Week 26 - Child Fund International

from www.childfund.org

This week marks the halfway point in my year of giving! I am a bit behind, but alas that is life and I will catch up one way or another.

Child Fund has a long history is my family. Originally Christian Children's Fund, my Grandmother sponsored her first child approximately 50 years ago. She kept in touch with many of her sponsored children for decades and continued the tradition of giving, encouraging my mother to give. My mother sponsored her first child when she was a freshman in college in 1969 and has been giving ever since. She then encouraged the tradition by asking my brother to forgo a gift to her and instead sponsor a child.

Founded by a Presbyterian minister in 1938, Child Fund is not an evangelical mission. The mission is to change the lives of deprived, excluded and vulnerable children. That mission does not include forcing religion in exchange for help, which is a philosophy I disagree with. They stopped all evangelical work over 30 years ago. This was a smart move which may have been a strategy to remove them from the negative image associated with "McChurch" leaders of the likes of Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer, who hold services  designed to extract money from vulnerable populations in order to fund their own extravagant lifestyles. Child Fund International has transparent accountability and reports that 83% of every dollar goes directly to helping children in need.

Child Fund has a unique and well recognized approach of one-to-one connection with children. By tying an individual directly with a child, the giving becomes much more personal. Donors are sent pictures and letters from the child encouraging a relationship that can last for years and years. My mother has watched the progress of her sponsored children over the years and watched them thrive into young adults who are getting the education and support they need to benefit the next generation.

Children come from 31 countries (including the US) and 13.5 million children are helped each year. By providing help to individual families, local organizations, and global communities, children are given a broad range of support from education and health care to job training and emergency aid.

For more information on Child Fund International, click here.

My donation will be matched 100% by my company.

Week 11 - Concern Worldwide US

By now everyone has heard of the Kony 2012 video that has gone viral on the Internet in the past few weeks. And so some suggested I donate to Invisible Children as part of my project. I have chosen not to donate to this organization for a number of reasons. First, as soon I watched the video, my intuition that something was not quite right kicked in. I don't disagree with anything per se in the video, however I believe it is misleading and preys on sensitive emotions. Second,  the actions of the LRA and Kony are no doubt atrocious, but most of the content explained in the video happened in the past. The video was largely not appreciated in Uganda according to a video report by CNN. Third, I think the video  has generated enough income already for the organization to meet it's mission for the short term. And lastly, Invisible Children is not endorsed by the BBB which I find suspicious.

Instead I chose to donate to Concern Worldwide US. "Concern Worldwide is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organization dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries." (from Concern Worldwide website) I designated my donation to Uganda in light of Kony 2012.

Concern Worldwide responds to humanitarian disasters in 25 of the world's poorest countries. They focus on 5 areas: Education, Emergency Response, Health, HVI/AIDS, and Livelihoods

As the illustration points out poverty is at the center of a number of greater issues. And I truly believe education is the single best thing we can do to help. Concern Worldwide has a mission of providing access to basic education in the poorest countries. Simply put, education equals greater economic opportunity for these people. And that opportunity spider weds throughout the communities in which the people live.


We place particular emphasis on reaching those who have been excluded from the formal schooling system, such as girls, children living in slums or isolated rural areas, orphans, working children, children belonging to minority groups, children affected and infected by HIV and AIDS, and children with disabilities. (from Concern Worldwide website)



My donation will be matched 100% by my company. Happy Spring everyone!

Week 9 - Maple Leaf Mission

"Landon was delivered at 24 weeks and was 1 lb, 2 oz when he was born in April of this year. Since then, he has had multiple surgeries and is doing well - he is now 7 lbs and almost 6-months-old! A miracle baby indeed!" - Session donated by Brenda De Los Santos Photography

I discovered the Maple Leaf Mission when scrolling through my Facebook news feed and seeing an incredibly touching picture of a newborn infant with an oxygen tube. The photo grabbed my attention and prompted me to read the story behind it. It turns out that a photographer that I had worked with in the past volunteers her talents with the Maple Leaf Mission whose mission is to capture lasting memories through photography of terminally ill or struggling loved ones.

All those who know me know that I love photography and pictures. I am drawn to the story told through images whatever they may be. I treasure my family photographs and I could lose every object in my life with little heartache, but I would be devastated to lose my pictures. They are my window into the past and a way to relive a moment that my mind didn't fully retain.

So the slogan "The Gift of Life In Pictures" really struck me. For families about to lose a loved one, the gift of beautiful memories through photos is priceless. And through the Maple Leaf Mission, these are offered at no cost to these deserving families.

Photographers around the world are encouraged to volunteer their services to nominated families in their area. The Mission does three types of photo sessions: Families in which a member has a terminal illness, families in which a member has a debilitating or life-limiting illness and military reunions.

This organization is based in Edmonton, Alberta so unfortunately will not quality for my company match. However, they provide services to families all over the world. More information about the Maple Leaf Mission can be found here or on Facebook.

Also please check out Brenda De Los Santos Photography

Week 8 - Shenango Valley Foundation

Week 8 is a somber donation in support of some children who have been through a horrific tragedy. In November of 2010, I got a message from an old coworker. I will never forget that message. I have omitted names for the privacy of the family. The message only said "T and his wife are dead." I called to hear the shocked voice of my friend telling me that one of our past co-workers had killed his wife and then himself. I remember the chill that went through me and subsequent shock when turning on the TV and listening to the news.

I don't care to write of the details, as it too sad. The overwhelming urge all of us who knew this person was to send as much love and support to the two little kids left behind as possible. To have both their parents ripped out of their lives in one terrible day is too hard for me to think about. As the mother of similar aged kids, I can't bear that loss to those children. A child's mother will always be their greatest protector in life, their advocate, their lifeline. Fortunately, these children have the support of grandparents, however their lives are forever marred by this senseless act.

This incident made a lot of us think hard about our lives and the people in them. This person was our co-worker and our friend. I remember sitting in his office, amidst piles of papers and notebooks strewn on the floor as he reviewed my data. To this day, I still have emails in my Outlook archive from him. Someone capable of murdering his wife in cold blood is quietly sitting in my inbox like a strange intruder from the past. We wondered whether there would be a funeral? Does a terrible final act define the entirety of a person's life? What do you say at the funeral of such a person? He blotted out the life of the mother of his children and in doing so, defined his entire existence as a murderer. He will not be remembered as a brilliant scientist or father or friend.

This donation will be made the the Shenango Valley Foundation who manages the fund for the children's education. Money seems inadequate in this situation, however these kids have a hard road in front of them and the fewer obstacles on that path, the better.

As some of you will notice, week 8 is late in coming. So stay tuned for week 9 in the next few days!