Tag Archives: children

Shelley Callahan | July 20, 2018En Español

Many poor families living in the city of Lages in south Brazil have migrated there from the countryside in search of employment to better their lives. Due to limited job opportunities among the ever-growing population there, however, families instead find themselves continuing to live in poverty, and having to move into impoverished urban developments such as Novo Milênio, which lacks electricity, drinking water, and even sewage service. Within this slum community, public schools are ill-equipped to provide a quality education to an increasing number of students.

Along with the soccer program, a volunteer psychologist at the center has been helping the community for several years now. He provides individual and group therapy, which are essential to recovery for children and families after experiencing violence and abuse.

Children roam the streets – sad, neglected, and vulnerable to the threats of crime. Thankfully, the CARITAS-Novo Milênio Center, a nonprofit organization run by the Catholic Church of Brazil, was established to help support these children and their families so that they may break the cycle of poverty in which they live. Formed in Germany in 1897, CARITAS works around the world to help alleviate the suffering of the poor, while also giving them the tools they need to transform their own lives.

Sports helping kids

While visiting our affiliated projects in Brazil, our International Projects Specialist, Andreia Beraldo, arrived at CARITAS-Novo Milênio during their annual Pinhao Festival, which is a national celebration. During these festivities, the center sells wines and foods made of pinhao, a pine nut harvested in the southern region of the country. The center holds the largest festival of this type in the country, and has gained national attention as a result, bringing in famous artists and visitors from all over the country every year. The administrators there prepare for the festival all year long. It lasts ten days total, is the main source of funding for the center, and it provides salaries for the staff.

Children have a chance to play in the fields at Caritas.

After attending the festival, Andreia met with our new Volunteer Coordinator, Yara, to discuss the programs that the center offers to the children and their parents. The center supports about fifty children on a regular basis, many of whom are sponsored through our program. In addition to receiving clothes, food, school supplies, and hygiene items, thanks to sponsors and donors, the kids are also kept safe at the center. One of the ways in which it does this is through a soccer club. The club not only ensures that children get the exercise they need to stay healthy, but it also keeps them busy after school, so that they do not become involved with drugs or violence, which are prevalent in the impoverished community in which they live.

Yara told Andreia that she wished there were more support for the soccer club; she would love for the children to have new uniforms and soccer cleats – and the field is in need of renovation. Yara mentioned that with a new soccer field, the center could rent it for use by other teams, and generate even more income – which would be a big help in supporting even more children in the future.

A variety of other programs

Along with the soccer program, a volunteer psychologist at the center has been helping the community for several years now. He provides individual and group therapy, which are essential to recovery for children and families after experiencing violence and abuse. The center also provides support to pregnant women and newborns in the community. The administration regularly provides classes on abuse prevention and being a good citizen. The center also has a program called “Mesa Brasil,” in which groceries and fresh produce are distributed to families two to three times a week.

Before her visit ended, Andreia was also able to see a community bakery that is run by CARITAS. The bakery was started about six years ago with the help of donated funds from Children Incorporated, and it allows mothers of our sponsored and unsponsored kids to generate extra income. The mothers often get together when they are not baking to share ideas and recipes, and to discuss how they can work together to increase their incomes through baking – thereby supporting their families so that they may have the opportunity to escape poverty.

***

HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN BRAZIL?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | July 9, 2018

Thanks to our new partnership with Kind Traveler, travelers can now help provide basic necessities such as food, clothing, healthcare, and educational support to children living in poverty in the U.S. and abroad when they book hotels through the Kind Traveler website.

Kind Traveler, a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), is the first socially-conscious “Give + Get” hotel booking platform that empowers travelers to benefit communities, the environment, and animals. Travelers give a donation of $10 per night that they book to a local charity that positively impacts the destination they will visit, or to a charity of their choice on the platform. As a reward for their donation, travelers receive an exclusive rate to use in booking directly with the world’s best hotels and unique properties. One hundred percent of the donations raised on the Kind Traveler platform go directly to charities.

Kind Traveler is committed to giving back to the community.

Tremendous potential

Considering the financial power of the $7 trillion travel industry, this partnership between Children Incorporated and Kind Traveler has tremendous potential for positive global impact. Last year alone, people around the world took more than 1.2 billion trips. Meanwhile, nearly 75 percent of travelers polled in Tourism Cares and Phocuswright’s Good Travels research study believe it is important for their travel dollars to benefit the communities they visit. The study also found that price is the leading reason for booking with a particular travel company. By offering an exclusive rate on hotel stays, Kind Traveler has created a solution that addresses both the consumer’s price motivation and their desire to make a difference.

Another major distinction between Kind Traveler and other travel booking sites is the former’s desire to educate. According to Phocuswright, “Three of ten giving travelers were prompted to volunteer or donate because of something they read, heard, saw or experienced.” Kind Traveler’s blog provides stories that inspire travel while underscoring the importance of giving back, living consciously, and choosing with purpose. By sharing the stories of Children Incorporated’s impact on the planet’s most vulnerable families, Kind Traveler is building awareness of the one in nine people worldwide who will go to bed hungry tonight.

By offering an exclusive rate on hotel stays, Kind Traveler has created a solution that addresses both the consumer’s price motivation and their desire to make a difference.

“Our win-win platform offers solutions for everyone,” said CEO and Co-Founder, Jessica Blotter. “For travelers, they become warriors for good and support hotels that are making a positive impact in the world – while receiving exclusive hotel rates. For hotels, they cultivate new relationships with cause-minded consumers and take another step towards corporate social responsibility. For charities, they receive 100 percent of donations and a new, sustainable channel for fundraising.”

Travelers can now support Children Incorporated when they book Kind Hotels in:

Aspen: Hotel Aspen, Molly Gibson Lodge

Austin: Lone Star Court, Hotel Ella, South Congress Hotel

Baltimore: Hotel Revival

Vancouver: Hotel Loden

Chicago: Hotel Felix, The James Chicago – Magnificent Mile, Virgin Hotels Chicago

Costa Rica: Cala Luna, Casa Chameleon Las Catalinas, Casa Chameleon Mal Pais, Casa Chameleon OCiO Villas

Hawaii: Turtle Bay Resort

Houston: Hotel Sorella CityCentre, Hotel Ylem

Idaho: Hotel Ketchum

Los Angeles: Dream Hollywood, The Hollywood Roosevelt, The Mondrian LA, Hotel Angeleno, Hotel Erwin, Terranea Resort

Mexico and the Caribbean: COMO Parrot Cay (Turks & Caicos), Hotel El Ganzo (San José del Cabo), Ka’ana Resort (Belize), Itz’ana Resort + Residences (Belize), NIZUC (Cancún), The Jamaica Inn (Jamaica)

Miami: Carillon Miami Wellness Resort, COMO Metropolitan Miami Beach, Dream South Beach, The Betsy – South Beach, The Palms Hotel & Spa, 1 Hotel South Beach

Minneapolis: Hewing Hotel

New York City: Arlo Hotel NoMad, Arlo Hotel SoHo, Dream Downtown, Dream Midtown, The Benjamin, The Standard East Village, The Standard High Line

Orange County: Monarch Beach Resort, The Ranch at Laguna Beach, Balboa Bay Resort

Palm Springs: Two Bunch Palms

San Antonio: Hotel Valencia Riverwalk

San Francisco: Hotel G, Hotel Spero, The Mosser Hotel, Kensington Park Hotel

San Jose: Hotel Valencia Santana Row

Tampa: Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas Tampa

Telluride: Lumière Telluride

Virginia: Lansdowne Resort & Spa (Leesburg), Quirk Hotel (Richmond)

Washington, D.C.: The Embassy Row Hotel, Liaison Capitol Hill

Wisconsin: The Charmant Hotel (La Crosse), The Iron Horse Hotel (Milwaukee)

Learn more about how you can #TravelKindly with Children Incorporated and Kind Traveler here.

– Content provided by Kind Traveler CEO and Co-Founder, Jessica Blotter
– Photos courtesy of Kind Traveler

Shelley Callahan | July 6, 2018En Español

In the town of Fazenda Rio Grande on the outskirts of Curitiba in southern Brazil, our affiliated project Centro de Assistência e Desenvolvimento Integral (CADI) supports families who struggle to afford even the most basic of needs – and especially education-related expenses – for their children. What began in 1994 as a soccer school to motivate and assist children from low-income families has now become CADI – a national nonprofit organization that provides assistance and developmental support to kids and families. The CADI center’s mission is to motivate and equip deserving children to rise above the difficulties they face, and to overcome poverty as adults.

The CADI center serves about 300 children on a regular basis, and it offers classes in robotics, arts and crafts, civics and ethics, martial arts, circus performance, and several other subjects that help children to develop the abilities and skills that are required to become successful adults. It also provides tutoring opportunities for kids, and houses sports teams that students may join.

The CADI center’s mission is to motivate and equip deserving children to rise above the difficulties they face, and to overcome poverty as adults.

Many of the children who go to the center after school live in nearby neighborhoods, and are abused and suffer severe violence in their own homes. Some of the kids in our sponsorship program are vulnerable to witnessing drug abuse at home or in the community, and some of them suffer from health problems. Most of the children come from single parent homes where they live with just their mother, or with a stepparent or grandparent.

Believing in her own potential

On a recent trip to Brazil, our International Projects Specialist, Andreia Beraldo, visited the CADI center, which is located about forty minutes from downtown Curitiba. Visiting the center was very special for Andreia, because our Volunteer Coordinator there, Arianny, used to be a sponsored child at the project herself.

Arianny is a great example of how sponsorship assistance can make a big difference in a child’s life. She started attending the CADI center when she was only four years old, right around the time her parents divorced. While she was growing up, she received support from her sponsor and the center, and her parents attended counseling sessions at CADI. While meeting with one another, Arianny mentioned to Andreia that as a result of the counseling her parents received while she was growing up, they decided to re-marry, and their family is once again united.

As she became older, Arianny learned about ethics and arts and crafts, and she acquired a variety of skills at the CADI center. As a teenager, she became interested in social work, and decided to volunteer at the center to help other children who were growing up in impoverished families, like she did. When she graduated from high school, she started studying social work at a local university.

After graduating from college in 2015, Arianny became an intern at a local hospital. In 2016, the CADI center hired her as a social worker. As she told her story to Andreia, Arianny became emotional, because thanks to the CADI center and the support she received from Children Incorporated, she learned to believe in her own potential, and she grew up with hope for the future and a positive perspective in life.

***

HOW Do I SPONSOR A CHILD IN BRAZIL?

You can sponsor a child in Brazil 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

Shelley Callahan | June 28, 2018En Español

The city of Marikina, considered part of metropolitan Manila, the capital of the Philippines, is home to the Fortune neighborhood. Within this community, most residents rent modest homes, which are typically little more than shacks constructed from scrap wood and sheets of corrugated metal. They usually have no indoor plumbing — or even beds — and are shared by eight to twelve family members. Tragically, hunger, malnutrition, health issues, and a lack of sufficient clothing often cause children living in this neighborhood to miss school — and sometimes even to drop out altogether.

Thankfully, the Fortune’s Children Center, or the Fortune Center, our affiliated site in this part of the Philippines, is able to support children and their families who are living in poverty. Established by the Damayan at Tiago Foundation, this center functions as both a school and daycare center, which offer community-building programs to assist teenagers and adults facing issues caused by poverty.

As a result of regular monthly funds being sent to the center, the children receive meals every day.

A busy place

On a recent visit to the Philippines, Children Incorporated’s Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, found that the Fortune Center was bustling with activity. Over fifty children at the center are supported by our sponsorship program at the center. Upon his arrival, Luis was greeted not only by our sponsored and unsponsored kids, but by their parents as well.

The parents expressed to Luis their gratitude for the support their children receive from their sponsors. As a result of regular monthly funds being sent to the center, the children are receiving meals every day. Sponsorship support also provides tutoring for the children, and it supports all their educational needs, like uniforms, supplies, shoes, and clothing for school. Twice a year, a medical team goes to the center to set up a clinic for the children and their families who live in the surrounding community.

Luis found that since his last visit to the Philippines a few years ago, the children are continuing to thrive. Many of our sponsored children who have been in our program since they started school have graduated from high school — and some are now off to college. Luis was told by the Director of the Fortune Center, Polly, that two former sponsored children, Maria* and William*, have even graduated from college. Maria studied English in college, and is now a high school teacher. She has mentioned to Polly that she is interested in returning to the Fortune Center to help establish an English tutoring program, with support from Children Incorporated.

Hope for the future

Before leaving, Luis spoke with Polly about what she hoped for the future of the center. Polly mentioned that she would love to establish a water purification plant on the property, so that a few families could start small businesses. The plant would generate potable water at a low cost while also employing members of the community who could then sell the water to Marikina residents. At the same time, the children could learn about small business administration by observing community members at work.

Beyond establishing this new program at the center, Polly would also love to add twenty to thirty more children to our sponsorship program, as many more kids who live nearby could use the support of a caring sponsor, so that they may also have the opportunity to obtain an education and rise above the poverty in which they live.

*Names changed for individuals’ protection.

***

HOW CAN I SPONSOR A CHILD IN THE PHILIPPINES?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | June 21, 2018En Español

The city of Tagaytay, where the Pinagpala Children’s Center is located, is on the island of Luzon, where many Filipino families suffer from extreme poverty. To help support the community, in 2000, members of a local church in the community established the Pinagpala — meaning “Blessed” in Tagalog — Children’s Center to provide educational assistance to local children and their families.

The Pinagpala Children’s Center recognizes that providing for the educational needs of children is an important step in giving them the tools they require to break the cycle of poverty.

The Pinagpala Children’s Center recognizes that providing for the educational needs of children is an important step in giving them the tools they require to break the cycle of poverty, and thanks to support from Children Incorporated, the center not only supports children with basic needs, but it also helps families through various skills training programs and educational activities.

Our Hope In Action Fund in action

Initially just a one-story structure, the Pinagpala Children’s Center received support from Children Incorporated’s Hope In Action Fund to construct a second story. As a result, the centers’ programs were expanded to further support children, families, and the community beyond our sponsorship program. On a recent visit to the Philippines, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, visited the center to see the completed second floor of the building. He also spoke with our volunteer coordinator, Nilo, about how the new floor is being utilized.

During the visit, Nilo explained to Luis that the new addition is being used for feeding children in mornings and afternoons, for after-school tutoring in the evenings, and for hosting a small daycare center for parents who work during the day. The center’s work with Children Incorporated has been instrumental in not only educating our sponsored and unsponsored children, but also in helping to progress the overall development of the community in which they live.

One program at the Pinagpala Center teaches parents how to recycle old materials to make garments to sell.

Plenty of achievements

What Luis found on his visit greatly exceeded his expectations. As he continued to talk with Nilo, he was informed that the administrators at the Pinagpala Children’s Center have also started income-generating programs for the parents of children enrolled in our program. One such program teaches parents how to recycle old materials to make garments to sell. There is also ann income-generating project near the property where pigs are being raised to later be sold.

The center also recognizes the need for a community-based rehabilitation and drug addiction program to help young addicts break their drug habits. Nilo and the local police chief in the area have become involved with the program, teaching workshops and hosting seminars to emphasize to the community the importance of not getting involved in drugs.

***

HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN THE PHILIPPINES?

You can sponsor a child in the Philippines 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 | June 21, 2018

Mitchell County, nestled in the rugged western mountains of North Carolina, serves as a tourist destination for thousands who flock to the region each year to glimpse its spectacular vistas. The area’s breathtaking beauty and rich culture, however, belie a tragic truth: in this smallest and least populous county of all of North Carolina reside some of the nation’s poorest families.

We are incredibly proud that our sponsorship program not only provides weather-appropriate school clothing and supplies to kids on a regular basis, but it also promotes literacy and fosters a love of reading.

A community in need

Years ago, this region boasted a number of productive feldspar and mica mining operations. Today, those minerals no longer bring in the profits they once did; mines have closed, and many workers who earned their livelihood by mining are now jobless. With little in the county to attract industry – and inadequate highways to encourage development in the mountains – Mitchell County has few economic prospects.

Many families in this rural area live well below the federal poverty line, and the overwhelming poverty there has debilitating effects on the children of the region, negatively affecting their self-esteem, health, and overall well-being. For these reasons, Gouge Elementary School and its resource center, as well as our sponsorship program, are a great help to the surrounding community, providing students with a sound education, quality teachers, and the basic needs they would otherwise go without.

Helping children to read

Recently, thanks to their sponsors, children enrolled in our program at Gouge Elementary School were able to participate in the Spring Book Fair, during which they chose books to take home and keep. One of our organization’s core values is education, and many of our kids had never had books of their own until they were matched with sponsors. We are incredibly proud that our sponsorship program not only provides weather-appropriate school clothing and supplies to kids on a regular basis, but it also promotes literacy and fosters a love of reading.

***

HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN NORTH CAROLINA?

You can sponsor a child in North Carolina in one of two ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members, or email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

SPONSOR A CHILD