Tag Archives: help children

Children Incorporated | April 9, 2023En Español

We are happy to share with you our Spring 2023 Newsletter, highlighting our work around the world thanks to you, our sponsors and donors, and your generosity and dedication to helping children in need. Enjoy!

Expanding Our Efforts in the Philippines

After many years, we are getting the chance to visit our affiliated sites around the world to meet with our volunteer coordinators and sponsored children again.

In early January, our Director of Development, Shelley Callahan, visited the Philippines, where she met with our volunteer coordinators, sponsored children, and their parents to find out more about how their lives are impacted by the support they receive from their sponsors. Her visit not only marked the first time that Children Incorporated was able to visit the Philippines since 2018, but it was also the first time that we were able to see our newly added affiliated sites in person!

“In 2022, we expanded our sponsorship program in the Philippines to include the Cangumbang Center and the Santo Nino Center, both located in Tacloban within driving distance of the Visayans Center at Bliss, which we have been affiliated with since 2005,” explained Callahan.

“It was so incredible to see the work that we have been able to do in the Philippines first-hand, especially in the specific areas where Typhoon Yolanda devastated the area in 2013.”

“Since then, with the help of Children Incorporated, residents of Tacloban have rebuilt and restructured their lives to be more prepared for natural disasters,” said Callahan. “The support from our sponsors and donors is so vital to the well-being of children here who sometimes can’t leave their homes due to flooding or extensive rainstorms. Our coordinators are on the ground making sure our sponsored children are being fed and have hygiene items and school supplies every month so they don’t have to worry about how and when they can get the resources they need.”

We are happy to share with you our Spring 2023 Newsletter, highlighting our work around the world thanks to you, our sponsors and donors, and your generosity and dedication to helping children in need.

VISITING THE PEARL OF THE ORIENT SEAS

HELPING JORDAN ACHIEVE HIS DREAMS

Our Higher Education Fund supports our sponsored children who are interested in pursuing university or college degrees once they graduate from high school.

Recently, our Director of U.S. Programs, Renée Kube, received an update about former sponsored student, Jordan, who has been receiving support from this special fund.

“Jordan was enrolled in our sponsorship program at Sparta Elementary School and then Alleghany High School in North Carolina. During his high school years, he took honors and dual-enrollment classes. Due to his academic achievement, our coordinator recommended him for our Higher Education Program,” said Renée.

Jordan was accepted, and he began his university studies at Western Carolina University in 2019. However, as a first-generation college student, Jordan found the transition to college challenging. The pandemic made things increasingly difficult for Jordan and his family. He decided to take a leave of absence in Spring 2022 in order to de-stress and to think about his options.”

“Jordan then chose to transfer to Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. He contacted me last September to let me know he had re-enrolled. He is now working on a bachelor’s degree in music, and he is in good academic standing. His major is in Instrumental Music Education, and he wants to be a music and band teacher.

Our President and CEO, Ron Carter, is celebrating 20 years with Children Incorporated in 2023. Read more about his time with our organization in the full newsletter!

When Jordan contacted me last fall, he told me, ‘Children Incorporated has done so much for me through the years. I’m so glad I was able to stay a part of it while in college. You all are absolutely wonderful. Thank you for letting me be a part of this, and for being the people you are.’”

We are so proud of you and your hard work, Jordan! If you would like to find out more about our Higher Education Fund or make a donation, please contact us today.

Making Christmas Special in New Mexico — and Around the World

Our sponsors make Christmas special for so many children around the world every year — and often times provide them with the only gifts that they receive.

Our volunteer coordinator, Cecelia, from the Tohaali Community School in New Mexico, wrote to us after the 2022 holiday season to express her gratitude:

“I want to thank all of the Children Incorporated sponsors for all their support. I purchased items for the students at our school in the sponsorship program before the winter break, and my shopping trip included not only basic items, but Christmas presents, too. I wish the Children Incorporated staff and sponsors could have seen the faces of these children when they received the gift bags — it was priceless. Some of them were completely speechless and in awe. You are truly making a huge difference in their lives.”

Every holiday season, our sponsors and donors make the holidays special for children in our program. From India to El Salvador to Arizona, your donations bring cheer and joy to so many families who otherwise might not have the means to celebrate.

READ THE FULL NEWSLETTER

Shelley Callahan | April 2, 2023En Español

My flight to Manila from Washington, D.C. arrived in the late evening, so I didn’t have a chance to see much of the city before our volunteer coordinator from the Fortune’s Children Center (or Fortune Center), Joy, picked me up the following morning.

It was a beautiful day in mid-January in the Philippines, and as Joy and I made the 45-minute journey from the Makati district to the Marikina neighborhood of Metro Manila, we excitedly talked about how it was my first time in the country and how I was looking forward to learning more about Children Incorporated’s decades of work with the Fortune Center.

Joy has been our volunteer coordinator for nearly 10 years since our former and long-term volunteer coordinator, Polly, had retired. Polly started the Fortune Center many years ago, and worked tirelessly within the community of Fortune, which she named the center after, to help children and their families living in poverty — much in part thanks to the support the center received from our sponsors and donors.

The Fortune Center supports local families and their children in the Marikina area of Metro Manila.

When we arrived at the Fortune Center, a crowd of children and parents was already there, anticipating our arrival. It was a Saturday – a day in which the children usually wouldn’t be at the center, but essentially a perfect day for my visit since the kids were out of school for the weekend and at least one parent was not working that day so they could also come to the center to meet me.

Nearly all of the 40 children enrolled in our program were in attendance, ranging from 1^st grade all the way to high school — and to my surprise, even some graduates from our program had been invited and were there as well! One of the graduates was a young man named Genesis, who was acting as host for the day, standing behind a podium with a microphone on a stage in the main room of the center.

Joy had arranged for some of the children to perform songs and dances in celebration of my arrival — it had been almost five years since a representative of Children Incorporated had been to the Philippines, so there was much reason to celebrate a guest. The Philippines had some of the stricter regulations on travel and tourism during the pandemic, but now the country had opened up, and Filipinos were excited to see visitors again. Genesis introduced the groups of performers one by one, and as they took the stage, I could tell they were all very proud to be able to show their talents to not only me, but to their parents as well.

After the performances, Genesis introduced a few of the mothers, who were given a chance to read thank you letters to their children’s sponsors, expressing their gratitude for the support they receive. Through their letters, I learned that in this area of Marikina, like in other low or middle-income neighborhoods in Manila, families lived very modestly, surviving on low-wages working in construction jobs, service jobs, or factory jobs, often finding making ends meet difficult. The mothers were so appreciative of the opportunity to send their children to the Fortune Center to receive meals before and after school, and to get tutoring support — all in addition to the monthly subsidies of school supplies, clothes and hygiene items our sponsors provide.

Having a chance to travel so far from home to hear Genesis’s story, as well as those of the mothers of children in our program, really was a reason to celebrate.

Next, Genesis, who had been a sponsorship recipient himself since 4^th grade, talked about his experience growing up with a sponsor. As a young man, his father was incarcerated, and his mother struggled to raise him and his siblings as a single parent. Thanks to his sponsor, he was able to stay in school and get an education, and the Fortune Center offered him a place to concentrate on his studies. Once he graduated from high school, Genesis pursued a degree in education at a local university and wanted to give back to his community by helping other young children realize their potential.

As he spoke passionately about the importance of educating youth, he made sure to emphasize that he attributed his success in life to having a sponsor who made him believe in himself and provide him the help he desperately needed. Now, Genesis not only works as a teacher, but tutors other students at the Fortune Center, as well as his nieces and nephews — all of which keeps him very busy!

I was so touched by Genesis’s speech. He is a truly inspirational person, and a wonderful representation of the power of sponsorship and what one individual can do to help another to drastically change the course of their lives. Having the chance to travel so far from home to hear Genesis’s story, as well as those of the mothers of children in our program, really felt like a reason to celebrate.

***

How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

You can sponsor a child in the Philippines in one of three ways: call our office at 1-800-538-5381 and speak with one of our staff members; email us at sponsorship@children-inc.org; or go online to our sponsorship portal, create an account, and search for a child in the Philippines that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | March 14, 2023

When parents aren’t able to provide adequately for their children, kids are subjected to health issues such as malnutrition and insufficient healthcare, which can lead to increases in school absences, tardiness rates, incidents of illness during class, and untreated health problems. Children from impoverished families are also more likely to be admitted to the hospital, which further increases the number of days on which they are absent from school. Poor families suffer from increased infant mortality rates, and poor children are more vulnerable to frequent and severe chronic diseases, like asthma, and they receive fewer immunizations.

Global child poverty and health facts

– Maintaining good hygiene and wearing shoes are kids’ best defenses against life-threatening parasites

– More than 300 million children are chronically hungry, and more than 90% of those children suffer from long-term malnourishment and nutrient deficiency

– Every year, 3.1 million children (an average of 8,500 children per day) die due to poor nutrition

More than 300 million children are chronically hungry, and more than 90% of those children suffer from long-term malnourishment and nutrient deficiency.

National child poverty and health facts

– Poor children have increased infant mortality rates, more frequent and severe instances of chronic diseases such as asthma, poorer nutrition and growth rates, less access to quality healthcare, lower immunization rates, and increased obesity rates and the complications that accompany them

What Children Incorporated is doing to support children’s health

By providing children with basic needs such as adequate clothes, shoes, hygiene items, and food, Children Incorporated supports their overall welfare. These essentials, which we help to provide to children in need on a monthly basis, are vital to a child’s growth and health, and inevitably to their success in school.

How you can help

You can help a child living in poverty in a few different ways. One is through our child sponsorship program. For $35 a month, you not only help meet the basic and critical needs of a child, but you also make an investment in their future.

Our policy has always been to consider the needs of each sponsored child on an individual basis, including when it comes to their health. We work closely with our volunteer coordinators at our project sites, who are familiar with each individual circumstance and the needs of every child in their care. Sponsorship donations are sent to our projects – orphanages, homes, community centers, and schools – at the beginning of each month in the form of subsidy stipends. Our onsite volunteer coordinators use the funds to purchase basic and education-related items for children in our program to ensure that they have what they need to do their very best and succeed in school.

You can also help children in need in the area of health by donating to our Mosquito Net Fund. In Kenya, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, and India, children need mosquito nets to protect them from mosquito-borne illnesses so that they’ll be healthy enough to attend school. Each year, we purchase thousands of nets, thanks to donors to our Mosquito Net Fund, which we distribute to our sponsored and unsponsored children and their families.\

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD WITH CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

You can sponsor a child with Children Incorporated 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 that is available for sponsorship.

SPONSOR A CHILD

References:

http://nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html

http://nccp.org/publications/pub_1194.html

United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME). “UNICEF: Committing to Child Survival: A promise renewed.” UNICEF, 2014. Web Accessed February 25, 2015.

https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/65766/2000369-Child-Poverty-and-Adult-Success.pdf

http://www.feedingamerica.org/assets/pdfs/fact-sheets/child-hunger-fact-sheet.pdf

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

https://borgenproject.org/10-facts-children-living-poverty/

https://www.unicef.org/sowc05/english/povertypossible.html

Ron Carter | March 13, 2023

Dear Friends,

My nineteen-year-old daughter, a sophomore in college, moved into a shared apartment back in the fall. Deciding which of her belongings to bring from home was a challenge because of the limited space in her closet and dresser at the apartment.

New needs arise each day, and Children Incorporated is there to meet as many of those needs as possible, often through this special outreach effort – our Clothing and Shoes Fund.

My family is currently in the process of downsizing to a smaller house, so we wanted my daughter to take as many of her personal belongings with her as possible. She was actually forced to get rid of quite a few quality items as she moved into her new residence because there simply was no room for them.

You see, my daughter loves clothes and shoes, and she has a lot of them. She likes nothing better than to scour the racks at thrift, bargain, and vintage clothing stores in search of discounted name-brands and stylish jeans, tops, outerwear and sneakers. This problem – having too many clothes and shoes – is definitely not one that the children enrolled in Children Incorporated’s sponsorship program ever encounter. In fact, many of them face just the opposite issue. Over the years, we have heard numerous stories of children with only one outfit suitable to wear to school, or of children whose clothes are threadbare and ill-fitting. We have even witnessed siblings who shared one coat between them, forcing them to alternate the days they attended school during the heart of winter.

Our Clothing and Shoes Fund provides for children in the United States and across the world.

It is a common theme, even today, in many of our U.S. site locations for children to attend school during the coldest months of the year without socks, wearing flimsy footwear such as flip-flops, and without jackets, coats, gloves, or hats.

Our Clothing Fund is one of the most important resources we have for helping children to dress appropriately, neatly, and warmly. This fund has provided pants, shirts, shoes and socks to thousands upon thousands of children in need. It was one of the first special funds that we created back in the 1960s and was originally called simply our Warm Clothing Fund. Over the decades we, through the incredible and continuing generosity of our sponsors and donors, have supplied children with coats and jackets, hats and gloves, and in some situations, sandals, shorts and t-shirts, to equip them for the weather where they live.

We come to you again, asking for your support of our Clothing Fund. New needs arise each day, and Children Incorporated is there to meet as many of those needs as possible, often through this special outreach effort – our Clothing Fund.

Our organization has repeatedly been recognized as an exemplary nonprofit by the major charitable monitoring groups, such as Charity Navigator and Charity Watch, because we take helping children seriously. Our mission is and always has been to improve lives and to offer hope and opportunity. We can only do these things with your help.

From the heart,
Ron Carter, President and CEO
Children Incorporated

DONATE NOW

Shelley Callahan | March 13, 2023En Español

Children living in poverty are enrolled in our sponsorship program for many different reasons directly related to their situations at home — or in some instances, their lack of a home.

With no home to return to after they are finished with school, these girls would become homeless or destitute if not able to remain at Maria Reyna until they found employment and adequate housing.

At the Maria Reyna Home in Honduras, girls from the local community who have been abandoned or are orphaned live full-time at the home, attend public and private schools, and thanks to their caring sponsors, are supported up until graduation from high school. But, with no home to return to after they are finished with school, these girls would become homeless or destitute if not able to remain at Maria Reyna until they found employment and adequate housing.

Today, we hear from Luis Bourdet, our Director of International Programs, about his visit to Maria Reyna in the fall of 2022, as he sheds some light on the dire situations of these young women and how Maria Reyna is a beacon of hope for them.

About the Maria Reyna Home

“Maria Reyna is located in San Pedro Sula, which is not only the capital of the country, but perhaps the largest and most industrial city in Honduras,” explains Luis.

With help from their sponsors, girls at the Maria Reyna Home receive long-term care and support.

“The city also has a large amount of social problems – including gang violence, poverty, and unemployment – which create an overall difficult situation for its citizens. Although the local government has implemented upgrades to the transportation system, more cars and an influx of migration has made the urban center a difficult and overcrowded place to live.”

“The Maria Reyna Home, which serves abandoned, abused, neglected and orphaned children, is beautiful. The infrastructure is large and wel-l cared-for, which creates a safe and comfortable environment for all the girls in attendance,” says Luis.

Rebuilding after COVID-19

“About 80 children used to live at the home before COVID-19 under the care of the congregation’s Sisters. Now the number is lower, but each year, it is increasing, and the Sisters think that this coming year they will have the possibility to enroll a similar number. Upon my visit, 45 children were enrolled in our sponsorship program.”

“All the girls attend local schools, and some are in a private school that provides scholarships for them. Children Incorporated sponsors support the girls at Maria Reyna by covering costs for food, school supplies, hygiene items, and other basic items as the needs arise,” explains Luis.

A place to call home

“A few years ago, Children Incorporated provided funds for the renovation and implementation of a housing unit at the home. This is basically an apartment within the home that can house about 8 to 10 girls, either because they have graduated from high school and want to attend university, or because they have graduated, have reached the age for dismissal, and the Sisters are giving them the opportunity to find housing and employment before they leave the home.”

“This is a very necessary part of the program, because otherwise, the girls have nowhere to go; staying at the home gives them the opportunity to change their circumstances for the better,” says Luis.

“Currently, there is a young girl attending a local private university on a scholarship provided by our Higher Education Fund, and she will be graduating from our program in a couple of years, which is very rewarding for both her and for our organization.”

“Before my visit ended, the sponsored girls shared some of their cooking and in-house baking with me, and we enjoyed delicious cheese bread baked that day. I truly enjoy visiting the home and seeing what the Children Incorporated program has done for the children!” says Luis.

***

How do I sponsor a child in Honduras?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | February 20, 2023En Español

After leaving Costa Rica in the fall of 2022, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, traveled to Nicaragua to visit the two affiliated sites that we work with in the country.

Today, we hear from Luis about his trip to the La Recolección School, where sponsored children are provided with a safe and spacious place to get an education.

“The children are also given food to take home on the weekends, and they receive school supplies and other basic needs throughout the year as well.”

Learning about our affiliated site

“La Recolección is a semi-private school run by the Sisters of Charity in the town of Leon, about two hours away from Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. More than 800 children from low and lower middle-class families attend this school, and it has an excellent reputation in the community. Upon my visit in 2022, our volunteer coordinator discussed with me the need for upgrades and repairs at the school, but there is little money for this, as they have to pay teachers’ salaries and other expenses to run the school,” explained Luis.

“More than sixty children are currently enrolled in the Children Incorporated sponsorship program at the school, and we were told that all of them are from low-income families, mostly former members of a Nicaraguan political group, the Sandinistas, that get very little support in the community for their children’s education or for their survival.”

Sponsors making sure children are educated

Thanks to their sponsors, children who otherwise would have to attend overcrowded public schools are able to attend La Recolección.

“The Children Incorporated sponsored children have most of their school fees paid at La Recolección thanks to their sponsors, and their parents contribute a small amount so that they have the responsibility to support their children as well. The children are also given food to take home on the weekends, and they receive school supplies and other basic needs throughout the year.”

“At a meeting with the sponsored children and their parents, they expressed their gratitude for the support. The only other option for them in Leon would be to send their children to a government school, where getting a proper education is much more difficult due to overcrowding within classrooms. They are much more comfortable sending their children to the La Recolección School, which has a limit on the number of children in attendance,” said Luis.

A home for a family in need

“At the end of the day, I visited some homes with our volunteer coordinator. One of the homes of a sponsored child was made with a metal sheet roof, so we had to wait outside of the house when arriving because it was extremely hot inside. There is only a mother to support the child. The house is located in an area with a lot of crime, and the mother worries about her daughter.”

“Our volunteer coordinator told me she will check and see if a small plot can be provided by the local government, and then she will request support from our Hope In Action Program to build a house for this family,” said Luis.

***

How do I sponsor a child in Nicaragua?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD