Tag Archives: help children

Shelley Callahan | August 29, 2017En Español

The country of Sri Lanka has always valued the importance of learning, and even more so after gaining their independence from Britain in 1948. Since then, the government has made education a high priority, and it has paid off. The literacy rate is over ninety percent — the highest in all of South Asia – and enrollment in school for both boys and girls is just as high. This is in large part due to the well-developed network of public schools in the country, giving children more opportunities to be educated than many other developing or underdeveloped countries where Children Incorporated works.

Dr. Rodrigo speaks with one of our sponsored children outside the center.

At the Chrishanti Lama Sevana Center in Colombo, poor children living in surrounding neighborhoods are given a place to gather after school to study and learn English, math, Sinhalese, dance, art, and sewing, which not only helps to propel them academically, but it also keeps them off the streets.

Although our Volunteer Coordinator at the center, Dr. S.N. Rodrigo, tells us that the neighborhood isn’t unsafe, and that the children are well cared for by their mothers, she feels that it is important that the children have something to do in the afternoons, because there is a drug problem in the area, and she worries that people who don’t have jobs or much to do could negatively influence impressionable children.

Keeping kids off the streets

Knowing that the poor children who lived close to her were at risk was exactly the reason that Dr. Rodrigo started the Chrishanti Lama Sevana Center 35 years ago. She and her husband bought a home in Colombo in the 1970s, when she was still a practicing physician, and her husband was a surgeon.

Dr. Rodrigo connected with Children Incorporated in the early 1980s, when our founder, Mrs. Jeanne Clarke Wood, traveled to Sri Lanka to expand our programs in Asia. Dr. Rodrigo and her husband are both retired now, and they fill their time with taking care of the dozens of children that go to the center every day, ranging from six to eighteen years old. Twenty-two of the children who attend are currently enrolled in our program, and six are awaiting sponsorship.

Even though many of our sponsored children come from similar situations where jobs are scarce or low-paying, it was encouraging to hear from Dr. Rodrigo about how motivated the children are to learn.

Dr. Rodrigo picked me and Luis Bourdet, our Director of International Programs, up to take us to the center, and she talked about how when they first moved into the neighborhood, there were many shanties and mud huts, and she would see children running around outside of her home that were unkempt and dirty, and not in school during the day. She first started helping them by providing them with meals; and she eventually found a small hut to use as a home base to meet with them more regularly.

It wasn’t until five or six years ago, after having partnered with the Chrishanti Lama Sevana Center for nearly three decades, that Luis convinced Dr. Rodrigo to let Children Incorporated build a proper center, thanks to a donation from a special sponsor who wanted to support infrastructure at our international projects.

Dr. Rodrigo was hesitant at first, being unsure as to whether or not she could handle the work that would go into managing a larger building. But after managing to secure a piece of land from the government, she agreed to the construction; and now the center is a two-story building that offers plenty of room for the children to gather, and space for a certified teacher to work with the children every day after school.

Breaking the cycle of poverty

One of our sponsored children and his proud mother

While we were visiting the center, Dr. Rodrigo introduced us to one of the mothers in the neighborhood who is a former sponsored child. Dr. Rodrigo considers this mother’s story the greatest success story for the center.

The mother received support from her sponsor throughout her childhood, and after graduating from high school, she opened a store in her home to sell dry goods, in order to generate money for her family. Her husband drives a tuk-tuk (a three-wheeled motorized vehicle used as a taxi) to earn an income, and they have two children. Their daughter is now in our program, and their son graduated a few years ago, after having a sponsor for many years, and is now working towards becoming an engineer.

Thanks to the mother’s sponsorship support growing up, and to the parents’ dual income now, their children have better educational opportunities than they ever had, which has helped this family break the cycle of poverty. What’s more, the mother is giving back to the Center after so many years of receiving support — Dr. Rodrigo has put her in charge of purchasing items for our sponsored children! She typically buys food, school supplies, soap, toothbrushes, rice, tea, clothing, and shoes, and on a monthly basis, determines which items will best help each individual child in our program.

Motivated to learn

As we continued to meet with our sponsored children throughout the day, we heard stories about how their parents struggle to make ends meet. We met a family who sells fruit at the local schools, but loses their income during the month-long breaks from school that happen three times a year, making it hard to provide for their children. Thanks to sponsorship, the kids receive food when money is especially tight for the parents.

Even though many of our sponsored children come from similar situations where jobs are scarce or low-paying, it was encouraging to hear from Dr. Rodrigo about how motivated the children are to learn. Academics in Sri Lanka are very competitive, and the children work hard to stay on top of their studies. Despite the barriers that poverty creates, many kids aspire to careers beyond just becoming drivers and seamstresses — many of them want to become engineers and doctors, just like Dr. Rodrigo and her husband.

Children dream big in Sri Lanka, and even though they face many challenges, they have opportunities to excel, thanks to places like the Chrishanti Lama Sevana Center, which help prepare them for the future. In Sri Lanka, the possibilities for success are real, and our sponsored children are reaching for their goals.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN SRI LANKA?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | August 18, 2017En Español

Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, just below India, that is known for its natural beauty, wildlife, and tea and cinnamon exports. Its heritage rich in Buddhism, Sri Lanka is the oldest democracy in Asia. And although thriving with regard to tourism and commerce, many people in the country live in poverty — especially children who have been removed from their homes by the government because of abuse and neglect, like those that live at the Touch a Life with Hope Center.

Children and their parents enjoy refreshments during our visit.

When Luis Bourdet, Children Incorporated’s Director of International Programs, and I arrived in Sri Lanka, I first noticed how nice the roads were – a sign of development and progress for nations that are considered to be developing or underdeveloped. Since the end of Sri Lanka’s 25-year civil war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government in 2009, a war that caused great hardship for the population, economy, and environment of the country, the focus has shifted to increasing tourism, which has meant improvements to highways, and the construction of more hotels and business, most prominently seen in the capital city of Colombo. Though Sri Lanka is much better off in certain ways than it was eight years ago, the country and its people are still recovering from the instability and lack of infrastructure caused by decades of war.

Fifteen cents a day is not enough

Though Sri Lanka is much better off in certain ways than it was eight years ago, the country and its people are still recovering from the instability and lack of infrastructure caused by decades of war.

We arrived at the Touch a Life with Hope Center, centrally located in Colombo, just a minutes drive from our hotel. The center is tucked away down a small, narrow road lined with tall palm trees. A security wall protects the building, which is not only a home for girls, but also serves as a place for children who live with their families to receive support. Our sponsored children who do not live at the home, but in neighborhoods close by, are both girls and boys. The children attend local public schools, where core academic subjects are taught, including English. Children Incorporated has been affiliated with the home for over thirty years, thanks to a partnership developed by our founder, Mrs. Wood.

We were greeted in the courtyard by a few of the board members; our Volunteer Coordinator, Mrs. Chandini Tilakaratna, was away on business, but her cohorts were more than knowledgeable about the center and its inner workings, and they shared with us in great detail the ways in which the children are provided for at the home. The home was founded in 1982 and is operated by a group of supporters from the community.

A proud mother (left) who works hard to help her daughter stay in school

Most donations to the center come entirely from private donors, either in the form of actual monetary funds or through the donation of clothing and food for the girls. Since the government provides only forty rupees a day for each child — about the equivalent of fifteen U.S. cents — sponsorship is really important in ensuring their needs are met. Although the girls attend free public schools, the cost of school supplies and books is always additional, and the center has little money to use for things other than food and boarding expenses.

Some children go to the Home at a very early age and stay until they are eighteen years old. Currently, 29 girls live at the home, the youngest being seven years old. The sponsored children we met there were of varying ages. They ranged in grade level from elementary to high school. Some of the children have been in our program for as many as fifteen years — a true testament to how sponsorship can support children long-term.

A motivated mother

We met with both parents and sponsored children throughout the day. We spoke with one mother who talked about how she and her husband both work – but the work is never permanent, meaning they don’t have a steady income. She works for a small business that makes and sells crafts, and he works as a rugby coach — two jobs that aren’t consistent year-round, and pay only around 500 rupees a day, or a little more than three U.S. dollars.

Their rent alone costs them 100 U.S. dollars a month, so many times, they have to decide which bills to pay to keep the lights on or to have running water. Money from sponsorship helps her purchase books and pay class fees for tutoring or art classes for her daughter — things that the family would otherwise not be able to afford. The mother talked about how she is very motivated to help her daughter excel, and we could see that she is successfully encouraging her daughter. Her daughter hasn’t finished high school yet, but is already taking nursing courses.

Some of the children have been in our program for as many as fifteen years — a true testament to how sponsorship can support children long-term.

Never without a home

After meeting with the children, we took a tour of the two-story building; we saw the library, the two study rooms, and the computer lab. The center has a lunchroom and kitchen, one dorm for the younger girls and one for the older girls, and showers and a washing area. Each bed has a custom-made mosquito net big enough to cover the entire bunk. There are four full-time matrons who live in separate living quarters at the home, and the center’s administrative offices are in the building as well.

It was explained to Luis and me that when the girls turn eighteen years old, they move out of the home, but continue to receive support for three years as they acclimate to living on their own, and continue their education or find jobs. Sometimes the girls go to live with family, and sometimes they find their own way, but they are always welcome to return to the home to visit – and there is even a bedroom where they can stay the night if they wish.

The center does such a good job of keeping in touch with the girls who have grown up in the home and moved on that they even have special events and holiday parties which they invite them to join. No longer girls, these women, some who moved out as many as ten years ago, return to the home with their own children.

And the women reciprocate the invitation to celebrate as well. As we were leaving for the day, I noticed a bulletin board in the hallway that had dozens of wedding photos pinned to it – beautiful brides stood with their grooms, smiling at the camera. There were thank-you cards to the matrons and administration for having been in attendance on these special days – a gesture that showed me that the girls considered those who raised them in the home family.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN SRI LANKA?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | August 13, 2017En Español

Earlier in the summer, as Luis Bourdet, Children Incorporated’s Director of International Programs, and I discussed our upcoming trip in August to India and Sri Lanka to visit twelve of our affiliated projects, I asked Luis what the children living in this particular region of the world could benefit from most outside of what sponsorship already provides for them. He said he would reach out to our volunteer coordinators to find out.

When a Sawyer water filter is properly maintained, it can last for ten years.

It didn’t take long for Luis to come back to me with a response: the biggest issue that our coordinators face — accessing clean water for children in our program.

The global water crisis

Nearly one billion people in the world lack access to safe drinking water; and roughly 3.5 million people die each year because of water-borne illnesses such as cholera and typhoid, as well as severe diarrhea. According to Luis, providing clean water systems for our projects is something than can be done, but not quickly — and not inexpensively.

Through a process called reverse osmosis, bacteria and other types of microscopic species can be removed from water; but the cost for each system can be as high as $8,000, and would take time to install. In order to help our sponsored children sooner, I reached out to a nonprofit organization called Wine To Water to see if they could offer a solution.

It didn’t take long for Luis to come back to me with a response: the biggest issue that our coordinators face – accessing clean water for children in our program.

Wine To Water’s story

Wine To Water was founded by Doc Hendley in 2003. A former bartender from North Carolina, Doc began focusing on the global water crisis after working in Sudan with a nonprofit organization called Samaritan’s Purse, implementing clean water projects. After a year in the field, Doc returned home fully aware of the global water crisis, and decided to start his own organization to bring clean water to some of the most remote areas in the world. In 2012, Doc was selected as a top-ten finalist for the CNN Heroes Award for his work with Wine To Water; the organization has now provided clean water to over 300,000 people in eighteen countries.

A Sawyer water filtration system set up and ready to use.

When I reached out to Wine To Water and spoke with their International Operations Director, Josh Elliott, he explained that the organization’s goals are larger than just taking clean water to communities – Wine To Water also works to improve sanitation practices, teaches hygiene education, collaborates with local people in each country, repairs wells, and disperses water filters and rainwater harvest tanks all around the globe. Josh’s solution to taking clean water to Children Incorporated projects in India and Sri Lanka was to offer Luis and I Sawyer water filters to take with us. The filters are small, easy to transport, and last ten years if used properly, which is a big deal for families in need.

Keeping kids health

A few weeks after talking with Josh, I took a training class at the Wine To Water office in Boone, North Carolina to prepare myself for showing our coordinators how to properly use the water filters – filters that will keep our sponsored children healthy. Each project will receive two or three filters, which can be used in common areas, such as in the school office or cafeteria of the schools that the children attend, which they may access daily. Our hope is that with Wine To Water’s help, offering clean water will keep our sponsored children healthy so they can attend school each and every day.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN INDIA OR SRI LANKA?

You can sponsor a child in India or Sri Lanka 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 India or Sri Lanka that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | July 12, 2017En Español

Last November, Children Incorporated staff members Renée Kube, Shelley Oxenham, and Chuck Smith helped rebuild a playground at G.H. Reid Elementary School in Richmond, Virginia, where we partner with Communities in Schools of Richmond (CIS) to support sponsored children in the Richmond area, near our headquarters.

Just a few months prior, over summer break, the old playground was set on fire, and it spread around the equipment, melting and disfiguring most of it, and leaving the 750 Richmond public school children with few options for outdoor play.

Partners in Rebuilding

Fun supplies makes for a good time for kids

A few of the donated supplies for kids at G.H. Reid Elementary

Renée, our Director of U.S. Programs, explained that the playground rebuild project was able to happen thanks to KaBOOM, a national nonprofit that builds playgrounds, especially in low-income areas.

The CarMax Foundation also stepped up to contribute funds and materials for the build, and Renée attended the volunteer workday, along with her Children Incorporated coworkers Shelley, U.S. Programs Specialist, and Chuck, U.S. Sponsorship Manager.

About 250 volunteers built the playground from the ground up in just one day. One of the jobs Renée, Shelley, and Chuck were assigned was painting maps and game boards onto the playground surface.

A Big Initiative

By the end of May, we had $1,000 to donate to G.H. Reid, and we couldn’t wait to present the check to them, as well as contribute some supplies to get them started.

In early 2017, Children Incorporated promoted Renée, Shelley, and Chuck’s story about helping to rebuild the playground. We took that opportunity to mention another initiative as well: we wanted to provide additional funding to the school for the playground’s upkeep, such as laying new mulch and repainting, which it would be in need of at the end of the school year. But by early spring, that initiative grew beyond just helping with maintenance, thanks to a special sponsor, Micah Greer – it turned into a campaign to raise funds to purchase playground supplies as well.

Micah is the founder of Operation Optimist, a web-based clothing company in Austin, Texas, and he is a personal trainer. Micah has been a sponsor through Children Incorporated for more than a year, and he decided to take his involvement to new heights by making the generous offer to donate ten percent of all of his merchandise sales to our organization. When Micah sent Children Incorporated a check for $500 in April, we decided we would use the funds to purchase supplies for children to use in support of healthy living, since that’s one of Micah’s primary focuses. And we asked donors to match it – which they happily did! By the end of May, we had $1,000 to donate to G.H. Reid, and we couldn’t wait to present the check to them, as well as contribute some supplies to get them started.

Presenting the check to our volunteer coordinator to purchase even more playground supplies for the fall

The Dream List

With the funding in place, Renée asked for a “dream list” of playground supplies from G.H. Reid, which was provided by Mr. Vickers, the physical education teacher there. Mr. Vickers told our volunteer coordinator, Sydney Capito, that the children could use detachable hurdles, a handled parachute, dumbbells, basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, kick balls, and hula-hoops. Renée purchased some of the items, including a flag football set and wiffle ball bats. We were so excited to take fun supplies to the school last week, and to present a check to Sydney, who knows the children will be thrilled to have all this new gear to play with in the upcoming school year.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | June 27, 2017En Español

In May of this year, Renée Kube, our Director of U.S. Programs, and Shelley Oxenham, U.S. Projects Specialist, traveled to Kentucky together to visit two counties that Children Incorporated serves. Once they arrived in Kentucky, they split up – Renée in the direction of Martin County, and Shelley to Magoffin County. Both counties are close to each other in proximity, east of Lexington, and are two of the poorest counties in our nation.

For many children, their only hot meals of the day are at school.

In Martin County, the median yearly household income is $27,484; it is ranked as having the greatest rental cost burden in the state, and the poverty rate is 35.2 percent. In Magoffin County, the median yearly household income is $29,421; it has the fifth-greatest rental cost burden in the state, and the poverty rate there is 28.6 percent.

A community of trailers in Martin County, Kentucky – many of our sponsored children live in homes like these.

Some of the most severe poverty in both counties is out of the sight of state and county roads, and away from the county seats. This poverty is tucked in hollows between mountains, or up their ridges. According to research from the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Center, of the 119 counties in Kentucky, the 25 with the highest rates of child poverty include both Magoffin and Martin Counties. Not surprisingly, both counties also rank poorly on other measures of child well-being.

WHEN Disaster Strikes

Renée remembers very clearly when, more than five years ago, on March 2 and 3, 2012, a tornado outbreak occurred over a large part of the southeastern U.S. There were a total of seventy confirmed tornadoes that resulted in 41 fatalities, 22 of which occurred in Kentucky. The counties affected included Children Incorporated-affiliated projects in Bath, Johnson, Lawrence, Menifee, Morgan, and Wolfe Counties, as well as in Martin and Magoffin counties in Kentucky.

After the disaster, our volunteer coordinators went to the schools as soon as they had the chance, and began contacting families to see what they needed — some of their houses had been damaged or destroyed, and many had lost a lot of their belongings, and didn’t have the means to even begin to clean up the mess from the tornadoes.

As information arrived from the coordinators to Renée about the needs of the families, Children Incorporated put out an appeal to donors and sponsors to help, and contributions began pouring in. From March to May 2012, Children Incorporated raised a total of $10,818. Our President and CEO, Ron Carter, delivered some of these disaster relief checks in person to various counties, which provided the families with emergency supplies such as replacement clothing, food, and cleaning supplies, like bleach.

Both Terrie and Debbie say that the biggest barrier for families is a lack of reliable transportation.

It was so important to be able to help individual families during this time of crisis; but unfortunately, much more extensive damage had been done to a few schools. In Magoffin County, three schools were damaged: Salyersville Elementary, Herald Whitaker Middle, and Magoffin County High. The elementary and high schools were repairable, but the middle school was not; so those students were moved into the high school building, where they shared tight quarters – and that was the situation for almost five years.

Welcome to Martin County

Exterior view of Martin County Middle School

Back in 1964, Martin County was the Appalachian county that gave a face to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s ‘”War on Poverty.” Many residents vividly remember when the president visited the Fletcher home to speak with them about their struggles. Over fifty years later, improvements to the communities in Appalachia have occurred; most have been made, however, in the outer bands of the area, and not in regions such as Martin County.

The central core of the Appalachian region still lags behind the rest of the nation in most measures. Schools have greatly improved, but mining jobs have steeply declined, leaving many residents with few options for work. The remaining jobs are mostly service-related, such as at small stores and convenience marts. The hours are often part-time only, and the pay is minimum wage with few or no benefits.

As a result, many people still live on government aid of one kind or another. But poverty has remained high for the poorest residents. The loss of mining jobs has meant high unemployment; many families have moved away. Those who have remained continue to struggle. For many children, their only hot meals of the day are at school. Drug abuse compounds poverty in a cycle of hopelessness, and it is children who are the most vulnerable. Social service professionals are grateful for the programs that exist, but agree with the families that programs won’t render long-term improvements without decent employment opportunities.

Sheldon Clark High School’s Shining Stars

At Sheldon Clark High School, one of five schools in Martin County that Renée visited on her trip, Children Incorporated is well-served by two amazing women: Terrie Simpkins is the Youth Services Center Coordinator, and Debbie Fluty is the Assistant Coordinator. Both have been employed by the school system for a long time, and they have years of experience working with Children Incorporated at multiple schools in Kentucky.

Despite the consistently trying circumstances in which this young man lives, support from Thomas’ Children Incorporated sponsor presents him with opportunities he most certainly wouldn’t have otherwise.

Terrie and Debbie are responsible for a wide variety of programming for their high school students, including referrals to health-related and social services, career exploration and development, summer and part-time job development, and alcohol and drug awareness and addiction prevention. But their budget is a shoestring one; both Terrie and Debbie are constantly overworked and overwhelmed with the needs of the students and their families, as they are both fiercely devoted to supporting them.

Renée and Terrie pose for a photo together.

Terrie conducts regular needs assessments; the top requests are help for clothing, shoes, hygiene items, and dental care. Terrie and Debbie have repeatedly stated that our sponsorship program is a godsend — that the kids would have almost nothing without their sponsors’ help.

Both Terrie and Debbie say that the biggest barrier for families is a lack of reliable transportation. Families have trouble finding and keeping jobs when their old cars break down, or when they cannot afford to buy one in the first place. There are students who are desperate for work to help their families — but after-school jobs are few and far between.

Debbie and Terrie shared that there are few local businesses or churches that are in a position to help, and those that can are inundated with requests. Most of the responses from the community for support go to the three elementary schools. A lot of the time, most people like to help younger kids, so teenagers are often forgotten and overlooked.

Meeting a Special Senior

Renée met with one student while at Sheldon – a rising twelfth-grade boy named Thomas* who is homeless and sleeping in a barn; there are no vacancies at the only federal housing project in the county. Thomas has no money to pay rent or utilities at the trailer parks. Terrie called him into the office, and Renée was able to meet him and hear his story.

He has such a positive attitude, and he is determined to stay in school and get his diploma, even though he has no home to go to. Normally, a guardian would sign the forms to enroll a child in our program; but since Thomas is eighteen, he was able to enroll himself in our program, so he will be able to get the support he needs to get him through the end of the school year and graduation.

Despite the consistently trying circumstances in which this young man lives, support from Thomas’ Children Incorporated sponsor presents him with opportunities he most certainly wouldn’t have otherwise.

*Name changed for child’s protection.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN KENTUCKY?

You can sponsor a child in Kentucky in one of two ways – call our office and speak with one of our sponsorship specialists at 1-800-538-5381, or email the sponsorship department at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | June 20, 2017En Español

I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I looked from the practically empty refrigerator before me to the precious little girl standing by my side.

I was on a project visit in Eastern Kentucky with one of our volunteer coordinators, and she had arranged for me to see first-hand the conditions in which many of the youngsters in her school are forced to live. On this particular day, we accompanied a beautiful little shaggy-haired seven-year-old girl, not yet enrolled in our program, home following the day’s classes.

“I don’t know what I’m going to feed the children tonight,” she said, explaining that her monthly check had not yet arrived, making it impossible for her to shop for groceries.

We were greeted warmly at the door of a rather ramshackle house by the child’s mother, a woman who appeared much older than she actually was. We were made to feel quite welcome, despite the worn and mismatched furniture that cluttered the small living room.

What to Feed the Children

As we spoke with the woman, she wore her heart on her sleeve. She cried as she told us how difficult times were, and especially how hard it is for her, as an unemployed single parent of three living on food stamps and a small monthly federal assistance check, to make sure her children have enough food to eat.

She stated over and over that her children would probably go hungry were it not for the free breakfasts and lunches they receive at school each weekday. “I thank God for those school meals,” she said. “The money just does not go far enough, and by the end of the month, sometimes the food has run out.” The woman then took us into her small kitchen and opened the refrigerator to show us how little food was there: a half-empty container of milk, a stick of margarine, a few leftover beans in a pot, and a couple of slices of cheese. “I don’t know what I’m going to feed the children tonight,” she said, explaining that her monthly check had not yet arrived, making it impossible for her to shop for groceries.

Backpacks Full of Food

Our feeding programs are essential for children living in poverty.

Then the woman said something that really made me think – something I had never considered prior to that visit. She said, “It is really hard in the summer, because the kids have to eat all their meals at home; there are no school meals then, but I still don’t get any more money.”

She went on to say how bare the cupboards get during the months of June through August, and that she knows there are times when her children get very hungry. She had tears in her eyes as she spoke, and my heart broke as I took in the significance of her words. It hit me, then and there, that there are children all over our country who, just like this family, must go hungry on a regular basis — especially in the summer when school feeding programs are unavailable to them.

Since that time, Children Incorporated has worked with a number of schools and childcare centers to support weekend and summer backpack feeding programs. The availability of these programs often determines whether or not a child will eat, sometimes for days at a time. These backpacks filled with non-perishable food items provide nourishment, as well as a highly important reminder to the children receiving them, that someone, somewhere remembers and cares about them.

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HOW CAN I DONATE TO Children Incorporated’s feeding program?

You can donate to our feeding program in one of two ways. Call the office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our specialists on staff or visit our website at www.childrenincorporated.org/donate.