Tag Archives: sponsor

Shelley Callahan | May 16, 2023En Español

After spending the morning with Ester and WimWim, our volunteer coordinators at the Volunteer for the Visayans, it was time to get ready for the monthly distribution of supplies to the children in our program at the first of three affiliated sites in the Philippines I would be visiting during my time in Tacloban.

Located in the neighborhood of Bliss, VFV runs all of its citywide programs out of the same building where families also come to receive basic needs on a monthly basis.

We didn’t spend long traveling to the first site — in fact, all we had to do is walk downstairs from the office to the first floor of the building, and we had arrived! Located in the neighborhood of Bliss, VFV runs all of its citywide programs out of the same building where families also come to receive basic needs on a monthly basis and children come for the afternoon feeding program and tutoring support. The center also serves as the location where the volunteers with VFV come every morning to receive their assignments which include shopping for food, preparing meals, and helping feed the children each week.

Getting ready for distribution

Although the first floor of the center consists of only three small rooms — a front common area, a dining room, and a small kitchen — the space has been used very efficiently. Shelves lined the walls that were stocked with books, clothes, bags of rice, canned goods and other donations from the community. WimWim even showed me drawers filled with school supplies that had been built underneath the stairs to maximize storage, something I found to be so neat and creative.

Monthly distributions at the Bliss Center help ensure children and their families have basic necessities.

As other staff members started to arrive just shortly before 2 pm, the energy on the first floor started to rise quickly. It was obvious everyone was well-trained in the process of the distributions and each person had their own tasks to perform. Ester began opening rice bags and unpacking boxes of soaps and nonperishable food items along folding tables near the front windows of the building. WimWim and another staff member took folding chairs outside and lined them along the narrow sidewalk. A tarp was tethered to the outside of the building, as locals always anticipated the possibility of rain.

Other staff went over spreadsheets that had been prepared with the name of each sponsored child and the list of items they would be receiving — everyone receives the same items and an equal amount each month, but VFV still keeps meticulous records on each individual child.

To increase the feeling of investment in the program for the families involved, it was expected that they bring their own reusable bags for rice, which had been made by VFV staff out of old vinyl and denim, as well as the egg crates they received during the last distribution to be refilled.

WimWim explained the importance of the structure that VFV has established over the many years they had been working in the community. WimWim herself has worked with the organization since 2005 — the same year the center opened in Bliss. She said they have had to learn a lot from trial and error about how to best support the community.

Even though life was tough for many families, struggling day to day to make ends meet, it truly did feel that all of them had found some bliss in this community.

She, having grown up in the area and currently living in the neighborhood herself with her husband and children, was very aware of how many families were living in poverty and really needed the help. But, she explained that, at the same time, she felt that when families don’t feel a connection with the center, then they don’t always remain consistent with participation, and that would cause issues.

The importance of sponsors

Sponsorship, as WimWim described, has always been a valuable means of keeping families involved with the center and making them feel a part of what VFV is doing to help. She said that not only do the sponsors ensure that the children have supplies on a regular basis, but it reminds them that someone cares about them, and that is powerful in showing families that there are ways out of the poverty in which they live. Additionally, thanks to VFV, families in Bliss can make a little extra income by offering to host their volunteers for a few weeks or a month at a time as a part of the center’s immersion program, which really increases their desire to be involved.

About 30 minutes after the staff started setting up, the children and the parents started to arrive, seating themselves outside, waiting patiently to be called into the center one at a time by Ester. I started to see how valuable it was for VFV to have this system in place — with more than 50 children to provide for in one afternoon, it took 2 ½ hours to get everyone their supplies, which would have taken so much longer if not for the process already in place.

Watching this well-oiled machine at work was a delight, and everyone seemed to be having a good time, as parents chatted with one another while waiting their turn, and children played with one another outside the center. Even though life was tough for many families, struggling day to day to make ends meet, it truly did feel that all of them had found some bliss in this community.

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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

Ron Carter | May 15, 2023

It is hard to believe that 2023 is the 20^th anniversary of my time at Children Incorporated – ten of which I have been blessed to lead the organization as our CEO and President.

I would love to ask that you consider helping me reach a goal of getting 20 children sponsored to celebrate 20 years of my time with Children Incorporated.

During my time with this incredible organization, I have been very blessed to work with some absolutely inspiring people and to be afforded many wonderful opportunities for personal growth. Children Incorporated has changed a lot over these last twenty years, and it continues to morph and rearrange as we adapt to the changing trends and interests of our wonderful and generous donors.

I am grateful beyond measure to work in a setting like Children Incorporated. I am surrounded by people whose passion is to change and better the lives of children and young adults, and I am personally seeing the good that we are able to do each and every day. I believe that we each have a responsibility to try and make our world a bit better.

To mark my time here, I would love to ask that you consider helping me reach a goal of getting 20 children sponsored to celebrate 20 years of my time with Children Incorporated.

I am truly thankful for Children Incorporated, and I thank each of you for your part in its continuing success!

From the heart,

Ronald H. Carter

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | May 7, 2023En Español

Our volunteer coordinator, WimWim, picked me up early the morning after I arrived in Tacloban to take me to the Volunteer for the Visayans main office, located a short distance from the downtown area in a neighborhood called Bliss.

Before I knew it, we made one last turn and arrived at the VFV office, which faced a large basketball court and playground for the children in the community, surrounded by two story, modest concrete block homes.

When we arrived, we parked along the cobblestone road, right next to a few small shops selling candy, snacks and household items. Across the street was a large entry way with Volunteer for the Visayans written across it, where a few of the locals stood chatting, smiling and waving to WimWim as we made our way past them to enter the neighborhood.

Although the VFV sign was posted on the main entrance of Bliss, the office isn’t located close to the road. As we walked narrow sidewalks with small homes on each side, turning left and right and left again, I realized I would easily get lost here if I weren’t following WimWim, as the walkways started to look the same and my sense of direction dissipated.

But, before I knew it, we made one last turn and arrived at the VFV office, which faced a large basketball court and playground for the children in the community, surrounded by two story, modest concrete block homes.

I followed WimWim inside the building, and we made our way up to the second floor where she had prepared a presentation for me about the work of VFV in Tacloban to explain how she and other VFV employees were implementing our sponsorship program, which provides for more than 150 children living in poverty all around the city and countryside.

ABOUT VFV

VFV has a long history in Tacloban, going back to the 1990s, when, according to their website, “U.S. volunteers from Jacksonville University, Florida, led by Troy Peden, traveled to the Philippines in order to volunteer on a project known as Building Hope, which was the original precursor to Volunteer for the Visayans. The volunteers participated in a number of community development and social welfare projects, including the renovation and repair of Sagkahan National High School which had been damaged by a recent typhoon.”

VFV runs a very successful volunteer program in which nearly 200 volunteers from all over the world come to the center each year, live with host families, and help support the center’s efforts in the community.

“During their visits, Peden and his volunteers set foundations for the future by working closely with the Tacloban City Social Welfare and Development Office, building trust and creating a model which would serve as VFV’s underlying structure for years to come.”

“The volunteers continued to return on their own each year, and in 2004 were instrumental in establishing Volunteer for the Visayans as a non-profit organization. With support from the GoAbroad Foundation, Troy Peden provided a gateway of financial support which slowly enabled VFV to develop the resources needed to become a successful on-ground NGO. With every year that passed, VFV strived to reach out and improve the lives of communities and individuals in a manner that was responsible and sustainable; this led to a number of projects developing under VFV’s core programs.”

Volunteers from around the world

WimWim (left) is pictured with another VFV staff member. They are showing me how they keep the records of each sponsored child organized in the VFV office.

As I watched the slide show that WimWim had created to explain the work of VFV, I found myself enthralled with the organization and just how much they were doing for children and families — in large part thanks to our donors. In addition to supporting children with basic needs, they also implemented weekly feeding programs, offered tutoring sessions and computer classes for students, arranged medical care support, and helped students apply for higher education upon graduation.

Furthermore, VFV runs a very successful volunteer program in which nearly 200 volunteers from all over the world come to the center each year, live with host families, and help support the center’s efforts in the community. As WimWim explained, the volunteers are responsible for all the shopping for the supplies for the children, all the food preparation and clean up for the feeding programs, and help tutor and play games with the kids as well.

After hearing about this amazing organization, and all the work they were doing in Tacloban, I couldn’t wait to spend the next four days visiting the three affiliated sites we support in conjunction with VFV – the Visayans Community Center at Bliss, the Santo Nino Center, and the Cancumbang Center. And now that I had heard more about how they operated, I could see why VFV is able to support so many children in need.

***

How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Shelley Callahan | April 30, 2023En Español

When I first started at Children Incorporated in May of 2014, I remember hearing a lot about our relief efforts in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan, which had devastated areas of southeast Asia in November 2013.

I recall clearly stories from our staff about the damage that had occurred in Tacloban, where our affiliated site, the Visayans Center (which is run by non-profit organization, Volunteer for the Visayans, or VFV) was located. After the storm passed, it would be recorded as the country’s worst-ever natural disaster.

I had a chance to hear first-hand about how Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda, had affected every person in Tacloban.

Thankfully, in the aftermath, Children Incorporated was able to support families as as they rebuilt their homes, thanks to donations to our Hope In Action Fund, while still providing basic needs to children through our sponsorship program, which had become more important as the entire community of Tacloban worked to clean up, and for some, start all over again.

Since I was so new to the organization at the time, I didn’t realize the magnitude of the support we were able to offer, and it wouldn’t be until I visited Tacloban in early 2023 that I would come to find out just how detrimental the storm had been to thousands of people, forever changing the city and the way in which its residents lived.

I arrived in Tacloban after a short flight from Manila on a Thursday afternoon in January of this year, in anticipation of visiting three of our affiliated sites in the area over the course of the next four days. Our volunteer coordinators, WimWim and Ester, from VFV, were waiting for me outside of the airport with a small Children Incorporated sign with our logo and my name. After we got into the taxi, we drove through the small, coastal city towards the downtown area, and I had a chance to hear first-hand about how Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda, had affected every person in Tacloban.

WimWim talked about how the storms were so common in the Philippines that no one took the evacuation notices too seriously, thinking that it would pass, and little damage would occur as had happened many times in the past. Her husband and two young sons, she explained, stayed home to wait the storm out, but as the winds gradually became stronger and stronger, reaching top speeds of 165 mph, she realized that this storm was much more powerful than others she and her family had endured.

And just like everyone that lived through Typhoon Yolanda who has not forgotten it and never will, ten years later, Children Incorporated has not forgotten the people of Tacloban either.

As she described the water rushing into her house, I got chills thinking about the panic she must have felt. She explained that the water came so fast, they had no chance to get out of the house, and they quickly found themselves floating towards the ceiling as their furniture and belongings swarmed around them.

WimWim recalled almost losing hope that they would survive, when she realized there was a window open on the second floor of their home, and her and her family were able to escape to the roof and wait for the water to recede. It all lasted less than 10 minutes, but I am sure felt like a lifetime to them.

The ship, Evan Jocelyn, was one of three ships that ran aground during Typhoon Yolanda. Today, it remains on land as a memorial to the devastation caused in Tacloban.

When the storm ended and the weather turned calm, the local government reported that 6,000 residents of Tacloban had lost their lives, largely due to the storm surge that also damaged or destroyed 90% of the structures in the city. As WimWim described it, her town was unrecognizable, covered in debris and fallen trees. Large container ships had run aground, and entire neighborhoods on the coastline had been swept away to sea. WimWim promised she would take me to see some of the many monuments that had been constructed over the years in remembrance of those that lost their lives, many of whom were buried with just a simple white cross and no other identifying gravestone.

Not long after Typhoon Yolanda, relief organizations started arriving in Tacloban to provide for the immediate needs of families — depending on their contracts, according to WimWim, some organizations stayed for a few weeks, and some stayed for a few years.

Although the help was needed, and appreciated, in many ways it didn’t offer the sustainable support that she felt was vital to those living in poverty in Tacloban. Often times, aid organizations didn’t consult with locals about how to offer help in the ways that it was needed most — instead, administrators would determine how they felt they should help, which sometimes wasn’t helpful at all. As WimWim described it, it was a “good bad problem to have” — the good being that the aid organizations arrived at all, and the bad being that they didn’t listen to the locals needs.

Children Incorporated, she said, has never been one of types of organizations. Having worked with VFV since 2005, and still expanding on the work we do together today, we have offered VFV consistent and continuous support through very hard times in the community. WimWim proudly spoke of the power of sponsorship, and how grateful she was for the flexibility of our program that allows her to decide exactly what children and their families need depending on the circumstances. And just like everyone that lived through Typhoon Yolanda who has not forgotten it and never will, ten years later, Children Incorporated has not forgotten the people of Tacloban either.

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How do I sponsor a child in the Philippines?

SPONSOR A CHILD

Children Incorporated | April 24, 2023

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

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

Thanks to you, we were able to provide funds for emergency basic needs for three children at Cardinal Elementary School in Virginia after a house fire this month.

Just in this past month, our donors have:

– Provided Higher Education Funds for three students pursuing university degrees in Nicaragua who attend the Casa Betania Welfare Center

– Provided funds to purchase menstrual hygiene items for one month for 25 students at Santa Isabel Ana Seton in Guatemala

– Provided funds to purchase food and school supplies for a Kinder Camp for newly enrolled students in our sponsorship program at Bevins Elementary School in Kentucky

Donors in Virginia provided new clothes and hygiene items to our sponsored children at Huguenot High School in April.

– Provided funds to purchase cleaning supplies and hygiene items for families of students in our program at Phelps High School in Kentucky

– Provided funds to purchase food for a month for 25 students at the Dandora Center in Kenya

– Provided funds to stock a new library with books at the Dzilth Community School in New Mexico

– Provided funds to purchase clothes and shoes and to replace items lost in a house fire for a student in our program at Greyhills Academy in Arizona

– Provided daily meals for 25 children at the Fortune’s Center in the Philippines

– Provided funds to purchase a full-size refrigerator for the resource centers’ feeding program at May Valley Elementary School in Kentucky

– Provided funds for emergency basic needs for three children at Cardinal Elementary School in Virginia after a house fire

… all in addition to the support you already provide to children through our sponsorship 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 | April 19, 2023

In our experience, we at Children Incorporated have seen that urban poverty entails many of the same challenges that rural poverty does, including transportation barriers and shortages of affordable housing. There are some difficulties which are specific to families living in urban environments, however — problems that we are currently addressing in the following cities: Washington, D.C.; Richmond, Virginia; Detroit, Michigan; and New Orleans, Louisiana. These challenges include concentrated poverty and crime, inadequate public transportation, and de facto segregation.

Understanding concentrated poverty

Our inner-city division provides support to children who otherwise would not have the resources they need.

Concentrated poverty, such as the circumstance of public housing projects, has been found to only worsen the situations of low-income families. Residents in such communities face underfunded schools, higher crime rates, substandard housing, and poorer health outcomes. The effects are particularly hard on children, who attempt to cope with the high levels of stress that they experience as a result of their families’ economic situation. According to a study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, two-thirds of children living in poverty reside in cities.

Crime is a problem that has a greater impact on families who live in concentrated poverty, as crime is more frequent in cities than in the suburbs or in rural areas. A lack of quality affordable housing is also a serious problem. For families who are not accepted into subsidized housing, rent consumes a large percentage of their limited resources, which leaves little for their children’s needs. Transportation challenges have become critical, as every major metropolitan area has lost jobs to the suburbs. These difficulties hinder parents’ and guardians’ abilities to connect with opportunities and jobs.

How we help children living in poverty

Children Incorporated understands that these problems are complex and interconnected. Our efforts to have a positive impact on urban poverty are currently focused on two areas — our sponsorship program and our Hope In Action Fund. Our sponsorship program assists children with their basic, health-related, and educational needs. This assistance provides them with weather-appropriate school clothing, classroom supplies, hygiene items, and other necessities, as determined by our volunteer coordinators at each of our affiliated schools in our Inner City Division across the United States. We often hear that when sponsored children know they have a sponsor who cares about them, they are encouraged — and that is powerful.

We often hear that when sponsored children know they have a sponsor who cares about them, they are encouraged – and that is powerful.

Our Hope In Action Fund assists with larger-scale needs that fall beyond the scope of our sponsorship program. This fund facilitates three areas of focus in our Inner City Division in particular:

1. Food insecurity — Many poor urban communities are “food deserts,” lacking full-service grocery stores with fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead, there are only corner convenience shops and mini-marts with more junk food than nutritious food. For families that lack transportation, healthy sustenance is difficult to obtain. Noting this need, several schools have begun to host monthly markets, have initiated weekend feeding programs, or have spearheaded school gardening programs. Children Incorporated has supported these efforts.

2. After-school remediation and enrichment — Children Incorporated has supported after-school programs that offer remedial instruction in reading and math, as well as enrichment activities in the arts and sciences.

3. Parent and guardian engagement and involvement — Many schools struggle with parent and guardian attendance for conferences with teachers, assemblies, Parent-Teacher Association meetings, and other activities. Many parents may have had negative experiences with schools during their own childhoods, and others have complained that the only time they hear from the schools is if there is a problem with their children’s attendance, behavior, or grades. Studies have shown parent and guardian engagement to be a key factor in positive outcomes for children. Several of the schools with which we affiliate have designed special nights to encourage parents and guardians to go to schools for wholesome events that encourage family bonding. Children Incorporated has helped with several of these important efforts.

There are many challenges to address, but we at Children Incorporated are doing our best to tackle them, thanks to the support of our sponsors and donors, who are making a profound difference in the lives of the children we serve.

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HOW DO I SPONSOR A CHILD IN CHILDREN INCORPORATED’S INNER CITY DIVISION?

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

SPONSOR A CHILD