Tag Archives: children

The town of Newcomb is situated in the Navajo Nation, amid the incredible desert background of northwestern New Mexico. For many of the small number of residents that live in the town – less than 400, according to the U.S. Census Bureau – there is little opportunity for steady employment. A trading post, which includes an impressive Navajo artifact museum, and a fish hatchery are some of the only options for work. Due to a lack of jobs, many families are living in poverty, and struggle to provide for their children.

A special donor offers his support

sponsor a child in need in New Mexico

Students recieve basic needs they would otherwise go without, thanks to their sponsors.

Funded by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Tohaali’ – which means “where the water flows out” in Navajo, named for a nearby creek – has approximately 130 students in kindergarten through the eighth grade. Thirty of those students live in a dormitory on campus during the school week. Since the school is not close to any of its surrounding communities, many families have to travel quite a distance to take their kids there. On a recent trip to visit the Tohaali’ Community School, U.S. Projects Specialist, Shelley Oxenham, met with our Volunteer Coordinator Cecelia. Cecelia told Shelley that one of the schools’ families doesn’t have a vehicle; so after every weekend, the parents walk with their kids for the four miles it takes to get to the dormitory.

Cecelia explained to Shelley that the Children Incorporated program is very important for students, because it helps to provide them with food, warm clothing, shoes, school supplies, and hygiene items – things that their parents can’t afford to purchase for them. Beyond helping our sponsored children on a monthly basis, Cecelia was also able to rely on Children Incorporated when an emergency arose a few years ago.

Our Sponsorship Manager Steven Mitchell acted quickly, and contacted a very special donor who contributed $5,000 to purchase a trailer for the family.

She recalled a special circumstance in which a family suddenly became homeless. Cecelia called our office to see if we might be able to help. Our Sponsorship Director, Steven Mitchell, acted quickly, and contacted a very special donor who contributed $5,000 to purchase a trailer for the family. When the family saw the trailer, they couldn’t believe their eyes; they felt so overwhelmed to find that they did have a home after all – after having gone through such a terrible ordeal in losing their previous residence, and having had nowhere to go.

Shopping is the hardest part

Before Shelley left the school, Cecelia explained that the hardest part for her is doing the shopping, because the closest town with a decent store is Farmington, which is a little over an hour away. Our sponsored children’s parents try to meet Cecelia at the mall to spend two to three hours shopping there, making sure to get exactly what their children need in the correct sizes; but transportation is a barrier for many families, so there are many times when Cecelia does the shopping herself. Regardless, Cecelia is incredibly grateful for the support the children get from their sponsors, and she knows that without it, they would often go without basic essentials in their lives.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN NEW MEXICO?

You can sponsor a child in New Mexico 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

Education has always been one of Children Incorporated’s core values; and that is why, since our very beginning, we have supported our sponsored and unsponsored children through our Higher Education Fund.

Our Higher Education Fund helps young people pursue their dreams of completing certificate programs or obtaining a degree from a university or college by providing them with financial support. The program is highly effective, thanks to our amazing volunteer coordinators, who know each and every one of our sponsored and unsponsored children personally — and as such, also know their individual needs and goals.

Our higher education program

Thanks to our Higher Education Fund, Maria was able to attend college.

The volunteer coordinators in both our International and U.S. Divisions nominate children who are enrolled in our program and are in their last year of secondary education.

Once accepted into our Higher Education Program, these young people may pursue any course of study they wish at an accredited institution. Many of our Higher Education Fund beneficiaries have later returned to their communities in positions as teachers, nurses, social workers, accountants, architects, counselors, and speech therapists.

Contributions to our Higher Education Fund essentially help make our sponsored and unsponsored youngsters’ dreams come true. We recently heard from a former sponsored child who received assistance from our Higher Education Fund — and just that has happened for her. Her name is Maria* and she is from Bolivia; she started on her path to education at our affiliated project Pedro Poveda School in La Paz.

Maria’s home

The small landlocked nation of Bolivia comprises the 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 the Amazon Jungle to the east. Despite its wealth of natural beauty and resources, however, 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.

Since Children Incorporated partners with Pedro Poveda School, we were able to match Maria with a sponsor, so that she could attend the school.

At 12,000 feet above sea level lies La Paz, the highest capital city in the world, and Maria’s hometown. Some of the city’s most impoverished have no sanitation or potable water, and disease and malnutrition are rampant there.

Thankfully, children living in poverty have our affiliated project, the Pedro Poveda School, to offer them a safe and comfortable place to learn, which is just what Maria needed while growing up in poverty.

Matching Maria with a sponsor

Maria was raised without a father, and her mother was very poor and could not afford to send her to school without support. Since Children Incorporated partners with Pedro Poveda School, we were able to match Maria with a sponsor, so that she could attend the school; she received school supplies, books, school uniforms, and other basic needs throughout the year. Not only did her sponsor send contributions, but she also wrote letters to Maria, which motivated her.

While she was in her last year of high school, our volunteer coordinator at Pedro Poveda School recommended Maria for our Higher Education Program, because Maria was a very good student – and she was accepted into the program. After her high school graduation, Maria went on to attend a college in Bolivia, thanks to our Higher Education Fund. She graduated from there with a degree in business administration, and soon after, began working in a hospital for women. Maria is very grateful for the generosity of our donors, as well as for that of her sponsor, who helped her to get where she is today, and to have a much brighter future than she would have had without an education.

*Name changed for child’s protection.

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How do I donate to the Higher Education Fund?

 You can contribute to our Higher Education 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 donate to our Higher Education Fund.

DONATE TODAY

written by Shelley Callahan

Shelley is the Director of Development for Children Incorporated. She is also the lead social correspondent, regularly contributing insights through the Stories of Hope blog series. Sign up for Stories of Hope to receive weekly email updates about how your donations are changing the lives of children in need.

» more of Shelley's stories

Mary Wilson is a founding member of the most famous female singing group in history, the Supremes; and for over fifty years, she has been entertaining audiences throughout the world. Ms. Wilson is also known for her charitable work, and in 2003, she was named a U.S. Cultural Ambassador by former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. This year, Ms. Wilson became a sponsor with Children Incorporated, deciding to help a special little girl in her own hometown of Detroit, Michigan.

Ms. Wilson says she looks very forward not only to assisting the child, but also to helping bring awareness to the life-changing work that we do. We welcome Ms. Wilson to the Children Incorporated family!

About Ms. Wilson’s hometown

Founded in 1701 by French settlers, the port city of Detroit has since grown to become the second-largest metropolis in the Midwestern United States. It is best known for its Motown music, like that of the Supremes, and its automobile industry, which boomed throughout the twentieth century – and the city even served as a major supplier of provisions for Allied troops during World War II. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, however, Detroit saw a 25 percent plunge in its population. Despite efforts to revitalize the city, in 2013, Detroit was forced to file the largest municipal bankruptcy case in United States history.

Today, the city struggles with rampant unemployment, poverty, and all of their associated socioeconomic issues. The community served by Wayne Elementary School, which Ms. Wilson’s sponsored child attends, is no exception to these maladies. In fact, here in Detroit’s east end, the need is even greater for such necessities as food, clothing, and shelter. For this reason, Wayne Elementary School serves as a beacon of hope. In addition to basic needs, the school provides students with a safe, nurturing learning environment – all thanks to our caring sponsors! This setting is one that emphasizes the value of respect – for self and for others – and of daily excellence. Bolstered by highly-qualified teachers, dedicated parents, and strong community involvement, the school equips this talented group of rising young academic stars with the technological and authentic literacy skills that they need in order to rise above the difficult socioeconomic circumstances from which they come, and to break the cycle of poverty.

Ms. Wilson with our CEO, Ronald Carter, and her sponsored child in Detroit

Welcoming Ms. Wilson

Ms. Wilson has sponsored children in the past with other organizations, and told our President and Chief Executive Officer, Ronald Carter, that she found those experiences to be quite enjoyable. We are so grateful that she is now helping a student to receive basic needs through Children Incorporated. Ms. Wilson says she looks very forward not only to assisting the child, but also to helping bring awareness to the life-changing work that we do. We welcome Ms. Wilson to the Children Incorporated family!

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN DETROIT?

You can sponsor a child in Detroit 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.

written by Shelley Callahan

Shelley is the Director of Development for Children Incorporated. She is also the lead social correspondent, regularly contributing insights through the Stories of Hope blog series. Sign up for Stories of Hope to receive weekly email updates about how your donations are changing the lives of children in need.

» more of Shelley's stories

The Na’ Neelzhiin Ji Olta’ Community School is located outside of the vast Navajo Nation in New Mexico, in a remote area of the state. The nearest post office, in Cuba, New Mexico, is thirty miles away. As a result, the school, which serves children from kindergarten through the eighth grade, is incredibly important for the families that live in the nearby communities – families who otherwise might not have a way to get their children to and from a school even farther away. Having actually been constructed by the people of the community with materials supplied by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the school stands as a testimony to the determination of these Navajo families to see their children receive a good education.

Transferring schools is not ideal

Our Volunteer Coorindator Twilia with one of our sponsored children

Many of the residents in this region of New Mexico, where the unemployment rate is high, are living in poverty. Nearly all of the children enrolled at Na’ Neelzhiin Ji Olta’ Community School come from families too poor to afford even the most basic essentials, such as food and clothing, for their young ones. On a trip to visit the school, U.S. Programs Director, Renée Kube, met with our Volunteer Coordinator Twilia. Twilia’s background is in business management, and she is naturally meticulous in her work with the Children Incorporated program. When Renée me her, Twilia was warm and welcoming, and eager to discuss the community.

Twilia explained to Renée that there are often transfers of students between the Na’ Neelzhiin Ji Olta’ Community School and Pueblo Pintado Boarding School during the school year. Both schools are in the vicinity of Cuba, but they’re many miles away from it. The reason for the transfers is that Pueblo Pintado, which is also one of our affiliated projects in New Mexico, has a dormitory where the students can stay during the week; but the Na’ Neelzhiin Ji Olta’ Community School does not. When the annual potato harvest season comes around, parents withdrawal their kids from the Na’ Neelzhiin Ji Olta’ Community School, and enroll them at Pueblo Pintado Boarding School, so that they can go work in fields away from home, and at the same time, know that their kids are taken care of. Their kids stay at the dorms during the week, and go home on the weekends, when the parents have a break from farming.

When working with children who come from impoverished households, and who may also have the added challenge of changing schools every year, it is difficult to ensure that they are getting everything they need to succeed academically.

The only option

Transferring schools is not ideal, but it is the only option for many kids in poor families. In Cuba, employment opportunities are very limited. The next closest town is Bernalillo; and the closest city is Rio Rancho, but it’s quite a distance away – and many students’ parents have unreliable or no transportation. Many don’t have high school diplomas, either, so they can’t compete for better jobs.

Twilia told Renée that she has four volunteers who help her with shopping for our sponsored kids. All of the volunteers are teachers’ aides at the school. Twilia also says she has a great relationship with the school social worker. The social worker there is very proactive, and she is deeply concerned about the children’s welfare. She coordinates clothing drives and works with kids who come to school in need of hygiene items – and she even lets them use the showers there before classes start. She works in conjunction with Twilia to seek food donations, which is a great help.

It is wonderful that Twilia has so much support from other school staff members to help take care of the kids, both those that are enrolled in our program and those who are not. When working with children who come from impoverished households, and who may also have the added challenge of changing schools every year, it is difficult to ensure that they are getting everything they need to succeed academically.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN NEW MEXICO?

You can sponsor a child in New Mexico 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

In early 2017, I was contacted by international clothing company OBEY Clothing, based out of Los Angeles, California, about a potential partnership with Children Incorporated. I was already familiar with OBEY because the company’s founder, international artist and activist Shepard Fairey, has for many years created and donated artwork in order to promote awareness of social and political issues, while also contributing directly to the causes he believes in. I was thrilled for Children Incorporated to be added to the list of Fairey and OBEY’s partnering nonprofit organizations in a joint effort to bring further attention to the importance of supporting children around the world with basic necessities, so that they can receive an education and have a chance at a brighter future.

Not only did Shepard Fairey create artwork to support Children Incorporated, but he also produced that artwork based on photographs of Children Incorporated-sponsored children.

About Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1989 he created the “Andre the Giant has a Posse” sticker that transformed into the OBEY GIANT art campaign, with imagery that has changed the way people see art and the urban landscape. After 29 years, his work has evolved into an acclaimed body of art, which includes the 2008 “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama, found at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. The artist collaborated with Amplifier in 2017 to create the We The People series recognizable during the Women’s Marches and other rallies around the world in defense of national and global social justice issues.

Fairey’s stickers, guerilla street art presence, and 85 plus public murals are recognizable worldwide. His works are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and many others.

The artist’s most recent body of work “Damaged,” was his largest-ever solo fine art exhibition, which ran in Los Angeles from November 11, 2017, through December 17, 2017. The “Damaged” opening reception set record attendance with more than 10,000 guests and the show drew an unprecedented number of visitors to experience the art firsthand during the exhibition run.

What is OBEY Awareness?

Shepard Fairey donates and calls attention to various nonprofits through the OBEY Awareness Project. The project, operated by OBEY Clothing, was founded in 2007 to complement Fairey’s humanitarian efforts around the world. The project allows the company to raise funds for causes Fairey believes in by selling specially-designed merchandise, and donating 100 percent of the profits from those sales to the organizations he supports.

Nonprofit organizations that have benefited from the OBEY Awareness Project in past years include HOPE (Helping Other People Everywhere), Feeding America, the Japanese Red Cross, and Adopt-a-Pet.com. Environmentally-related nonprofit organizations, such as the Surfrider Foundation and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, have also received donations. Children Incorporated is proud to now be listed along with the many other admirable causes that are supported by Shepard Fairey and the OBEY Awareness Project.

Teaming up to help kids in need

Not only did Shepard Fairey create artwork to support Children Incorporated, but he also produced that artwork based on photographs of Children Incorporated-sponsored children. During a visit to our affiliated projects in Ethiopia in 2016, I took photos of our sponsored children in Shashemene at Kids Hope Ethiopia. Fairey used two photos of two young girls enrolled in our program, and paired them together to create a design that was printed on OBEY Clothing T-shirts. The shirts are available now on the OBEY website, where the following is written about the company’s partnership with Children Incorporated:

Children Incorporated is proud to now be listed along with the many other admirable causes that are supported by Shepard Fairey and the OBEY Awareness Project.

For our latest OBEY Awareness Collection, we’ve teamed up with Children Incorporated. Children Incorporated is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides assistance to children in twenty-three countries around the world, including the U.S. For more than 50 years, their organization has helped offer sustainable solutions for children to receive food, clothing, and healthcare. They envision a world in which all children have access to education, hope, and opportunity. By meeting basic needs and providing affirmation and encouragement, they empower children to grow and ultimately break the cycle of poverty. To date, Children Incorporated has reached over 250,000 children in 300 projects around the globe.

100% of net profits from sales of our OBEY Awareness Collection, featuring art by Shepard Fairey, will be donated to Children Incorporated.”

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The remote town of Pueblo Pintado is located in the northeastern corner of McKinley County, New Mexico. There, residents’ only access to water is through an old water tower, and the nearest Walmart and other modern conveniences are almost two hours away. It is also here that Tse’ Yi’ Gai (pronounced “Say Guy”) High School opened in September of 2004.

Our sponsors can now continue helping children in this region all the way through high school, until they graduate, and establish longer, even more meaningful relationships with them.

The school, accessible only by dirt road, is part of the Gallup-McKinley County Schools system in the Navajo Nation. The Nation comprises more than 27,000 square miles of spectacular but inhospitable countryside, extending into both Utah and Arizona. Despite its massive scale and rich cultural history, residents of the Nation face a great deal of poverty. There is virtually no employment; most families must sustain themselves through one of the region’s two primary industries: ranching or sheep-herding. Thankfully, students have the Tse’ Yi’ Gai High School to provide them with a quality education – the key to breaking the cycle of poverty so that they may rise above the difficult economic circumstances from which they come.

Sparking Lindsay’s desire to go to college

Children Incorporated used to lose children enrolled in our program in this region after middle school, because we didn’t have affiliations with high schools there. When these children graduated from middle school, they would move on to high schools that were not affiliated with us, and we were unable to continue to provide them with sponsorship support. For that reason, the partnership with Tse’ Yi’ Gai High School is so valuable – our sponsors can now continue helping children in this region all the way through high school, until they graduate, and establish longer, even more meaningful relationships with them.

The Tse’ Yi’ Gai High School is located in a very remote area of New Mexico.

While visiting Tse’ Yi’ Gai High School, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, was unfortunately unable to meet with our sponsored and unsponsored kids, because they were in the middle of testing; but thanks to our Volunteer Coordinator Paula, Renée was able to meet with Barbara, an older sister of one of our sponsored kids, Lindsay*. Barbara is employed as a teacher’s aide at the school. In 2016, Children Incorporated sent a Hope In Action Fund gift to help Lindsay so that she could attend the National Tribal Public Health Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. She had been chosen as one of the Navajo Tribe’s youth representatives. Barbara was so glad to express the family’s appreciation to Renée face-to-face, saying what an unforgettable experience it had been for Lindsay.

Barbara continued by telling Renée that she feels that the event really sparked Lindsay’s desire to go to college once she graduates, and that she has expressed an interest in the subject of health issues that native peoples face. Even though Renée wasn’t able to meet with the children, Barbara’s comments alone made her feel that the trip was an incredible success, because Children Incorporated, with the support of Lindsay’s sponsor, was able to help a young girl dream big, and to see the value in getting a good education, which is what we strive to do every day for kids in need.

*Name changed for child’s protection.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN New MEXICO?

 

You can sponsor a child in New Mexico 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