Tag Archives: help children in need

Ron Carter | March 17, 2024En Español

While visiting Martin County, Kentucky last fall, I first met with Kara, our site coordinator at Martin County High School, and I was absolutely blown away by her caring nature and the extent of services she and her assistant offer the young people at her school.

Kara stated that she feels her main goal is to help the teenagers at her school look and feel good, just like everyone else, so that they will fit in and are not ostracized because of what they do not have. As such, she often provides the children with tennis shoes and assorted clothing items, and she keeps boys’ dress clothes and an assortment of prom dresses on hand for those who would otherwise not get to go to the prom or other special school functions.

Kara says her program could not exist without the financial support from Children Incorporated.

Kara also helps the children get their choir outfits (black pants and shirts) and makes sure that all the children she serves get at least one official school t-shirt, sweatshirt, or hoodie. Much of the clothing Kara shares is the result of Children Incorporated Hope In Action grant money. Kara says her program could not exist without the financial support from Children Incorporated.

MEETING OUR SPONSORED CHILDREN

While at Martin County High, I also met two students, Patrick and Kristen.* These children proudly took me for a tour of the beautiful building and grounds of the school, and it was a real pleasure to talk with them. Patrick said that his sponsor does write to him, and he has been very blessed to have her in his life. While his home situation is not good, he has an extremely positive attitude and is now making post-graduation plans to attend a local college and train to become a travel nurse. Kristen is very interested in criminal investigation work and has plans to attend Ohio State University, provided she can get enough financial support to afford it.

Martin County High School is perhaps one of the nicest and most well-maintained public school facilities that I have ever seen. It is bright and inviting, and just an overall beautiful building with very nice grounds.

GREETINGS FROM MARTIN COUNTY MIDDLE SCHOOL

Ron stands with Kara outside Martin County High School.

Next, our volunteer coordinator, Jennifer, welcomed me quite warmly to Martin County Middle School. Jennifer is extremely organized and makes master lists of all the various activities she oversees for the Family Resource Youth Service Center. For Children Incorporated, Jennifer has a spreadsheet that lists each Children Incorporated enrolled child, along with their clothing sizes, sheet and linen sizes, food preferences, and assorted other wants and needs. This makes it much easier for Jennifer to purchase items for the children in our sponsorship program.

Jennifer shared that the biggest issue facing her children is food insecurity. She said that families in Martin County are struggling like never before to make ends meet on a very limited food budget. During the COVID pandemic, the amount of food stamps a family of four received was approximately $1000 per month. Post-COVID, that amount has been reduced closer to $400 per month, a decrease of 60%, yet the cost of food has risen significantly. Jennifer said that she has called on Children Incorporated several times for money to purchase non-perishable food items for children in her program. She maintains an incredible food pantry in her office consisting of pop-top and easy-to-open non-perishable food items (mac and cheese cups, vienna sausages, canned soups, juice boxes, etc.), and she tries to always keep individually-wrapped snacks (bars, chips, small cereal boxes, candy, etc.) on hand for children who come to school without lunch or snacks.

Jennifer also maintains a very impressive clothing closet. She is a bargain shopper and purchases pants, shirts, and underwear on clearance at the local Paintsville Walmart and other stores. She also buys shoes anytime she sees them at a reduced price. Using primarily Children Incorporated funds, she recently bought 76 pairs of new shoes from the reduced price racks from a Huntington shoe store.

I was totally impressed with Jennifer’s program and how she manages it.

While I was visiting Jennifer, a young girl came in and asked for a pair of sneakers. Jennifer opened the closet and let the child choose a pair that she liked. Another young girl came in and got a light-weight jacket. Jennifer admitted that some of the money received from Children Incorporated, especially Hope In Action Funds, may also help children at the school that are not enrolled in the Children Incorporated program. I told her that that is absolutely fine as long as the needs of Children Incorporated-enrolled children are met first.

I was totally impressed with Jennifer’s program and how she manages it. She is a very organized coordinator as far as how she maintains her office, food pantry, food closet, and the services she provides to her school.

*Names changed to protect the children.

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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 that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Ron Carter | March 14, 2024

Dear Friends,

I recently went on my first ever cruise to the Bahamas and Mexico, and I must say I truly enjoyed the experience. The sunrises over the ocean each morning were breathtaking, and the brush of the waves against the hull of the ship lulled me to sleep each evening. The cruise personnel was wonderfully attentive, and the entertainment on the ship — including two Broadway-type shows and an incredible singer saluting the late great Aretha Franklin — was fantastic.

Will you please consider making a contribution to our Feeding Programs Fund? Whether a little or a lot, every dollar matters in the fight to feed the hungry.

But the thing I most remember from the cruise was the food. There was food everywhere! Perhaps due to my line of work, I found the vast array of delicacies and the sheer volume of food before me to be quite overwhelming, and as I filled my face time and time again, I couldn’t help but reflect on the many children and families who go hungry on a daily basis.

Seeing the need for myself

It’s been said that nearly 44 million people, including 1 out of every 5 children, face hunger on a regular basis. Many do not have enough food to eat, and some have extremely limited access to healthy and nutritious food. Many rely on heavily processed canned goods which have virtually no nutritional value whatsoever, and they have those items in only limited amounts.

My co-workers and I have visited homes where the cupboards and refrigerators were absolutely bare. I clearly recall one home, consisting of two parents, a grandmother, and three small children, where the only food item to be found was a half-eaten bag of potato chips. In another home, there was only a can of evaporated milk and a few day-old pastries.

At Children Incorporated, we are working to correct such heartbreaking situations. One of our greatest outreach efforts and most successful ways of meeting poverty head-on is through our Feeding Programs.

Our Feeding Programs Fund at work

Each year, we provide hundreds of thousands of dollars of food assistance to our site locations around the world. We support on-going food programs, and we aid in special as-needed situations. We regularly provide backpacks full of non-perishable food items to children who might otherwise go hungry on weekends and during breaks from school. Additionally, we provide financial assistance to programs that encourage planting home and community gardens where children learn how to cultivate and harvest their own food.

We always need your help in this very valuable work. It is on-going, steady, and persistent. Will you please consider making a contribution to our Feeding Programs Fund? Whether a little or a lot, every dollar matters in the fight to feed the hungry. As Mother Teresa said, “If you cannot feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

From the heart,

Ronald H. Carter
President and Chief Executive Officer
Children Incorporated

DONATE TO OUR FEEDING PROGRAMS

Shelley Callahan | March 1, 2024En Español

My trip to Bolivia had come to an end, but our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, still had a few more affiliated sites to visit in Bolivia before he returned to our office in the U.S. Today, Luis recounts his visit to Guarderia El Angel, located in Santa Cruz, where our sponsors are supporting impoverished children from 1st to 12th grade.

“Without the support of their sponsors, the children would have to go to government schools, which are not very good and teach very little.”

Luis’ Visit

“El Angel is a day care facility that is located on the outskirts of the city. It is a well-cared for and well-maintained group of buildings, where about 250 students attend. They provide pre-kinder, kindergarten, 1^st grade and 2^ndgrade education here, and there are children one through seven years of age. It is managed by a local congregation of sisters,” said Luis.

“Thanks to our volunteer coordinator, arrangements have been made so that children attending school in higher grades can continue the Children Incorporated program until graduation, and a school located next door, within the ‘Fe y Alegria’ alternative program, is now taking our sponsored students and supporting them until they graduate from high school. This school is now managed by the same congregation of sisters, but in cooperation with the local Bolivian government.”

“Our program support is used to cover school fees and to provide uniforms and school supplies. The children and parents are very grateful for the support, as they are all day vendors, homeowners, or people that have a hard time finding a permanent job. Without the support of their sponsors, the children would have to go to government schools, which are not very good schools,” explained Luis.

Home Visits in Santa Cruz

“While visiting some homes, I noticed that the situation of the families is not encouraging. One was that of a single mother living in a rented room, in a very difficult situation and circumstance. She works as day worker. The other family was a family living in a half-finished house, with only two rooms and a small kitchen. The father raises chickens but has only three of them to sell when it is the right time. He has day jobs, as well as the mother, and they have to sustain three children. Thankfully, one of the children is in the Children Incorporated sponsorship program, which helps the family a great deal.”

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How do I sponsor a child with Children Incorporated?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | January 15, 2024En Español

Of the eight affiliated sites we work with in Sucre, Bolivia, just two are located outside of the city center. On our first day in Bolivia, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, and I visited the Santa Rosa School in Yolata, where Children Incorporated is supporting families from the surrounding farming community. On our fifth day in Sucre, we once again ventured away from the city to visit Cristo Rey Mission, our affiliated site located in the community of Alto San Pedro.

Our volunteer coordinator, Lourdes, picked us up to bring us to the center, located about 30 minutes away from Sucre in a slightly mountainous area, where a thick morning fog hung in the air.

When we arrived, we were greeted by not only our sponsored children but their mothers, who all wore traditional clothing of the cholita women of Bolivia. Cholitas are the indigenous women who dress in Andean clothing and adhere to more traditional ways of living in Bolivian culture. In the past, Cholitas were marginalized citizens, considered poor and widely discriminated against. Today, Cholita women have embraced their traditions and consider the traditional dressing as a way to empower themselves and stand strong against the prejudice against them that were prevalent throughout Bolivian history.

Visiting the center

As Luis and I walked through the courtyard, waving hello to the mothers and children, we made our way into the center’s meeting area, where a few of our sponsored children played songs and sang for us. Luis then spoke to the children, thanking them for corresponding with their sponsors and participating in our sponsorship program, which requires them to attend school and do their best to keep their grades up.

Children in our sponsorship program who come to the center attend local schools and receive monthly support thanks to their sponsors.

After Luis’ short presentation, the children and mothers went outside to the entrance of a small kitchen next to the meeting room — a kitchen that feeds 90 children from the neighborhood each and every day thanks to a well-established feeding program run by Cristo Rey Mission. I was impressed to hear that this small center was able help so many students in the community, especially working with limited funding and a small staff.

Additionally, I would come to find out, the center also ran an afterschool program, a boarding program for girls who are attending local universities, and a program to support mothers who are in need of resources. Children in our sponsorship program who come to the center attend local schools and receive monthly support thanks to their sponsors, which is greatly needed.

Helping an entire community

Once the children and their mothers enjoyed a small snack from the kitchen, they all said their goodbyes and headed home, while our volunteer coordinator took us on a walking tour of the neighborhood, which included a few home visits of some of our sponsored children.

It was apparent that this small community, which was inhabited mostly by farm workers, was limited when it came to resources — the homes we visited were nothing more than single rooms with beds on the floors and hotplates used for cooking. One of the mothers we spoke with talked about how hard it was to make a living in this area where jobs were scarce, but how grateful she was for Cristo Rey Mission and all of our sponsors, who help ensure her son wasn’t going without the things he needed to attend school.

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How do I sponsor a child with Children Incorporated?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | January 9, 2024

After a few days in Sucre, Bolivia, I was really starting to understand just how and why this city was so special. Since having the chance to visit a few of our affiliated sites, I could see why we would partner with so many schools in a small concentrated area — the focus on education for this community was high, but the need for support was also great, which is a perfect fit for Children Incorporated to really make a difference for children in need.

Behind each of those smiles I knew there was a parent who was just as happy with our work as Luis and I, as well as Claudia, were.

Meeting with Claudia

Luis and I were scheduled to meet with our volunteer coordinator, Claudia, on our fourth day in Sucre. She had invited us to a presentation before taking a tour of the Sagrada Corazon School, where she managed our sponsorship program. When we arrived at the school, Claudia escorted us to a small office with a projector set up, and after only a few minutes of waiting, other school administrators started to arrive, introducing themselves and taking a seat in preparation for Claudia to begin speaking.

As Claudia began talking about the history of this 110 year old school, I flipped through a packet she had created for us, in which she had a list of all of our sponsored children, the items she had purchased for them over the years, and then, to my surprise, a survey given to the parents of the children in our program. Claudia had taken the time to ask each parent what they thought of our program and the support our sponsors were giving to the children.

Satisfied all around

After years of working with Children Incorporated, reading their answers didn’t surprise me at all — the parents talked about how the emotional support is just as helpful as the financial support for their children, and that knowing they have a sponsor had changed many of the children’s attitudes about school and made them want to be better students.

Knowing they have a sponsor had changed many of the children’s attitudes about school and made them want to be better students.

These answers are ones I have heard from coordinators all over the world, and I loved seeing Claudia bring the same sentiments out of these parents as well, who also acknowledged just how powerful sponsorship is for children’s physical and psychological well-being. At the end of the survey, Claudia asked each parent to rate their satisfaction with our program, and the approval rating was an unsurprising 100%.

After Claudia finished her presentation, she took Luis and I on a tour of the school, and then we had the chance to meet all of our sponsored children in the auditorium, where Luis briefly spoke with them about the importance of doing well in school and working hard towards graduation. It was great to see all the children’s enthusiastic faces, beaming because visitors came specifically to meet with them. Behind each of those smiles I knew there was a parent who was just as happy with our work as Luis and I, as well as Claudia, were.

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How do I sponsor a child with Children Incorporated?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | December 17, 2023

We talk about our Hope In Action Fund a lot — and for good reason. This special fund, which provides for children and families in emergency situations, when natural disasters strike, and due to extreme hardship, allows our volunteer coordinators to support their communities beyond what sponsorship provides.

Thank you for all you have provided to children in need this year through our Hope In Action Fund. We couldn’t do our life-changing work without you.

As we get closer to the end of 2023, we would like to share with you, our amazing donors, just some of the many ways your donations to Hope In Action have helped this year, from the rural areas of Eastern Kentucky to our affiliated sites in the Philippines.

Hope in Action Internationally

Just in this past year, donations to Hope In Action have:

Provided funds for the purchase of projection screens for ten school classrooms
at the La Immaculada School in Bolivia
Provided funds to purchase new summer uniforms for children at the Armenian
Evangelical Secondary School — Anjar in Lebanon
Provided funds to support heart surgery for a sponsored child in the Philippines
who has been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease
Provided funds to purchase eyeglasses for sponsored children at the Santa Rosa
School in Bolivia
Provided funds to purchase band equipment for students at the Santa Rosa
School in Bolivia
Provided funds to purchase shoes for children at the Escuela Santa Lisa in
El Salvador
Provided funds to repair the study room used by students at the La Recoleccion
School in Nicaragua
Provided funds to repair the refrigeration room in the kitchen at the La Luz Home
in Mexico which provides daily meals to our sponsored children who live in the home

Hope in Action in the United States

Just this past year, donations to Hope In Action have:

Provided reading books and arts and crafts supplies for children in the dorms at the
Mariano Lake Community School in New Mexico
Provided materials and supplies for a clothes closet, field day, and field trips
for students at Broad Rock Elementary School in Virginia
Provided mattresses, food and clothing for a child who had been relocated to the Children
Incorporated affiliated school, East Valley Elementary in Kentucky, and was in need of
emergency support
Provided funds to purchase backpacks and school supplies for the annual back to school
bash at Martha Jane Potter Elementary School in Kentucky
Provided emergency support after a house fire for a family at Menifee Central Elementary
School in Kentucky

Hope In Action donations allowed us to fill a vending machine full of free books for kids in Kentucky.

Additionally, just in the U.S, alone, your support has:

Provided funds to help a sponsored child at
Lewis County Middle School in Kentucky
participate in a state-wide athletic competition
Provided funds to buy shoes, backpacks,
and school supplies for students at Gouge
Elementary School in North Carolina
Provided funds for a Summer and Arts Camp
at Belfry Middle School in Kentucky
Provided funds for students at Sparta Middle
School in North Carolina to visit an interactive
children’s museum and zoo
Provide disaster relief funds for two children
enrolled in our program at Menifee Central
Elementary School in Kentucky after their house
caught on fire
Provided funds for students at Perry Central High School
in Kentucky to attend a cheerleading camp

And, you have also:

Provided funds to purchase materials, supplies and food for a Family Literacy
Initiative at Flat Gap Elementary School in Kentucky
Provided beds, bedding, pillows, blankets, and journals to children in need at Menifee Central
Elementary School in Kentucky
Provide funds to stock the Family Resource Center with nutritious snacks at
Herald Whitaker Middle School in Kentucky
Provided funds to purchase clothes and shoes for the Youth Services Center at Phelps High School
in Kentucky
Provided three new books each to all children at Catlettsburg Elementary School in Kentucky
Provided funds to improve health and sanitation by providing water bottles to students at
Salyersville Grade School in Kentucky when the school added refillable water bottle stations

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How do I sponsor a child with Children Incorporated?

SPONSOR A CHILD