the impact of the generous partnership, which helps support our students’ needs and remove barriers to their success at school and in their community.

“Our students perform better academically and are more enthusiastic about attending school when they have support from Children Incorporated!”

Children Incorporated funding allowed us to purchase school and summer shoes, winter clothing, rain gear, uniform pants, and polos for Children Incorporated students. Proper footwear and clothing helped ensure that all Children Incorporated students could attend school comfortably and confidently daily. Site Coordinators have also supplied high-quality hygiene products to many students and families. This initiative has dramatically improved our students’ personal hygiene and self-esteem, which positively impacts their overall well-being and classroom participation. Site coordinators can ensure Children Incorporated students have the hygiene supplies they need at home and school, thanks to Children Incorporated!

We also utilized the funding throughout the year to provide necessary school supplies. This consistent availability of supplies has been crucial in ensuring that students are always prepared for their classes as the school year progresses. Many students have supplies early in the year but need help replenishing items as they need replacing. Children Incorporated ensures students have access to what they need from the first to the last day of school!

One family was significantly impacted by the generosity of their son’s sponsor this year. Sponsor-donated funds allowed us to purchase furniture items for the family after they recently moved into a new home and the siblings got their own rooms for the first time. Thanks to the generosity of their sponsor, their rooms are now equipped with new dressers, toy chests, bedding, and a few toys, too.

The support from Children Incorporated has been pivotal in addressing the diverse needs of our students, from essential supplies and hygiene products to improved living conditions and community engagement. We are deeply grateful for the continued support from Children Incorporated and our community partners, and we look forward to furthering our mission to provide a supportive and enriching educational environment for all our students.

Thank you,
Odina

In the next few weeks, I will be sharing my stories from the schools we visited in New Orleans, which reflect the important work we are doing together to help some of the most vulnerable children in the Crescent City receive an education.

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How do I sponsor a child with Children Incorporated?

SPONSOR A CHILD