We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with Muddy Kids! Thanks to their generosity, Muddy Kids will be donating a portion of funds from each Muddy Kids event in 2025 to Children Incorporated.
“We believe that Children Incorporated’s incredible work aligns perfectly with our values of promoting health, joy, and family unity.”
About Muddy Kids
Muddy Kids is a 1.5–2.2 mile adventure event series for families and kids ages 5–15, with fun and challenging obstacles, mud, and entertainment for the whole family. Muddy Kids doesn’t focus on the fastest times or competitions; the focus is fun, with obstacle courses made for walking, crawling, climbing, sliding, balancing, and laughing all in the mud! Muddy Kids is the perfect event to reconnect, strengthen relationships, have fun, get active, get muddy, and bond as a family.
“We believe that Children Incorporated’s incredible work aligns perfectly with our values of promoting health, joy, and family unity,” said Lizhan, Senior Marketing Manager at Muddy Kids. “Together, we can make a great impact by supporting Children Incorporated while offering participants a fun and meaningful day out.”
We are so grateful for this wonderful partnership. To find out more and see if Muddy Kids will be in your area this upcoming season, visit their website today!
After leaving India, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, traveled to Sri Lanka to visit our two affiliated sites in the country. His first stop was the Touch a Life with Hope Center in Colombo, the capital. Here, girls from low-income families are pursuing higher education thanks to support from their sponsors.
“They indicated that without those benefits from Children Incorporated sponsors, they would have a hard time completing their education, let alone thinking about higher education,” said Luis.
Luis’ Visit
“The Touch a Life with Hope Center is a home for girls in Colombo. The Ceylon Association supports the home, but Children Incorporated sponsorship provides additional support for other needs for the girls such as food, school supplies, and clothes, which is essential to their well-being since funds from the Ceylon Association are limited,” explained Luis.
“Children from the local neighborhood are enrolled in the Children Incorporated program at the home, and they come to Touch a Life twice a month to collect food, school supplies, clothing, or shoes provided by our sponsors. We have also provided additional funding for mosquito nets and, during the pandemic, hygiene items that were very beneficial to all the girls that lived in the home and others enrolled in the Children Incorporated program.”
Looking ahead to higher education
All of the children enrolled at Touch a Life with Hope Center met with me during my visit and shared information on the benefits they receive. They indicated that without those benefits from Children Incorporated sponsors, they would have a hard time completing their education, let alone thinking about higher education,” said Luis.
“The home is located in a good area of the city, adequate, and provides a nurturing environment for the girls. The building houses two large dorms, an adequate kitchen and dining hall, and a section for administration. In the middle, there is a small landscaped area, and in the back, they have toilets and washrooms. To the side of the administration area, there is another section with trees, flowers, and grass that allows everyone to enjoy some quiet time and relaxation. I very much enjoyed my visit and seeing how well the girls were doing at the home.”
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 that is available for sponsorship.
As he finishes his visit to our affiliated sites in Sri Lanka, our Director of International Programs, Luis Bourdet, meets with our volunteer coordinator, Dr. Rodrigo, at the Chrishanti Lama Sevana in Colombo, which she established many years ago out of her home in order to help some of the most impoverished children in her own neighborhood.
Learning about the Center
“The Chrishanti Center is located in the Kirulapone area of Colombo, in the capital city. This area is strikingly divided between a well-developed area of Colombo and entwined slums for housing for low-income families. The Chrishanti Center is located at the border of both regions in one of the slums. Here, Dr. Nalini Rodrigo, from a well-to-do family, wanted to support those in need many years ago. She was initially serving children from her and her husband’s own home, and then later, a local community provided a small plot of land in a poorly developed area to be used for the center,” said Luis.
“Many other children are also in permanent working positions because of what our sponsorship program support allowed them to do in school and university,” said Luis.
“They started the center very modestly with a makeshift hut to meet the needs of the children and families and provide Children Incorporated support to enrolled children there. A few years ago, we convinced Dr. Rodrigo to upgrade the facility, with intentions to continue providing sponsorship support but also to give more stability to the families, tend to other needs, and increase aid to those who needed more support. As a result, a small two-story building was constructed. Here, they decided to use the first floor as a daycare center to cater to the children of mothers who work during the day. The Children Incorporated sponsored children would use this area to receive monthly benefits as well. The children received mostly food and school supplies. Everyone liked the center, as now it was more of their place.”
The importance of education
“In Sri Lanka, education is of very personal importance, as the literacy rate in this nation is up in the 90th percentile, and everyone wants to graduate from high school, and no one wants to quit education. Most parents of Children Incorporated sponsored children have never had the opportunity to attend high school. Still, every child in our program has finished high school, and many have participated in a university or a technical school. A child named Gayan went to school to study for a Systems Engineering career, and he now works in a big IT company in Colombo; he still helps his parents, and he is very involved with the Chrishanti Center as an advocate and teacher in his spare time. He was our guide during the visit. Many other children are also in permanent working positions because of what our sponsorship program support allowed them to do in school and university,” said Luis.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the center and felt, as always, that Dr. Rodrigo was doing an excellent job of providing for the children in our program through sponsorship support.”
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 that is available for sponsorship.
Our volunteer coordinator, Tonia, at Sparta Elementary School in North Carolina, recently wrote to us to express how awesome she thinks you, our loyal sponsors and donors, are for the support you provide for children at her school.
Tonia’s Letter
“Because of the financial support our students have received from their sponsors, I have been able to purchase clothes, book bags, school supplies, and toiletries throughout the school year. It is so exciting and rewarding to see the Children Incorporated students’ smiling faces as they come to school with new outfits. The students make sure to come by and show us. It is also so important that I am able to buy the students much-needed soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes, and toothpaste that they would otherwise not have.
Thanks to you, we have been able to provide funding for ongoing Hurricane Helene emergency relief supplies for students and families — and so much more!
We are so fortunate to have such loving and caring sponsors who correspond with our students and encourage them in a positive way. The sponsors write letters and send coloring sheets, stickers, and cards, which are such fun surprises for the kids! Some of our sponsors even send special gifts for holidays, and seeing the excitement from the children is so awesome. The kids get very excited when they receive mail from their sponsors and are always ready and willing to write their sponsors a nice thank you note.
Thanks to sponsors, students were also able to purchase books at the book fair and go on a field trip to the Outer Banks this past year! The look on their faces when they were told they didn’t have to pay the fee for the trip was priceless. We very much appreciate the Children Incorporated program!”
Sponsorship is one of many ways you help impoverished children every month. Additionally, thanks to contributions to our Hope In Action Fund in the last month, we have been able to:
– Provide funds to purchase desks for students at the Bethel School in Guatemala
– Provide funds to purchase mattresses for children in our sponsorship program at the Recanto Esperanca Center in Brazil
– Provide funds to purchase bakery equipment for a skills training program at CARITAS-Novo Milenio Center in Brazil
– Provide funds to purchase water storage tanks for the Santa Rosa School in Bolivia so students have access to potable water
– Provide funds to purchase meals for 30 students for a month at Santa Isabel Seton in Guatemala
– Provide funding for ongoing Hurricane Helene emergency relief supplies for students and families at Mitchell High School in North Carolina
– Provide funds for an evening literacy program for students and their parents at Bevins Elementary School in Kentucky
– Provide funds to purchase educational tablets for students at Whitesburg Middle School in Kentucky
– Provide funds to purchase hygiene items for students at Phillis Wheatley Community School in New Orleans, Louisiana
– Provide funding to purchase meals for 100 children at the St. John’s Community Center in Kenya
…and so much more! Thank you to our supporters for all that you do! We couldn’t do our life-changing work without you.
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.
After four wonderful visits to our affiliated sites in New Orleans, I couldn’t believe our trip was coming to an end as we arrived at our fifth and final school, Samuel J. Green Charter School. As we had done with all of our other visits, Maria met Shayne, Renée, Kristen, and me in front of Samuel Green before we entered.
As we made our way down the walkway, Renée noticed that the name Samuel J. Green Junior High School was carved into the building above the entrance, and commented to Shayne that it was so cool that the name of the original school was the same, even after the charter school system had been put in place so many years ago.
Our final school visit
Shayne agreed, telling us that it was unusual in New Orleans for schools to maintain their original names. It was also common for many charter schools to change their names multiple times, so this was indeed a special circumstance of Samuel Green remaining its namesake. Unlike some of the other schools we had visited as well, Samuel J. Green was not a newer school, and had some of the classic charm of an older, more established school building.
We all entered the school and checked in at the front desk, and then were greeted by our volunteer coordinator, Theressa, who escorted us to her office and resource center, where we chatted for a bit about the school and our sponsorship program.
Samuel Green is located in the Freret Corridor of New Orleans and serves students from all over the city from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. Theressa told us she loves the Children Incorporated program and the sponsors, and it is a delight to help the kids at her school. As with our other schools, she said that affording uniforms is the biggest issue for families with kids at Samuel Green. The uniforms cost roughly $60 each for pants or a skirt and a top, and some kids only have one uniform for all 180 school days in a calendar year. With sponsorship funds, Theressa is able to help ensure students have multiple uniforms, other clothing items such as jackets and long pants for colder months, and hygiene items and school supplies.
Theressa mentioned that the school also has a weekend feeding program for students so they don’t go hungry. Renée encouraged her to apply for our Hope In Action grant program to receive additional support for the feeding program or other needs that sponsored children might have, such as bedding or mattresses for their homes.
With sponsorship funds, Theressa is able to help ensure students have multiple uniforms, other clothing items such as jackets and long pants for colder months, and hygiene items and school supplies.
An edible garden to remember
Once we finished our meeting, Theressa brought in two of our sponsored children for us to meet, and then we took a tour of the school. We visited a few classrooms, the gym and cafeteria, and the cooking classroom where a group of students had just finished making guacamole with ingredients they had grown at the school.
Then Theressa led us outside, where I was stunned to see a vast garden filled with produce that the children helped maintain, and then used the vegetables and herbs to make food in their cooking class! This edible garden project, as Theressa described, was a huge success at the school, and something they were very proud to have as it not only taught children valuable skills like gardening and cooking, but allowed them to be outside and use their hands while learning, which can offer a good break from classroom learning.
As Theressa took us back to the front of the school, it was bittersweet to say goodbye to her and then to Shayne and Maria, who had been such wonderful hosts during our few days in New Orleans. Although our trip was coming to a conclusion, I couldn’t wait to get back to the Children Incorporated office to share stories, photos, and videos with our staff and our sponsors about all the fantastic work we are doing in the Big Easy, all thanks to the generosity of amazing donors.
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 that is available for sponsorship.
Our first day visiting our affiliated sites in New Orleans was a huge success and so much fun, and I woke up on the second and final day of our trip excited for what the day had in store for us. Just as we had done the previous morning, Shayne picked up Renée, Kris, and me at our hotel, and we drove with her to our first school, the Phillis Wheatley Community School, where we met Maria out front before going in to meet with our coordinator.
According to Odina, a lot of the ways she is able to look out for the best interests of the students are largely thanks to Children Incorporated sponsors.
Getting to Know phillis Wheatley
Phillis Wheatley Community School is located in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans and has around 750 children enrolled. As a charter school, like the other charter schools in the city, children can come from any area of New Orleans to attend Phillis Wheatley, and the city school buses will offer transportation to students no matter where they are located.
The school is named after Phillis Wheatley, who is considered the first African American author of a published book of poetry in America. Born in West Africa, she was sold into slavery at the age of eight and brought to Boston, where she learned to read and write and eventually became a poet.
After we checked in at the front office, we were greeted by Odina, our volunteer coordinator, who took us to her office to discuss our sponsorship program and hear more about the particular needs of the students at her school. Odina explained to us that even though New Orleans is in the South and bouts of cold weather are limited, the need for warm clothing is still her greatest need and the area in which our sponsors help children the most.
It’s not just that the children don’t have warm clothing, Odina explained, but it is that when the weather does turn cold, the children stay home from school because of the lack of warm coats, long pants, or proper shoes. This exacerbates a problem that is already present with her students, which is with attendance. Living in poverty, as Odina described to us, already creates a lot of obstacles for students attending school regularly, so being able to help children overcome the barrier of not having adequate clothing is such a blessing.
Even though New Orleans is in the South and bouts of cold weather are limited, the need for warm clothing is still her greatest need and the area in which our sponsors help children the most.
Helping Parents in Need
As we continued to talk with Odina, she mentioned that one of the other things she feels she could use help with is getting parents involved in their children’s education, especially for those guardians and caretakers who suddenly become parents in emergencies.
Renée mentioned that our Hope In Action grant program could help with parenting classes. She described a program in Kentucky that we support called “Grandparents As Parents,” which helps older adults cope with taking care of young children and helping them understand positive means of supporting them in school and at home.
After our meeting, Odina took us on a tour of the school, where we met with some of our sponsored children in the hallways between classes. The children were happy to take photos with Odina, and it was apparent they thought a lot of her as not only a staff member at the school but as someone who looked out for them and their best interests. And, according to Odina, a lot of the ways she is able to look out for the best interests of the students are largely thanks to Children Incorporated sponsors.
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.
