Share In Their Future

First Annual Brent Kegley Memorial 5K Run/Walk a Huge Success

 

The First Annual Brent Kegley Memorial 5K Run/Walk took place on Saturday, July 12th at the Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis, Maryland.  Magda Kegley, Director of our Latin American Division, tragically lost her son Brent to a car accident on Novermber 12, 2007.  Brent was a highly valued employee of Deer Park Water, and his coworkers chose to honor his memory by organizing this first annual 5K.  On the day of the race over 500 individuals had registered to participate!  This outstanding turnout served as a wonderful testament to the impact that Brent had on the lives of others, and continues to have. With great weather, music, and crowds of supporters, the participants in the 5K energetically completed the route in just over an hour.  Funds raised for this event will be divided evenly between Children, Incorporated and Earth Share, the two charitable recipients.  All funds designated to Children, Incorporated will go to our Haven Fund.  Congratulations and deep appreciation goes out to all those who participated or contributed to this special event. 

   

Mosquito Net Distribution

Children, Incorporated recently distributed mosquito nets to several projects in Africa and India.  A generous donation from Steve and Penny Carlile of Marshall, Texas funded much of this initiative. 

Each year, malaria sickens millions of people throughout the world, and thousands of those people die.  The use of insecticide-treated bed nets is a key factor in malaria prevention, and we aim to provide nets to all of our children who are at risk of contracting the disease. For more information on how you can help us keep our children healthy, please visit our website or contact us at (800) 538-5381 or at inquiries@children-inc.org. 

Children at the Dandora Center in Nairobi, Kenya received new nets in April:


Children at the Durgi Home in Guntur, India were thrilled to hang the nets over their beds:
 

St. John's Community Center School Now Complete

For the past several months, Children, Incorporated has supported the construction of a new school facility at the St. John's Community Center in Pumwani, a slum in Nairobi, Kenya.  The school is now complete, and Luis Bourdet, Director of the Foreign Division, attended its opening ceremony in April.  The new building contains nine classrooms as well as space for labs, offices, workshops, and a library.  It will serve children attending grades one through eight, and it will qualify them to receive the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education.

Children, Incorporated funded approximately half of this project, and our participation was made possible by a generous grant from philanthropist Barry Greenstein.  We are extremely grateful to Mr. Greenstein for facilitating this project, and we extend our best wishes to the children of St. John's. 

The new school is housed in a large, modern building:















Foreign Division Director Luis Bourdet attended the school's opening ceremony:

ODU Students Volunteer at Project in the Dominican Republic

This past March, students and staff from Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, Virginia spent a week volunteering at the National School for the Blind in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  There they worked with many students sponsored by Children, Incorporated.  Special thanks go to the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in  St. Augustine, which sent a representative to Norfolk to help the ODU students understand how to work with blind children. 

International Education Programs of Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida facilitated the ODU trip. This year, IEP also sent students on spring break trips to Guayaquil, Ecuador to work at projects where CI supports children.  In the summer, IEP sends student volunteers to CI-affiliated projects in the Philippines. 

You don’t have to be a college student to volunteer.  IEP welcomes participants of all ages.  Please visit IEP's website for more information.

The ODU students shared with us many photos of their work and of the wonderful children of the Dominican Republic:

 

We Love Our Supporters

Last night, we hosted a reception for our donors who live in the Richmond, Virginia area.  CI supporter Bill Hall graciously donated the use of his home, and Dominion donated refreshments and valet services. 

We truly enjoyed meeting so many of our local supporters.  You all do amazing things for our children, and we love to talk to you about your experiences with CI.  Thank you so much to everyone who came to last night's event--and to all our supporters everywhere. 

Health of HIV-Positive Child Improving

Wilmer is an HIV-positive 4-year-old boy in Paraguay.  His mother and siblings have died of AIDS, so he lives in an orphanage managed by an order of Catholic nuns.  When Wilmer arrived at the orphanage in December of 2007, he was very ill.  His skin was covered with sores, and he was lethargic, underweight, and withdrawn. 

Today, merely four months later, Wilmer's health has improved tremendously.  He has plenty of energy, he has gained weight, and his skin condition is nearly gone.  The nun who serves as Wilmer's primary caregiver attributes much of this improvement to the support the child receives from his Children, Incorporated sponsor.  In a recent letter to the sponsor, she wrote:

Dear Mr. David,

Have you seen a more beautiful picture than this?

I told Wilmer while they were taking the picture to "smile for your sponsor, Mr. David," and his beautiful face lit up!  As you can see in this photograph, he is doing really well and is very playful. 

Thank you very much for your monthly gift.  Because of your assistance, Wilmer does not lack for anything.  He loves for us to talk to him about you.  He understands somewhat. 

I'm sure you're happy to know that Wilmer is really improving.  We pray that science or a "miracle" will make him totally well.  Why not!  We take very good care of him, as you can see.

When Wilmer first arrived at the orphanage, he was shy and diffident.  He could not communicate in any way.  Time and the love we offer have turned him into the treasure of this orphanage.  All of the children are beautiful, but there's something very special about Wilmer. 

Wilmer sends you his love, and I send you mine.  Once again, THANK YOU.

Until next time,
Sister Elfride

Kite Festival at Summer Hill

Summer Hill Elementary in Richmond recently treated twenty of its top students to an afternoon of kite-flying--and Children, Incorporated provided the kites!  For two hours, students, teachers, parents, and volunteers convened on the Summer Hill lawn to fly kites and play games.  It was a lovely afternoon.

We are very grateful to Richmond's CBS Channel 6 for the donation that made the Kite Festival possible. 

Sending Food to Your Sponsored Child

If you sponsor a child in the United States, you are very welcome to send presents to him or her.  However, please do not send food without first speaking to Children, Incorporated about your gift. 

Because of concerns about safety and nutrition, many schools will not permit their pupils to have food that arrives in care packages.  Also, there have recently been several incidents in which sponsors sent perishable food that turned rotten before reaching its destination.  In such cases, our volunteers have no choice but to throw the food away.  If you would like to provide food to an indigent child, we encourage you to donate to our "Food for a Weekend" program. 

As always, we deeply appreciate everything that you do for our children.  They benefit greatly from the support you provide, and we are very grateful for your generous assistance.  If you have questions about our policies on care packages and other special gifts, please contact Chuck Smith, Sponsor Relations Coordinator, at (800) 538-5381 or csmith@children-inc.org. 

Children, Incorporated Pajama Party

In 2006, we hosted a pajama party for children at Swansboro Elementary School in Richmond, Virginia. At the party, the children received sleepwear, books, and stuffed animals. Children, Incorporated partnered with the Pajama Program to donate these items, which the Pajama Program originally obtained from the Oprah Winfrey Show.

New Playground in Arizona

Generous donations to our general fund have allowed the American Indian Division to construct a new playground at an elementary school in Arizona.  This school is in an impoverished area of the Navajo reservation, and its old playground was in an extreme state of disrepair.  The children had no safe place in which to play.  Now, however, they have a jungle gym and a swing set to enjoy during recess.  These photos were taken during the playground's construction: