Tag Archives: help children in need

Shelley Callahan | October 2, 2022En Español

When Shirleen Joe first contacted Children Incorporated this past summer, she mentioned to our sponsorship department that she herself was a sponsored child growing up.

Children Incorporated Director of Development Shelley Callahan emailed Shirleen Joe to ask her more about the sponsorship experience and how being a sponsor herself has been.

“I was a Native American child sponsored through my school back in 1972. I still have contact with my sponsor today. I’ve even considered her my stepmother, which she accepted, so now I call her “Mom.” I want to become a sponsor now to pay-it-forward,” wrote Shirleen.

“I asked her how she sponsored me when I was a child and she was glad to give me the information about Children Incorporated, but said she wasn’t aware if the organization still existed. After doing research, I came to find out that you all still do exist. I was so grateful!”

After she signed up to become a new sponsor, Children Incorporated’s Director of Development Shelley Callahan emailed Shirleen Joe to ask her more about her experience growing up with a sponsor and how she feels about our sponsorship program.

Shirleen Joe as a young girl in New Mexico

SC: Tell us a little about your background with Children Incorporated.

SJ: Back in 1971, I was attending a local boarding school when I was only 8 years old. I was informed that I had a “sponsor.” Not knowing what was going on, I was given a pencil and paper and was told to write a letter to her. I later came to find out that it was through Children Incorporated that an individual had volunteered to help me with basic needs.

SC: What state was your boarding school located in?

SJ: It was located in Crownpoint, New Mexico.

SC: Can you tell US just a little bit more about what your childhood was like?

SJ: In our native tradition we are required to introduce ourselves in our native language and in the proper manner like: “Hello, my name is Shirleen Joe, I am of (maternal clan) the Tohdicheenie Clan (Bitter Water). I am born of the (paternal clan) Ma’ii desh gish nii Clan (Coyote Pass People) also known as the Ah shii nii Clan (Salt People). My father was the late Herbert F. Martin and was employed as a Heavy Equipment Operator with the local BIA Facility Management until his passing in 1979. My mother is Etta J. Martin, a home maker.

My parents, myself and all my siblings lived in a house called a hogan, which is a one room open space area for living. The furniture was located in certain areas against the wall to sort of make sections for the kitchen and sleeping areas.

The only ones that actually had a bed to sleep on were my parents. Myself and my three sisters slept on the ground on one big mattress and my three brothers also had their own big mattress to sleep on. In the morning we would take out those mattresses and hang them on the clothes line to air out for the next night.

I was one lucky individual to have a sponsor which personally felt like I had a foster parent who cared enough to individually support me.

A lot of things that I got were hand-me-downs from my older siblings. The only new thing that I received was usually from my sponsor sending me something like a gift. I was shy and timid as a child, until I became a teenager and obtained a permanent job that got me out of my shell. Now, I can give a public speech in both the English and Navajo (Dine’) language with no problem.

SC: What do you currently do for work?

SJ: I currently work for the Navajo Nation Food Distribution in Crownpoint.

As a young adult, I worked for Wendy’s Restaurant in Gallup, New Mexico; thereafter, I applied to and got hired permanently with the City of Gallup Police Department working in the Records Department. I put in a total of twenty five years and then retired from there, then stayed at home for two years before deciding I was ready to go back to work. I then worked for the Navajo Nation Division of Aging and Long Term Care Support, the Navajo Land Commission, the Navajo Technical University, and now I am at the Navajo Nation Food Distribution which is where I will remain until I decide to retire permanently from the employment life.

SC: What are some of your memories of having a sponsor growing up?

Shirleen Joe pictured with her sponsor, Karen

SJ: I remember that out of the hundreds of children attending the boarding school, I was one of the lucky ones that got a sponsor through Children Incorporated. My sponsor would send me letters and gifts for my birthday or for Christmas.

SC:What was your biggest motivation for becoming a sponsor yourself?

SJ: My biggest motivation was having six other siblings and losing my father at a young age, which was hard for my mother. I was one lucky individual to have a sponsor which personally felt like I had a foster parent who cared enough to individually support me. In knowing that, I decided to become a sponsor myself after becoming an adult and making a living on my own.

SC: What do you think are some of the most rewarding aspects of sponsorship?

SJ: Personally, I would say that no matter what kind of family life you’re going through, there’s always someone out there to help you financially, provide you with hope that everything will be okay no matter the circumstances, motivate you to know that you are able to face any challenges, and offer a life-long friendship. To this day, I still have contact with my sponsor. I consider her as my secondary parent and her children as my own siblings.

***

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 that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | August 29, 2022En Español

This week’s edition of Stories of Hope continues with our “virtual tour” of Floyd County, Kentucky. Our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, visits with our volunteer coordinator, Michelle, at James D. Adams Middle School, to tell us more about their school, community, and the power of working together to help children and their families.

Renée’s visit

“Adams Middle School is a rather small school located in Prestonsburg, Kentucky. It has the capacity to accommodate around 335 students in grades 6^th through 8^th. The poverty rate here is 64% — not as high as some other surrounding areas, but still significant and crushing for many families trying to make ends meet.”

Michelle is very proud of how quickly and well everyone worked together to create lesson plans and navigate continuing to communicate with the children while they were at home.

“Our Volunteer Coordinator at the school is Michelle. She is a long-serving coordinator for both the Family Resource Youth Services Center and for Children Incorporated.

Michelle told me during our virtual meeting that at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, the entire staff and administration of Adams Middle scrambled to figure out how to educate and to serve the children. She is very proud of how quickly and well everyone worked together to create lesson plans and navigate continuing to communicate with the children while they were at home. The school buses even transported food to students’ homes rather than them coming to the school for bagged lunches – which prevented so many children in this community from going hungry.”

challenges for students at home

“Michelle told me that most students were able to get online to do their work, and many stayed with grandparents during the day while their parents worked. But, a sizable portion of students did not have internet access at home. The Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg was one of the first local businesses that invited families to park in their parking lots during the day and sit in their cars to access the WIFI from inside the building, which for some students was their only means to connect and learn.”

“Additionally, as with many other schools in Eastern Kentucky, and around the United States, the 2020-2021 school year was delayed due to rising infection rates but had since started back fully in-person. Then sadly, things got bad again.”

Consistency in uncertain times

“When this new 2021-2022 school year started, and all the kids were together playing sports and having activities and club meetings, there was a quick uptick in cases. Infection rates and hospitalizations jumped in August and September and then declined slowly through December of last year. There was another surge in January and February of this year, the highest the area had seen yet. Cases have since declined again but remain high. There is without a doubt a lot of ‘COVID fatigue’ amount students, faculty, and parents.

Despite the difficulties, Michelle has been working hard to provide for the children, and she is deeply grateful for the sponsors’ support, which offered her, and the children in our program, some much-needed consistency during such uncertain times.”

***

How do I sponsor a child in Kentucky?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | August 15, 2022

When children are living in poverty, they have fewer resources than children who come from more affluent households. Resources missing from impoverished homes include nutritious food, adequate clothes, and hygiene items — but also educational resources such as school supplies, computers, books, homework activities and learning games — which help equip young children for success in school.

Poverty has a determinate effect on childhood education and a child’s chances at success in school.

Additionally, families that live in poverty also often have parents that work long hours at multiple jobs, leaving them without the time or energy to help their children with homework. Without the proper resources and support to keep up with their studies, children living in poverty fall behind, feel inadequate about themselves, and no longer have a desire to stay in school and get an education, which is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty in which they live.

How Poverty Effects Children’s Education

Poverty has a determinate effect on childhood education and a child’s chances at success in school. Statistically, children from families with lower incomes have less developed vocabulary and communication skills than other students and have a harder time concentrating in school.

-1 in 7 children in the United States is growing up in poverty

-40% of children living in poverty aren’t prepared for primary schooling

– Children from low-income families are seven times more likely to drop out of high school than children from affluent families

– Children living in poverty have a higher number of absenteeism because they are more likely to have to work or care for family members

How Children Incorporated is Helping

Children living all over the world need our help to receive an education and have the chance to rise out of the poverty. Children Incorporated works in 20 countries, including the United States, to provide children living in poverty with school supplies, tuition, and other educational resources so they can go to school prepared and ready to learn.

Thanks to our caring donors, Children Incorporated has helped thousands of children in the United States since 1964.

Your support makes all our work to help children receive an education possible.

***

How do I sponsor a child with Children Incorporated?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Sources:

https://www.nassp.org/poverty-and-its-impact-on-students-education/

https://www.insightintodiversity.com/povertys-long-lasting-effects-on-students-education-and-success/

https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/covid-deep-poverty-struggle-education-equity

https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/education/brief/what-is-learning-poverty

https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-education-and-poverty-america

Kristen Walthall | August 14, 2022En Español

As a part of our “Virtual Tour” of our Floyd County, Kentucky affiliated sites, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, tells us about her “visit” to John Stumbo Elementary School.

“This is a small school in the community of Grethel, which is in a very rural area about 20 miles south-southeast of the county seat, Prestonsburg. The community is on Kentucky Route 979, and besides the school, there is a small post office and a Dollar General store.”

Angie told me that the parents our sponsored children are incredibly grateful for the help given by the sponsors.

“John Stumbo serves 344 students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 8th. About 84% of the children come from low-income families. The children struggle academically too. Test scores are below the state average, with science at 22% and social studies at 39%.”

Working hard to help kids and families in need

“Our Volunteer Coordinator is Angie. She works tirelessly at the Family Resource Youth Services Center to help the children and their families. When the pandemic started, Angie was very worried about how she would be able to shop properly for the students. In the early days, there were limits on the number of items she could buy per shopping trip. Many stores had low inventories, and so things ranging from hand sanitizer to Lysol wipes were limited.”

“She was also concerned about getting correspondence from their children for their sponsors since the children were at home instead of in the school, and many didn’t have internet or phones for her to check in on them. She was gradually able to work out the kinks, and she began feeling some confidence. She was able to make a big shopping trip at the end of April 2020, and she made home deliveries to every single Children Incorporated sponsored child. Once the 2020-2021 school year began, the shortages eased up, and Angie was able to make plans and to shop without any difficulties.”

“But, unfortunately, she had other challenges. Floyd County had a couple of surges of the COVID-19 virus, driven by variants. She talked with many worried parents and grandparents, especially those who are medically vulnerable. One of her students lost her custodial grandmother due to COVID-19, which was heartbreaking.”

Yearning to get back to normal

“Angie commented that when the current 2021-2022 school year began, she detected a high level of ‘COVID fatigue’ among students and their caretakers. The kids especially yearned to get back to normal, and she empathized with them – she wanted them to be able to have less to worry about and just focus on learning and getting to see their friends and feel a little closer to normal.”

“At the end of our virtual meeting, Angie told me that the parents our sponsored children are incredibly grateful for the help given by the sponsors. With inflation hitting the gas stations and grocery stores, parents’ very limited budgets are being squeezed almost to the breaking point. Our sponsors’ support with the children’s school clothes, classroom supplies, and hygiene items is deeply appreciated.”

***

How do I sponsor a child in Kentucky?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Kristen Walthall | July 31, 2022En Español

As a part of our 2022 “Virtual Visit” series, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, takes us to Duff-Allen Central Elementary in Floyd County, Kentucky where she “meets” with Scott, our volunteer coordinator, at the school.

“Duff-Allen Central Elementary is a large elementary school also located in the community of Eastern. It serves about 626 students from pre-kindergarten to 8^th grade. It was formerly two separate schools on the same campus – James A. Duff Elementary and Allen Central Middle – but the Board of Education voted to consolidate and have just one set of administrators.”

“Scott closed by saying his favorite part of our sponsorship program is the simple, ordinary things, like meeting a family in need in Walmart, which might feel mundane to us. But the kids in our program are over the moon with excitement to be there!”

“The Family Resource Youth Services Center has always been a combined center for both the elementary and middle students. Its coordinator, Scott, is our volunteer coordinator.”

“Many students at the school struggle academically and financially, and the situation became worse during the pandemic. At present, the Algebra 1 participation rate is just 11%, and the pass rate is less than 1%. The rate of children living in poverty is 77%.”

“When we met virtually, Scott expressed how happy he is now that the school has returned to fully in-person instruction over the last semester. Parents and guardians still have the choice to enroll their children into the county-wide Virtual Academy due to medical conditions or other vulnerabilities if they prefer. In fact, Scott’s wife is the principal of the Virtual Academy! Scott made a point to mention that regardless of the virtual option, all administrators, faculty, and staff at Duff-Allen believe strongly that in-person instruction is best for the students and their education and well-being.”

“Scott did express to me that he has had some struggles during the pandemic. In the beginning, with school on fully remote instruction, students and parents were less responsive. It was hard to coordinate services, but things are starting to turn around. He is now very busy making home visits and taking stock of his office and resources. He is extremely grateful for the extra support provided by Children Incorporated during the pandemic, as well as during last year’s severe spring flooding in the area. He mentioned that now, he could really use help with his clothes closet, as he is totally out of important items like leggings and socks and underwear.”

“Scott closed by saying his favorite part of our sponsorship program is the simple, ordinary things, like meeting a family in need in Walmart, which might feel mundane to us. But the kids in our program are over the moon with excitement to be there! Scott remembers one of his former families consisted of two sets of twins, and their family experienced extreme poverty. He will always remember the twins for their enthusiasm and great appreciation for their sponsors, because their support allowed them to pick out clothing that was new and fit them — something they had never gotten to do before in their lives.”

***

How do I sponsor a child in Kentucky?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | July 5, 2022En Español

After a little more than a week in Mexico, the time has come for Luis and I to visit our last affiliated site before returning home to the United States.

Hogar Santa Maria is located just across the river from the city center of Guadalajara where you will find high rise hotels and a bustling main street. The contrast is stark as we drive from our hotel to the neighborhood where Santa Maria is located — it is completely different from one side of the city to the other. Wealth and commerce are contrasted with poverty and old, small buildings. One side is modern and striving, growing towards the future, while the other seems to not be a part of the same world.

It is so apparent that these children feel loved and safe at Santa Maria.

The same but different

These were all the same feelings I had the first time I visited Santa Maria in 2016, but I doubted that everything had stayed exactly the same due to the pandemic. If Santa Maria was anything like all our other affiliated sites in Mexico, our coordinators also had to go through big changes to continue to provide for the children in our program.

When we arrived at the Home, we were greeted by one of the four sisters who takes care of the children, and Santa Maria’s full-time social worker. Unfortunately, our coordinator was away in Mexico City having surgery and couldn’t be with us for our visit, but we were made to feel welcome all the same, given a tour of the facility, and heard about how our sponsorship program has been going over the past few years.

The social worker explained that they were able to continue to provide support for the children during quarantine when the children were sent home, largely thanks to our sponsors. The children only returned just a few short months ago when public schools finally opened again, and now 18 children are living at Santa Maria again during the weekdays. Since before the pandemic, attendance has gone down, and although the home isn’t at full capacity again, almost all of the children who attend have sponsors through Children Incorporated.

As we wandered through the dormitories and the small classrooms, we talked also about the ways in which Santa Maria is a blessing for families in the community. With many parents working long hours or overnight shifts, it is crucial for young children to have a place to live, learn and play with their friends during the week.

With many parents working long hours or overnight shifts, it is crucial for young children to have a place to live, learn and play with their friends during the week.

The parents pay a very small fee for the children to stay at the Home, which as it was explained to us, was mostly just to ensure they felt invested in their child’s care, and less about what the money really provided. Fortunately for these children, their sponsors help make sure they have healthy meals every day, new clothes and shoes, and school supplies throughout the year.

As we finish up our tour, the children arrive excited and, unknowingly to us, expecting our visit. As we gather in the dining room, the children have a surprise for Luis and me — they have learned a song to sing to us to say thanks to our organization and all of our sponsors.

It is so apparent that these children feel loved and safe at Santa Maria, which is important to giving their parents peace of mind while they work. For these children, Santa Maria ensures they and their parents have nothing to worry about while they are there so they can focus on enjoying just being kids.

***

How do I sponsor a child in Mexico?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD