Children Incorporated is thrilled to announce our partnership with the Spirit Airlines Charitable Foundation. To mark fifteen years of flights to San Jose, Costa Rica, Spirit Airlines wanted to give back to children, families, and communities in the area.
“Lanie Morgenstern, the Senior Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility & Strategic Partnerships with Spirit Airlines contacted us and was very enthusiastic about our work in Costa Rica,” explained Children Incorporated Director of Development, Shelley Callahan.
Spirit Airlines is committed to having a positive impact on the world in many different ways through their partnerships with organizations just like ours.
“Lanie felt that our work directly lined up with the mission and vision of the Spirit Airlines Charitable Foundation and wanted to provide immediate educational and basic needs support to children who attend our affiliated sites in San Jose.”
“I also felt that this partnership was ideal for both the children in our programs and for the sites we support. The donation from Spirit Airlines Charitable Foundation will allow our volunteer coordinators to purchase much-needed food items, hygiene items, mattresses, clothes, shoes and school supplies for the children we support,” explained Callahan.
“These items are essential to their health, well-being, and education and we are so grateful for Lanie and the whole Spirit Airlines Team.”
Spirit Airlines is committed to having a positive impact on the world in many different ways through their partnerships with organizations just like ours.
Its website states: “The Spirit Charitable Foundation believes change starts by giving back. We are committed to inspiring positive change in the communities where we live and work. We invest in organizations that have a meaningful social impact on the lives of Children and Families, Service Members and the Environment, through Team Member volunteerism, monetary, and in-kind donations. Every child should have a bright future, which is why we support and volunteer with organizations that focus on developing our next generation. Our efforts improve children’s lives and their future opportunities to learn and grow and become successful members of their communities.”
Thank you, Spirit Airlines Charitable Foundation, for all your support!
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Children Incorporated |
Today, Mexico is the world’s tenth most populous nation — and largest Spanish-speaking country by population — with a growing, diversified economy and a relatively stable democratic government. However, despite the country’s wealth of culture, history, natural resources and beauty, many natives and immigrants are plagued by impoverished living conditions. Crime and murder rates in the country are high, and corruption and drug cartel activity are constant sources of concern despite efforts to eliminate them.
In Mexico, children’s very lives and futures are at risk, as they struggle with poverty and lack of educational resources. Right now, children in Mexico need your help.
Mexico has long suffered from high poverty and lack of social programs. The COVID-19 pandemic has likely made these issues worse, and according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in a joint study conducted with the Mexican government, more than 20 million Mexican children and adolescents are estimated to live in poverty, and five million of them in extreme poverty.
Additionally, the study found that nearly 14% of Mexican children under five years of age are stunted, meaning they are slowed in their development often as a result of malnutrition. The rate is higher in rural areas, reaching nearly 33%.
We work with our volunteer coordinators in local communities to provide health and nutrition, education, hygiene items, clothes, shoes, and other essentials that help children and families rise above the poverty in which they live. Our strategy is to focus on individual children through our sponsorship program, ensuring they are receiving exactly what they need on a regular basis.
Your support makes all our work possible for children in Mexico who are living in crisis.
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How do I sponsor a child in Mexico?
You can sponsor a child in Mexico 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 Mexico that is available for sponsorship.
Hogar Santa Maria is located just across the river from the city center of Guadalajara where you will find high rise hotels and a bustling main street. The contrast is stark as we drive from our hotel to the neighborhood where Santa Maria is located — it is completely different from one side of the city to the other. Wealth and commerce are contrasted with poverty and old, small buildings. One side is modern and striving, growing towards the future, while the other seems to not be a part of the same world.
It is so apparent that these children feel loved and safe at Santa Maria.
The same but different
These were all the same feelings I had the first time I visited Santa Maria in 2016, but I doubted that everything had stayed exactly the same due to the pandemic. If Santa Maria was anything like all our other affiliated sites in Mexico, our coordinators also had to go through big changes to continue to provide for the children in our program.
When we arrived at the Home, we were greeted by one of the four sisters who takes care of the children, and Santa Maria’s full-time social worker. Unfortunately, our coordinator was away in Mexico City having surgery and couldn’t be with us for our visit, but we were made to feel welcome all the same, given a tour of the facility, and heard about how our sponsorship program has been going over the past few years.
The social worker explained that they were able to continue to provide support for the children during quarantine when the children were sent home, largely thanks to our sponsors. The children only returned just a few short months ago when public schools finally opened again, and now 18 children are living at Santa Maria again during the weekdays. Since before the pandemic, attendance has gone down, and although the home isn’t at full capacity again, almost all of the children who attend have sponsors through Children Incorporated.
As we wandered through the dormitories and the small classrooms, we talked also about the ways in which Santa Maria is a blessing for families in the community. With many parents working long hours or overnight shifts, it is crucial for young children to have a place to live, learn and play with their friends during the week.
With many parents working long hours or overnight shifts, it is crucial for young children to have a place to live, learn and play with their friends during the week.
The parents pay a very small fee for the children to stay at the Home, which as it was explained to us, was mostly just to ensure they felt invested in their child’s care, and less about what the money really provided. Fortunately for these children, their sponsors help make sure they have healthy meals every day, new clothes and shoes, and school supplies throughout the year.
As we finish up our tour, the children arrive excited and, unknowingly to us, expecting our visit. As we gather in the dining room, the children have a surprise for Luis and me — they have learned a song to sing to us to say thanks to our organization and all of our sponsors.
It is so apparent that these children feel loved and safe at Santa Maria, which is important to giving their parents peace of mind while they work. For these children, Santa Maria ensures they and their parents have nothing to worry about while they are there so they can focus on enjoying just being kids.
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How do I sponsor a child in Mexico?
You can sponsor a child in Mexico 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 Mexico that is available for sponsorship.
After our visit to Casa Hogar Santa Inés in Mexico City, Children Incorporated Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet and I were off to San Miguel de Allende to meet with Sister Isabel, our volunteer coordinator at Hogar Santa Julia.
Remembering Santa Julia
I had fond memories of Santa Julia from my visit six years prior – the beautiful grounds of the home, with its well-maintained gardens and bright colorful murals, stood out to me as such as a wonderful place for destitute young girls to grow up in, away from the harsh conditions that they lived in before.
Even through all the challenges of the pandemic, the staff at Santa Julia always maintained and focused on their goals for the children there.
At Santa Julia, each girl is at the home because social services in Mexico has deemed their home life to be unfit — and in fact, once the children are enrolled at the home, they are there until they are 18 years old and can determine for themselves as adults if they want to have contact with their families again. When they are removed from their homes, the situation is often so horrific that the parents don’t know where their children are being taken for their children’s protection.
Getting to know the home again
When we arrive at Santa Julia, we are greeted by Lily, who is the Director of Development at the home, and Sister Isabel. It was great to meet Lily for the first time; she is energetic and enthusiastic about the Children Incorporated program. It was equally wonderful to see Sister Isabel again who had grown into her role as the head of the home since the last time we saw her, busily running around with many daily tasks to take care of.
We start the morning with a tour of the facilities, and Lily tells us about how the last few years have been for them. During the COVID-19 lockdown, the children stayed at Santa Julia and were out of school and learning virtually for nearly two years. During that time, the staff worked hard to creatively engage the girls in activities including art and online English classes. The girls took swimming lessons over the summer of 2021 and showed off artwork that they created at a local restaurant. They also participated in a Christmas Bizarre where they sold small crafts that they made by hand.
Including family in the present and future
The dorms at the Santa Julia Home are spacious and well-kept so the girls living there truly do feel at home.
Lily continued to explain that even through all the challenges of the pandemic, the staff at Santa Julia always stayed focused on their goals for the children — to learn good habits and values, especially respect for one another, to achieve consistency with their education, and to achieve comprehensive development through physical activity and proper nutrition.
Beyond all this, the girls also receive medical services, dental services, psychological services and ophthalmological services throughout the year. Additionally, Santa Julia managed to expand its programs in 2021 and began including brothers of the young girls during their intake process. Lily expressed that over the years, the staff of Santa Julia noticed that they had several cases in which girls who were separated from their home were not only having a difficult time adjusting, but were distressed over no longer being with their siblings and feeling alone and abandoned.
To mitigate this issue, Santa Julia started offering temporary housing for siblings during the adjustment period, during which the brothers and sisters can stay together until the boys can be relocated and can continue to have regular contact with one another.
A truly incredible place
Before leaving the home for the day, we had a chance to meet with some of the girls, some of whom I remember from six years ago. They all looked so healthy and happy, sitting closely together on the couches in Sister Isabel’s office, obviously bonded together from their time at the home. I showed them old photos of themselves on my phone but refrained from taking any new pictures at Lily’s request. Because of the sensitivity of their situations, she preferred that we help to keep the girls’ anonymous, and I understood completely after hearing more about how hard Santa Julia is working to give these girls, and their brothers, a safe place to grow up in.
For now, I have the memories of the children in my mind from our visit and a comfort in my heart knowing that they are safe and sound among truly incredible people in a truly incredible home.
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How do I sponsor a child in Mexico?
You can sponsor a child in Mexico 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 Mexico that is available for sponsorship.
It has been roughly two and half years since we have been able to visit our affiliated sites, and I personally couldn’t wait to have the opportunity to travel to Mexico again. It finally happened in mid-May, and the trip exceeded all of my expectations.
When the pandemic hit, kids not only couldn’t go to school but in some cases could no longer stay in the group home and had to instead return to unstable and impoverished environments.
Without a doubt, our volunteer coordinators have had a tough time through the pandemic. Whether in the United States or abroad, school closures made accessing the children in our sponsorship program so much more of a challenge, but it was more important than ever as families tried to cope with so much uncertainty.
The devastation of the pandemic
Our affiliated sites in Mexico were no exception and in some ways, had it worse than other sites we work with. Each of our sites in Mexico — one in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and San Miguel de Allende — functions as a group home as well as a resource center. Therefore, when the pandemic hit, kids not only couldn’t go to school but in some cases could no longer stay in the group home and had to instead return to unstable and impoverished environments.
This was exactly the case at our affiliated site in Mexico City, Casa Hogar Santa Inés. When Luis and I arrived there a few weeks ago, we were greeted by our volunteer coordinator, Sister Flor, who gave us a tour of the facility while the girls were still in school. Sister Flor informed us that the girls had returned to Santa Inés three weeks prior. During that time, their mothers, or family members that acted as their guardians, would come to the Home once a month to pick up hygiene items and food, thanks to the girls’ sponsors. Beyond that, Sister Flor would call around and check on the girls during the week, making sure the girls’ basic needs were met the best she could.
The same but different
In total, twenty-seven girls came back to Santa Inés Home once the government allowed it and are back to school. The younger girls, those in pre-school and kindergarten, attend a local public school. The older girls, who attend primary school, go to a private school where each of them has received a scholarship to cover their school fees and books. The girls sleep at the Home from Sunday until Friday, and then are picked up by a parent or guardian, some of which travel upwards of two hours across Mexico City to Santa Inés.
For the most part, Santa Inés looked very much the same as I remember from when Luis and I visited back in 2016 — the grounds are incredibly well-kept, the dormitories are brightly painted and cozy, and the playground area offers ample space for the girls to play and just be kids in a safe and loving location. Sister Flor explained to us that outside of the support that each girl receives from her Children Incorporated sponsors, she relies on social services through the government and donations from local pharmacies and groceries stores to make sure the Home has everything it needs to provide for the children.
A big difference I did notice from our visit was just how many more services the Home is now providing to the children than before.
A big difference I did notice from our visit was just how many more services the Home is now providing to the children than before. A dentist volunteers time once a week to check on the girls’ teeth, and a computer lab and library are available for afterschool tutoring. A small infirmary is fully stocked with medications, and a clothes and supply room are abundant with items. Sister Flor even told us that she works to help the girls with their English. It seemed that over the years Sister Flor and the other administrators had really gone above and beyond to make the Home the best that it could be.
A place to call Home
After we finished the tour, we had a chance to meet the girls as they arrived from school. Sister Flor told us that she hopes that now that the Home is fully operating again, she can continue to add more girls to their program, which I think is a fantastic plan.
Even with all the challenges that the Home faced over the last two years, it was obvious that they still managed to grow and expand what they are able to offer, and any child would be fortunate to be able to call this place Home.
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How do I sponsor a child in Mexico?
You can sponsor a child in Mexico 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 Mexico that is available for sponsorship.
I grew up in a pretty average family. My parents were down-to-earth, hard-working people who sometimes struggled to make ends meet. There was seldom extra money, yet there were always unexpected medical costs, auto repairs, and other expenses that seemed to pop up. I know my folks sometimes worried about how they were going to pay all the bills, and there were periods where their finances were not very good. Even so, we never went without food, and in fact, many of my most-cherished childhood memories center around my parents’ delicious cooking and shared family meals. There was always an abundance of quality food on our dinner table, and holidays and larger family gatherings, often held at my grandparents’ homes, were the site of absolute feasts.
When I read statements like this one — nearly 13 million children in the United States live in homes that do not have enough food to feed all of the family members — I find myself in a state of shock.
I cannot imagine being truly hungry!
So when I read statements like this one — nearly 13 million children in the United States live in homes that do not have enough food to feed all of the family members — I find myself in a state of shock. I do not want to believe that children of any age, in the United States or any place else in our world, are starving, yet they are. According to a United Nations report, globally, approximately 25,000 children die daily from malnutrition and hunger. These deaths are all largely preventable, if we will just work together to avert this crisis.
A key component of Children Incorporated’s work is providing food to those who need it. We do this through not only child sponsorship, but also through our international and United States feeding programs. For as long as our organization has been around — 58 years and counting! — we have made sure that children and families’ food needs are met. We do this through the generosity and support of our loyal donors, people like you, who give so that others may receive. We are asking for your help once again.
I cannot imagine being truly hungry, yet I know many are. I am thankful for reputable and honest organizations like Children Incorporated that are working to feed, as well as clothe and educate, thousands of children each day. The knowledge that so many people care and are working together for the common good gives me hope for the future!
Today, I am asking you to help us provide for hungry children. Our Feeding Program Fund buys daily meals for children, as well as fills back packs full of food items for children to take home on the weekends. Without our support, these special children will go without the nutrients they need to survive and thrive — so please, our loyal supporters, I am asking that you contribute to this fund today. Without you, our work cannot be done.
