Tag Archives: child

Shelley Callahan | October 29, 2022En Español

For nearly 60 years, Children Incorporated has provided basic essentials to children living in poverty, including much-needed clothes, shoes, and other clothing items that help ensure they can go to school properly dressed and prepared for the day.

Thank you for all you do to keep children warm and comfortable throughout the year!

It is incredible how often we hear from our volunteer coordinators about how a new outfit or a new pair of shoes or a new winter coat drastically changed the life of a child in their school or affiliated site.

For some, a pair of shoes is the difference between attending school or staying home. For others, new clothes means that a child living in poverty, who might otherwise only wear hand-me-downs or older, worn clothing, gets to fit in with their classmates and doesn’t have to worry about being teased or distracted in class by feeling like an outsider. Just as much as these items physically allow students to go to school, they also support children’s mental and emotional needs.

Combining two funds to make one special fund

In the past, we have supported children in our program with immediate clothes, shoes and winter clothing needs through two Special Funds: Our Warm Clothing Fund and our Shoes and Socks Fund. Both funds are and continue to be of great importance, and for that very reason, we have decided to combine them into one fund — our new Clothing and Shoes Fund.

As always, donations to our Clothing and Shoes Fund will provide children with warm hats, coats, boots, scarfs and gloves during the winter months, as well as sturdy shoes and cozy socks for children in our program — all thanks to your generous and thoughtful monetary gifts — and we will continue to bring you Stories of Hope about how your donations to this Special Fund are changing the lives of children who need your support the most.

Thank you for all you do to keep children warm and comfortable throughout the year!

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How do I donate to the ClothING and Shoes Fund?

You can donate to our Clothing and Shoes Fund 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 make a donation.

DONATE TODAY

Children Incorporated | October 27, 2022

Nestled in northern Central America, Honduras was once home to several Mesoamerican peoples — most notably the Maya. This ecologically diverse land — with its rainforests, cloud forests, savannas, mountain ranges, and barrier reef system off the northern coast — teems with life. Its wealth of natural resources is equally impressive, including a variety of minable minerals and agricultural exports such as coffee, tropical fruit, sugar cane, and lumber.

In Honduras, children’s very lives and futures are at risk, as they struggle with poverty and a lack of educational resources.

Moreover, its growing textiles industry serves an international market. The nation’s wealth of natural beauty and resources,
however, belies the dire poverty in which its people live. In fact, Honduras holds the unfortunate distinction of being one of the poorest nations in Latin America. This is due in part to its longstanding political instability, social strife, and economic issues that includes fluctuating export prices, rising inflation, and unemployment. Other contributing factors include frequent natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and flooding, as well as widespread poverty, disease, and inadequate education, which results in a high rate of illiteracy.

Challenges for Children in Honduras

In Honduras, children’s very lives and futures are at risk, as they struggle with poverty and a lack of educational resources. Right now, children in Honduras need your help.

An estimated 48.3 percent of Hondurans (around 4.3 million people) live below the national poverty line
About half the population in Honduras lives on less than $5.50 USD a day
In Honduras, seven out of ten children live below the poverty line, as classified by UNICEF
43% of children do not live with their parents because of immigration and migration to other countries or areas
3 out of 4 children in Honduras leave school between the ages of 12 and 18

Our Work in Honduras

Thanks to caring people like you, Children Incorporated has helped thousands of children living in poverty in Honduras since 1964.

We work with our volunteer coordinators in local communities to provide health and nutrition, education, hygiene items, clothes, shoes, and other essentials that help children and families rise above the poverty in which they live.

Our strategy is to focus on individual children through our sponsorship program, ensuring they are receiving exactly what they need on a regular basis.

Your support makes all our work possible to help children in crisis in Honduras.

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How do I sponsor a child in Honduras?

You can sponsor a child in Honduras 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 Honduras that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

SOURCES:

https://databankfiles.worldbank.org/data/download/poverty/33EF03BB-9722-4AE2-ABC7-AA2972D68AFE/Global_POVEQ_HND.pdf

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jun/09/poverty-drought-impending-famine-now-pneumonia-takes-its-cruel-toll-on-honduran-children-acc

https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/why-children-are-fleeing-honduras-and-what-unicef-doing-about-it/35571

Shelley Callahan | October 23, 2022

As a part of our ongoing Stories of Hope blog series, we want to share with you our October 2022 Impact Report as a way to say “thank you” to all our supporters who make our work possible.

Beyond what you already provide to children through our sponsorship program, your donations to our Special Funds and Special Projects allow us to help families and communities as well, often in times of crisis.

YOUR IMPACT AROUND THE WORLD

Just in this past month, your donations have:

Beyond what you already provide to children through our sponsorship program, your donations to our Special Funds and Special Projects allow us to help families and communities as well, often in times of crisis.

– Provided food for 25 children at the Dandora Community Center in Kenya

– Provided funds for backpacks for children at Martha Jane Potter Elementary School in Kentucky

– Provided funds to purchase meals for one full month for students at Kids Hope Ethiopia

– Provided funds for warm clothing for students at Fallsburg Elementary School in Kentucky

– Provided funds for meals for children for an entire month at Fortune’s Children at Parang in the Philippines

– Provided food for 25 children for a month at St. John’s Community Center in Kenya

– Provided funds for flood relief for families with children at Jones Fork Elementary School in Kentucky

– Provided funds for food, water, hygiene items and household items for children whose homes were damaged by flooding at Buckhorn Combined School in Kentucky

– Provided funds to complete a greenhouse project at St. Michaels Special Education School in Arizona

– Provided funds for menstrual hygiene items for girls at Santa Isabel Ana Seton in Guatemala

– Provided funds to help with flood relief efforts for children and their families at Hindman Elementary School in Kentucky

From all of us at Children Incorporated, thank you all for all you have done in just this month to help families living in poverty!

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HOW do I MAKE A DONATION TO CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

You can donate to 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 hello@children-inc.org and a staff member can assist you with making a donation; or online to our donation portal, create an account, and chose a particular fund in which to make a donation.

DONATE

Children Incorporated | October 17, 2022

We are happy to share with you our Fall 2022 Newsletter, highlighting our work around the world thanks to our sponsors and donors and their generosity and dedication in helping children in need. Enjoy!

Children Incorporated Responds to Major Flooding in Eastern Kentucky

Historic thunderstorms struck southeastern Kentucky in July, producing 16 inches of rainfall within a five-day period and triggering flash flooding throughout the region. Buildings, homes, and roads were damaged due to high water, and the aftermath of the storms was devastating for both our affiliated schools and families in these communities, some of whom lost everything and were forced to live in tents on their property or move into hotels or shelters.

We are happy to share with you our Fall 2022 Newsletter, highlighting our work around the world thanks to our sponsors and donors and their generosity and dedication in helping children in need.

In early August, our volunteer coordinators started reaching out to us requesting support, and we began sending emergency relief funding — all thanks to our amazing donors.

To date, we have sent over $65,000 to help families with immediate needs such as bottled water and nonperishable food, cleaning supplies, antibiotic ointment, band-aids, and clothes. We are so grateful for donations made to our Hope In Action Fund for our Kentucky flood relief efforts!

OUR DONORS TO THE RESCUE

The Spirit Airlines Charitable Foundation Supports Our Work in Costa Rica

In June, Spirit Airlines marked fifteen years of flights to San Jose, Costa Rica, and wanted to celebrate by giving back to children, families, and communities in the area, so they contacted Children Incorporated.

“Lanie Morgenstern, the Senior Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility & Strategic Partnerships with Spirit Airlines, was very enthusiastic about our work in Costa Rica when we spoke about a potential partnership,” explained Children Incorporated Director of Development, Shelley Callahan.

In a time of crisis, we are able to support children in Sri Lanka thanks to our donors and sponsors.

“Lanie felt that our work directly lined up with the mission and vision of the Spirit Airlines Charitable Foundation. The Foundation was interested in providing immediate educational and basic needs support to children living in poverty who attended our affiliated site, La Milagrosa, in the center of San Jose.”

“I also felt that this partnership was ideal for the children in our program. The $10,000 donation from the Spirit Airlines Charitable Foundation allowed our volunteer coordinator to purchase food items, hygiene items, mattresses, clothes, shoes and school supplies for the children we support,” explained Callahan.

“These items were especially important considering how difficult the pandemic has been for families.”

Thank you, Spirit Airlines, for your valuable partnership with Children Incorporated!

INVESTING IN THE YOUTH OF COSTA RICA

Helping Children During A Crisis in Sri Lanka

This year, Sri Lanka has faced its worst economic crisis since its independence in 1948. Fuel shortages and inflation have left millions of Sri Lankans without kerosene and food, leaving many to borrow money or sell their personal items to feed themselves and their children.

Thankfully, our sponsors and donors are able to offer support to children at our three affiliated sites in Sri Lanka — Chrishanti Lama Sevana, Touch a Life with Hope Center, and the Wijewardane Children’s Home. Monthly funding has allowed our volunteer coordinators to purchase food, mosquito nets and other basic needs items which the children desperately need.

We have children currently on our waitlist in Sri Lanka, waiting for a special person to sponsor them. If you would like to sponsor a child in Sri Lanka, please contact us today.

READ THE FULL NEWSLETTER

Shelley Callahan | October 10, 2022En Español

In late July of this year, we reported on the massive flooding that occurred in Eastern Kentucky, which devastated many of the communities in which we work. Storms followed by rising water damaged homes and schools, leaving families of our sponsored children without a place a live — and in dire need of emergency relief.

In the first week after the flooding, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, sent $1000 to each of the 43 Family Resource Centers at our affiliated schools in the countries and cities with the worst flood damage, all thanks to previous donations to our Hope In Action Fund.

By early August, further contributions to our Emergency Flood Relief Fund totaled more than $22,000.

Helping families through an emergency

By early August, further contributions to our Emergency Flood Relief Fund totaled more than $22,000 as our donors generously supported our efforts to get aid to Kentucky as quickly as possible. We were able to disburse these funds to communities to support clean up and recovery efforts and replace destroyed items that children will need for the upcoming fall and winter months.

Many of our affiliated sites in Eastern Kentucky have been devastated by flooding in July.

We are just now starting to receive thank you letters from our volunteer coordinators, as they have been working around the clock, tirelessly helping rebuild their schools and communities, all while helping to ensure children in our program, who are already living in poverty, are receiving basic needs through this disaster.

A letter from Kelli

Today, we want to share a letter of gratitude from Kelli at Breathitt County Jr.-Sr. High School, who wrote to our donors to say thank you for the support:

“I want to say thank you so much for the Flood Relief Funds. My students, families and county as a whole have suffered so much from this flood. I was able to go to Walmart and buy brand new items for the students. Girls asked for underwear and bras and comfortable clothes. The boys also asked for underwear, as well as socks and hoodies to stay warm.”

“While we had an outpouring of donations after the floods, a lot of items were used and were not always the right sizes for my students. The new items were taken to the students and families that were displaced and living in the homeless shelters. Thanks again for your generosity. You don’t know how much it was appreciated.”

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How Can I Support Families in Eastern Kentucky?

You can help families in Eastern Kentucky by donation to our Hope In Action Fund. You can make a donation 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 click the link below to be directed to our online donation portal.

DONATE

Children Incorporated | October 4, 2022

Located in the Great Lakes region of eastern Africa, Kenya is known for its fertile highlands, grassy savannahs, wildlife, and its namesake peak, Mt. Kenya. Its economy relies heavily upon agriculture and tourism. Kenya is also a cradle of civilization, rich in cultural heritage and diversity. The nation’s wealth of natural beauty, resources, and culture, however, belie the poverty in which most of its residents live.

Children living in poverty face especially difficult situations in Kenya.

Tragically, destitution and weak government institutions permit frequent violations of human rights. Kenya is also plagued by a severe shortage of healthcare workers, which contributes to lower life expectancies, high infant mortality rates, and widespread preventable disease.

Children living in poverty face especially difficult situations in Kenya. Education is rarely free, and many families cannot afford school uniforms, books and meals to send their children to school. Although Kenya is seeing a decrease in poverty overall, a large population of children in the country still lives in vulnerable situations without access to basic needs.

Challenges for Children in Kenya

In Kenya, children’s very lives and futures are at risk, as poverty leads to lack of educational and basic resources. Right now, vulnerable children in Kenya need your help.

42% of children in Kenya live in poverty
More than one-third of the country’s population is living on less than $1.90 USD per day.
Roughly 1.13 million children of primary school age (6 to 13 years old) are out of school in Kenya
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, only 53% of students in Kenya were enrolled in secondary school (high school)
School closures interrupted learning for over 17 million children in 2020

Our Work in Kenya

Thanks to caring people like you, Children Incorporated has helped thousands of children living in poverty in Kenya since 1964.

Our strategy is to focus on individual children through our sponsorship program, ensuring they are receiving exactly what they need on a regular basis.

Your support makes all our work possible for Kenyan children in crisis.

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How do I sponsor a child in Kenya?

You can sponsor a child in Kenya 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 Kenya that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Sources:

https://www.unicef.org/kenya/education