Kids Can Change the World Playathon

The playathon that I spoke of a while back has been scheduled, and I am trying to have all of the children ready for the big day on Saturday 2/27. This is the letter I sent to the parents of the children:

Dear Parents and Children:
Haiti needs help! “Tents, tents, tents “That’s the word we want to get out. We need tents,” said a relief worker to the New York Times. Estimates of 200,000 tents will be needed to house thousands of Haitians until permanent housing can be built. Tents will be needed before the March rains start and the hurricane season begins in June.

How can you help? Be a part of our Kids Care Help for Haiti PLAYATHON, part of the Kids Care Helping Haiti project. With the funds our club raises, you will provide more than tents for thousands of displaced, disabled and orphaned children. Our club can provide a “pop-up “ house (The small shelter costs $1,250 and the larger one is $2,500.) for children at SOS Children’s Villages in Haiti* . One hundred percent (100%) of the funds our PLAYATHON raises will be donated to SOS Children’s Villages to purchase pop-up houses from Global Village Shelters. Hasbro will match the total amount raised through PLAYATHON for Haiti events in support of SOS Children’s Villages, up to a total of $500.000!!!

Your participation in a PLAYATHON will help children like 12 year-old Arabic Dominique. On the day of the earthquake his mother sent him outside to study, minutes before the house collapsed. Arabic says his mother never made it outside. He says "I was living in the streets until my Aunt saw me and picked me up. Then they brought me here [to an SOS Children’s Village]." He is now in an SOS Children's Village in northern Port au Prince that has been caring for displaced children for 30 years.

Kids Care Clubs across the country have already started to collect funds for Haiti and will start holding PLAYATHON events this month. A PLAYATHON is like a read-a-thon. Children get pledges or a flat donation for the amount of time they play. All checks including donor’s checks should be made payable to SOS Children’s Villages.

*SOS Children's Villages is the world’s largest charity dedicated to orphaned and abandoned children. There are 500 Villages in 132 countries for children without parental care. Currently there are two SOS Children's Villages in Haiti. Children who have been abandoned or orphaned come to SOS Children's Villages where they are integrated into a loving family environment. They are nurtured and supported by an SOS Mother and up to 15 other children in their SOS home who become their SOS brothers and sisters. Strong bonds develop within these "SOS families", and even after the children are grown and leave the village, these family relationships endure. SOS children have the benefit of a stable, loving family environment that includes the necessities of life such as clothing, meals, medical care and a high-quality education. Children remain in their SOS home until they are prepared to create lives for themselves as independent adults. To learn more about SOS Children’s Villages please visit http://www.sos-usa.org.
Kids Can Change the World, a chapter of Kids Care Clubs, is located right here in the North Texas area! We will be holding our Playathon for Haiti on Saturday, February 27th, 2010 from 1:00PM t0 3:00PM at the First Baptist Church of Anna. All children are welcome, and adult and young people volunteers are greatly appreciated! Before the event, you will need to collect pledges or donations for SOS Children’s Villages. Bring all donations to the event when you come on the 27th. I would like our group to at least be able to provide SOS with one of the large pop-up houses. The children should not have to live in tents, especially as the rainy season and hurricane season begins!

As for volunteers, I will be arriving at the church at 12:00PM to set up. Anyone who can help set up the tables & games areas should come at that time. If you would like to provide snacks/drinks, please let me know. I will need volunteers during the event to help the children (especially the younger ones), if they need help with a game, and to organize the children as they move from table to table every 15 minutes. At 3:00PM, I will need help with take down and clean up, so if you can stay after to help put the toys, tables, and chairs back where they were, that would be a HUGE help!

This will be an extremely exciting event, and it should be greatly rewarding for both the children in Haiti and the children here. Our Kids Care Club is part of Youth HandsOn, an organization dedicated to inspiring every young person to realize their power and potential to make a difference through service.

Thank you, and I hope to see you there!