Tag Archives: poverty

Children Incorporated | February 27, 2023

As a part of our ongoing Stories of Hope blog series, we want to share with you our February 2023 Impact Report as a way to say “thank you” to all our supporters who make our work possible.

This past month, your donations have provided funds for an educational field trip to Washington, D.C. for students who attend Martin County Middle School in Kentucky, among so much more.

Beyond what our donors already provide to children through our sponsorship program, additional donations to our Special Funds and Special Projects allow us to help families and communities as well, often in times of crisis.

YOUR IMPACT AROUND THE WORLD

Just in this past month, you have:

– Provided funds to purchase food for an entire month for children at Santa Isabel Seton in Guatemala

– Provided funds for an educational field trip to Washington, D.C. for students who attend Martin County Middle School in Kentucky

– Provided funds to purchase food for children at the Armenian Secondary School in Anjar, Lebanon

– Provided funds to purchase food for a month for children at the Dandora Community Center in Kenya

– Provided food for the month of February for 200 children at St. John’s Community Center in Kenya

– Provided funds to purchase food for a month for 25 children at the Fortune’s Children Center in the Philippines

– Provided winter boots and socks for students at the Dennehotso Boarding School in Arizona

– Provided funds to buy warm blankets for students at the Hanaa Dli Community School/Huerfano Dormitory in New Mexico

– Provided emergency funding for food for a newly enrolled sponsored child and her family at Morgan County Middle School

– Provided space heaters for a family in need at Baca Dlo’ay azhi Community School in New Mexico

… all in addition to the support you already provide through sponsorship to children in our program. Thank you for everything you do for children in need!

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HOW do I MAKE A DONATION TO CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

You can donate to 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 hello@children-inc.org and a staff member can assist you with making a donation; or go online to our donation portal, create an account, and choose a particular fund in which to make a donation.

DONATE

Shelley Callahan | February 24, 2023En Español

In 1998, the deadliest storm in Central America’s recorded history caused nearly 12,000 deaths in Honduras and Nicaragua and devastated the small town of El Progreso. Because of the destruction, the local community created the El Refugio (which means “the shelter” in Spanish) Welfare Center to help children and families in need receive resources in the aftermath of the storm.

Last year, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, visited El Refugio, and found that nearly 25 years later, residents still rely on the support they started receiving decades ago.

“The support that children receive from their sponsors covers their basic needs – shoes, clothing, food items and school supplies – which help ensure the children stay in school and continue to get an education,” says Luis.

About the Center

“El Refugio is located in the town of El Progreso, just about one hour away from San Pedro Sula, the capital of Honduras,” explains Luis.

“The center has been run by a local woman, Maria Esther, ever since it began operating many years ago, after Hurricane Mitch hit this area and produced flooding and disaster. With nearly 130 children enrolled in our sponsorship program, Maria gets the help of participating parents and a former teacher to complete food distributions, enroll new students in our program, help children write letters to their sponsors, and conduct home visits.”

“The support that children receive from their sponsors covers their basic needs – shoes, clothing, food items and school supplies – which help ensure the children stay in school and continue to get an education,” says Luis.

Luis met with sponsored children and their parents during his visit to El Refugio.

“When I visited, it was noticeable that the area was developed by the local government after Hurricane Mitch and has slightly improved as far as the houses are concerned, but the neighborhood is mostly occupied by low-income families. There is a good deal of violence, gang activity, and poverty, as there are little or no opportunities for employment. Most of the parents of children in our program work daily service jobs or are construction workers with no consistent income.”

“While I was at the center, I met with most of the parents and children in the program, and all of them expressed gratitude for the support. The support they receive from Children Incorporated and our sponsors is a large contribution for the families, which is representative of the poverty in which they live,” explains Luis.

“The parents were eager to tell me how the program is essential for them, and the support is crucial for their survival and education for their children. I then had the opportunity to participate in the distribution of the monthly support, and it was incredible how much food and supplies were given for just $35 per child!”

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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 6, 2023En Español

In this edition of Stories of Hope, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, concludes his trip to our Costa Rica affiliated sites with a visit to the Costa Rica Center in San Jose.

The beginning of the center

“This center is located in the northern part of San Jose. It is run by a woman, Marta, who is also our volunteer coordinator,” said Luis.

“The mother told us that she was so grateful for Marta and the program because without it, she would have a hard time sending all her children to school.”

“Marta used to work at what was the Costa Rica Children’s Orphanage, located in the downtown area of the city, which supported abandoned children or children from low-income families that could not raise their children on their own.”

“Our sponsorship program was initiated at the orphanage to provide additional educational support to the children, until the local government decided to part with the orphanage and converted it into an afterschool program and then a community center. When this happened, Marta was no longer employed, and the Children Incorporated program was dissolved,” explained Luis.

“But Marta was persistent and didn’t want her community to lose the support from sponsors or Children Incorporated. She decided to look for support through a local church, and she started her own version of a center where children could meet and receive food, school supplies and other essential items. And so started the Costa Rica Center!”

Teaching a community new skills

“Marta still gets help from the church today and still uses a portion of the church to meet with the children and families on a regular basis. While I was visiting in September of 2022, I met with children and their parents, and they all expressed how helpful the sponsorship program is, and how grateful they were for the much-needed support that Marta provides,” said Luis.

“Marta finds ways to stretch the funds to provide what is most needed for the children’s education. After our meeting, the children and their families showed us some crafts they had made, all thanks to Marta, who is teaching crafting skills so families can earn extra money.”

“We then went to a couple of houses of our sponsored children. One particular house was made with scrap and metal sheets and had dirt floors and partial wooden sections. The mother told us that she was so grateful for Marta and the program because without it, she would have a hard time sending all her children to school, just as many of the other parents,” said Luis.

Looking to expand and grow

“Before we finished for the day, Marta expressed to me that she is working with a local community center so that they will have more space to do handcrafts and workshops. She hopes to expand on the skills training, so that parents and children can have a way to make life easier.”

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How do I sponsor a child in Costa Rica?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | February 1, 2023En Español

In the fall of 2022, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, visited our affiliated sites in Costa Rica for the first time since before the pandemic. Today, we hear from Luis about his visit to La Milagrosa, where he met with our volunteer coordinator, as well as with parents and students in our sponsorship program.

“Our sponsors provide food, school supplies, shoes, clothing, and any basic resources and emergency support that the children need that their families cannot cover.”

About La Milagrosa

“La Milagrosa Center is located in an area of San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, with very few opportunities for employment, and therefore has many low-income families,” said Luis.

“Like our affiliated site, The Santa Luisa Center in Bambu, La Milagrosa is operated by the Sisters of Charity, and offers educational support to children living in the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as to children in the periphery of the city.”

“The children who attend the Center meet weekly, and the Sisters follow-up with them regarding their lessons in school, as well as provide support and information on how to resolve problems they may be having, whether in the classroom, with other students, or even at home,” explained Luis.

Offering help when it is needed the most

During his visit, Luis had the chance to meet with children and their parents, who told him how valuable our sponsorship program is to them.

“Our sponsors provide food, school supplies, shoes, clothing, and any basic resources and emergency support that the children need that their families cannot cover.”

“The majority of the children attend local public schools and live in dwellings that lack some basic services, such as electricity, running water or indoor plumbing. The schools are supported by the government, but they also lack many resources, which is why our program is so important for the children,” said Luis.

“When the children meet with our volunteer coordinator, she determines what their most immediate needs are, whether it be food items, mattresses, new shoes, or hygiene items. At the beginning of each school year, they receive new uniforms purchased thanks to their sponsors’ generous donations.”

Hope for the future

“I met with most of the parents and children participants in our sponsorship program, and they all expressed their gratitude for the support. They also hope for support to continue until their children graduate because many of the parents feel that without the help from sponsors, their children will fall behind in school and be forced to drop out at an early age,” said Luis.

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How do I sponsor a child in Costa Rica?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | January 24, 2023

As a part of our ongoing Stories of Hope blog series, we want to share with you our January 2023 Impact Report as a way to say “thank you” to all our supporters who make our work possible.

Along with so much more, your donations provided funds to help repair damaged pipes for drinking water in the home of a family in our sponsorship program at Inez Elementary School just in this past month.

Beyond what you already provide to children through our sponsorship program, your donations to our Special Funds and Special Projects allow us to help families and communities as well, often in times of crisis.

YOUR IMPACT AROUND THE WORLD

Just in this past month, your donations have:

– Provided support for computer and English language classes for students at the Santa Clotilde Home in Bolivia

– Provided funds for menstrual hygiene items for twenty-five girls for one month at Santa Isabel Ana Seton in Guatemala

– Provided funds for an educational field trip for 8^th graders at Valle Crucis Elementary School in North Carolina

– Provided funds to help repair damaged pipes for drinking water in the home of a family in our sponsorship program at Inez Elementary School

– Provided food for 200 children for a month at the St. John’s Community Center in Kenya

– Provided funds for families of children who attend Chrishanti Lama Sevana in Sri Lanka who are struggling through an economic crisis

– Provided warm clothing for students at Hannaa Dli Community School/Huerfano Dorm in New Mexico

– Provided funds to fill the clothing closet at the resource center at Morgan County High School in Kentucky

– Provided emergency aid funds for a family who is living without running water at Crum PK-8 School in West Virginia

– Provided materials and supplies for an afterschool tutoring program at Lotts Creek Elementary School in Kentucky

… all in addition to the support you already provide through sponsorship to children in our program. Thank you for everything you do for children in need!

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HOW do I MAKE A DONATION TO CHILDREN INCORPORATED?

DONATE

Shelley Callahan | January 21, 2023

Corporate social responsibility. commonly referred to as CSR, is a business model that helps companies, both big and small, be socially accountable to themselves, its stakeholders, and the public. It is a practical and socially conscious way for companies to give back to society.

Typically, there are typically four types of CSR:

environmental sustainability initiatives
direct philanthropic giving
ethical business practices
economic responsibility
Pyramid of corporate social responsibility

The modern definition of CSR is derived from the book, “Pyramid of Corporate Responsibility,” by Archie Carroll, a well-known business professor at the University of Georgia.

In his book, Carroll states that, within this pyramid, a corporation has four types of responsibilities. The first is the economic responsibility to be profitable. The second is the legal responsibility to obey the law. The third is the ethical responsibility to do what is right, even when not legally required, and the fourth is the philanthropic responsibility to give back to society for social, educational, recreational and/or cultural purposes.

Corporate Social Responsibility Examples

Reducing carbon footprints
Improving labor policies
Participating in Fairtrade
Charitable giving
Volunteering in the community
Implementing corporate policies that benefit the environment
Engaging in socially and environmentally conscious investments

What are some benefits of CSR? CSR is not only beneficial for society; it’s also beneficial for corporations and their employees as well.

A few benefits of CSR include:

better brand recognition
positive business reputation
increased sales and customer loyalty
greater ability to attract talent and retain staff
increased creativity within the workplace

Corporate social responsibility initiatives that support children in need are an important part of giving back to your community and the world.

By partnering with us as a corporate sponsor, you help meet the needs of the children we serve so that they may grow, learn and have the opportunities in life that they deserve. Additionally, our organization can promote the partnership to increase your company’s brand recognition.

Most often, companies choose to sponsor a whole project rather than individual children. This approach allows a company to have a significant impact on the lives of many children and even on whole communities. We aim to work with you as a team to bring basic needs assistance and programs that teach self-sustainability to children and communities in need.

Corporate social responsibility examples that support children

Our work supports children around the world. Over the past years, corporate partners have allowed us to:

Internationally:

– Support five feeding programs serving over 300 children in the Philippines, Kenya and Ethiopia

– Fund the construction of housing in Honduras

– Purchase 600 pairs of shoes for children in Latin America

– Provide 1800 mosquito nets for children in Kenya

– Build a roof over a school playground to protect children from harsh weather in El Salvador

– Implement a food preparation skills training program in Bolivia and a dressmaking program in Guatemala

– Construct a classroom equipped with audio-video equipment in Argentina

– Improve the infrastructure of a girls’ home in India including upgrades to the kitchen, halls, dorms, bathrooms and the roof

If your company is interested in partnering with Children Incorporated to begin or expand your engagement in CSR, contact us today. Together, we can change the lives of children living in poverty and give them education, hope and opportunity.

United States:

– Provide backpacks full of food for children to take home on the weekends in New Mexico, Arizona and Kentucky

– Assist with beds for children in need in our Appalachian and Urban Division

– Purchase equipment for a STEAM Lab in Eastern Kentucky

– Send children to a district-wide summer arts camp in Kentucky

– Purchase iPads for children in Kentucky

– Provide audiobooks and matching paperbacks for students in Arizona

If your company is interested in partnering with Children Incorporated to begin or expand your engagement in CSR, contact us today. Together, we can change the lives of children living in poverty and give them education, hope and opportunity.

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 in that is available for sponsorship.

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