Steve's Colombia Visit 2010~ Henry

These are the pictures of Henry and his brother Esneiver in Cartagena. I am guessing that Henry uses a different community center than the one Diego uses, so that is why my two Colombian boys didn't meet. I can't wait to see the videos, but I was surprised at how quickly Steve got the photos out to everyone! I know he is exhausted from his trip, but he sent these pictures to everyone just shortky after he arrived home!! Thank you, Steve!! I love how you can make the kids smile and laugh!

Steve's Colombia Visit 2010~ Diego

Aren't Steve's child visits fun?! I can't wait to see the videos! These are just 3 of the pictures that were taken when Steve visited Diego in Cartagena. I am sure it was a big day for all of the kids, I know it is for me- Just to see Diego's animated smile makes my day! Thank you Steve!

Steve's Colombia Visit Confirmed!

For those of us who have been a part of the CI google group for a while, we know how exciting it is when Steve makes a trip to one of the community centers. Steve visited my Guatemalan child Yessica over a year ago, and then, he visited with my Mexican child Brayan last year.

Now, he is headed to Colombia! It is a very exciting time for me because the child that I have been sponsoring the longest (Henry) is in Cartagena. He will, also, be visiting Diego who I have sponsored for a year and a half now! Talk about excitement! I purchased a Colombia national soccer jersey for both Diego and Henry. In Diego's package, I included a "Daddy Yankee" CD, since he is his favorite singer/rapper of all time. In Henry's package I included the mini lite brite shown above.

I can't wait to see the videos that Steve comes back with!!! I have never seen these children in motion before :o) Thank you, Steve, for allowing all of us to enjoy the experience with you and get to know our children better!

"Our field staff in Cartagena have informed me that they have made arrangements for you to meet with the following children:

Diego sponsor: Heather

Henry sponsor: Heather
Sonia sponsor: Shana
Yiseth sponsor: Shana
Isaura sponsor: Chenelle

In Barranquilla, Our field staff have asked the following children to come to Yulianis' community center to meet with you:

Jhojaris sponsor: Lisa
Brayan sponsor: Lisa
Daniela sponsor: Chenelle
Yuselfi sponsor: Inga
Keyner sponsor: Eliana"

Package Delivered by Steve for Holly's Child Maria

Post by Holly:

I sent a gift bag to Steve to give to Maria when he visited the Philippines. Maria wasn't able to make it, so he left it at her community center. I just got the photos in the mail.

Steve visits with Juan in Mexico

Before his trip to the Philippines, Steve met with a lot of our children in Mexico. Juan was one of those children. This is what Juan wrote regarding Steve's visit:

"Dear Alice,
I really liked the things you sent me with your friend Steve Hogan. I loved the visit, he's a very nice person.
I liked the pictures because I was able to see you and your children. I am doing well in school. My sister is 5 years old and the baby is 6 months old.
I send you hugs and kisses.
Sincerely, Juan"

And, Juan even wrote a letter directly to Steve! This is what it said:

"Dear Mr. Steve Hogan,
I'm writing you very thankful for the visit and the courtesy you had for me and my family and for giving me news about my spnsor and her gifts. Your visit was very nice because we realized that the sponsors really come and visit us. We hope you can thank my sponsor for me for the gifts you brought me. That we send her kisses and hugs. We hope you can visit us again soon. I send you a warm hug. Sincerely, Juan"

Steve visits with Pearl in the Philippines

Barbara wrote:
"Steve just sent me these photos taken in Quezon City with Pearl and her mother, Joan. As Steve says that are not of the best quality as were taken from his cam-corder but they do give an idea of Pearl and Joan's experience of meeting with Steve during his Philippines trip. These photos show the pleasure that Steve brings to other sponsor's children as well as his own.

She is wearing an outfit that I sent to her earlier. The contents of this small package were as follows:-

High School Musical body pack. with writing paper, 4 pencils, heart eraser, and red pencil sharpener.
Pink Princess purse - with 2 sets of hair clips.
White Winter Olympics 2010 T-shirt
2 necklaces and 2 pairs of ear-rings.
1 brown necklace for Joan.
1 leather head band from Guatemala with hearts.
Bobbie dress up stickers.
Mini album with 21 photos and 2 postcards."

And the winner for Day 11 is...

Sara Senser! She won the $25 Mastercard Gift Card!

I know this picture of Araceli is not the best one, but it shows how desperate the families needs are. I am so glad we are able to help her and her family! Thank you, everyone, who helped put money toward her fundraiser. Although the raffle is over, the fundraiser is still open for donations.

Robyn did the raffle drawing for this one since Steve is visiting with the big guys in KC. So, this is how Sara won:

Hi Heather! I used the True Random Number Generator from RANDOM.org, setting the Min at 1 and Max at 25. Sara won since I had set her as #1... I did it many more times just for fun, and Sara would have won again if there was a 2nd prize- this time with the number 4. It was meant to be!! LOL.
Congratulations Sara!! Winning with TICKET #1!

1 - Sara
2 - Sara
3 - Sara
4 - Sara
5 - Sara
6 - Su
7 - Su
8 - Su
9 - Su
10 - Su
11 - Mack
12 - Mack
13 - Mack
14 - Mack
15 - Mack
16 - Heather
17 - Heather
18 - Heather
19 - Heather
20 - Heather
21 - Heather
22 - Heather
23 - Heather
24 - Heather
25 - Heather

On the 11th Day of Christmas...

my sponsor gave to me...

11 wall sheets!!

Today's raffle is to complete Araceli's home.

The gift being raffled off is a $25 Mastercard giftcard.

To make a donation ($1 = 1 raffle ticket) go to this fundraising link

Heads Up!

Don't get discouraged! I know the raffles started off slow, then they hit a high point, and now are back to being slow... But, do not get discouraged. Remember what we have already accomplished in the span of just 10 days!!

Maila's fundraiser received all of the funds her family needed to purchase the furniture, including a table where she can do her homework! (I can't wait to see those pictures!!)

Jonathan's fundraiser received all of the funds his grandmother needs to get her business started. I have yet to see his grandmother smile, so I am hoping these pictures will include her with a big grin on her face!

Gema's fundraiser is really close to completion now. Only a little over $100 to go!!

Araceli's house fundraiser is almost halfway completed, and Mwanza's house fund came closer than it has ever been to looking like the just might get a home! Two homes for Christmas would be terrific!!!

I know everyone is feeling a little tapped out right now. Maybe next year's raffles, since we know they are coming up, will be more enjoyable. (where we can enjoy them all the way to the end).

Now, that being said, tomorrow is Friday, so I'm hoping it will bring more funds to the projects for pay day~ There are only 2 days of Christmas left!

Now, for those of you who thought the fundraisers and raffles weren't doing very much or were not so successful, here is the 10 day update:

The 12 days of Christmas raffle-thon at the 10 day mark has brought in a total of $2,282!! That is $228.20 per day!!! Are you kidding me?!?!?! Talk about awesome!

Here is the actual break down day by day of the 10 raffles so far:

Day 1= $19
Day 2= $40
Day 3= $411
Day 4= $64
Day 5= $113
Day 6= $28
Day 7= $1170
Day 8= $75
Day 9= $317
Day 10= $15

10 day total: $2,282

Ok, I know I always say this, but what more can I say: Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!!

And the winners for Day 7 are...

Sterling & Valentino Schilling! Also, the big donators Chrystal Torres and John P. will be receiving gift cards as well!! Close to the end of the raffle, Steve sent out a challenge and offered a $25 gift card to any one who donated $50 or above. To up the ante even more, he offered a match of $5 to every $1 people donated!! This means that Steve has provided $75 in gift cards for this raffle and $975 in dontaions for Araceli's house!! They will no longer have to use the toilet in the open!

That makes Araceli's fundraiser just about halfway to completion! It has brought our yearly total paid to these fundraisers to now over $8,000!!! Wow! That is more than I made in income this year (shhhhh...) Thank you everyone for your dedication to these fundraisers and your support of other sponsors.

Araceli has one more day of Christmas coming up, so we should be able to make a good dent in this fundraiser.

Tamara & John, please send me your addresses, or you can e-mail them to Steve. Thanks!

On the 7th Day of Christmas...

my sponsor gave to me...

7 interior wall sheets!

Welcome to Day 7 of the raffle-thon! Today's raffle is for Araceli and her family who are in desperate need of a more stable structure to live in.

The same rules apply $1 = 1 raffle ticket

The raffle is for a $25 Mastercard gift card.

The raffle will end at 9PM CST

To enter the raffle, just make a donation here

On the 3rd Day of Christmas...

December 3rd: On the third day of Christmas, my sponsor gave to me...

3 pieces of furniture!

Today's raffle will help provide Maila's family with some much needed items, such as a dining table, clothes cabinet, study table, clothes & shoes.

Steve has provided a $25 Mastergard gift card for this raffle. So here goes the Mastercard commercial:

Steve offering a gift card to the winner- $25 dollars

People making donations to win the gift card- $1 dollar

Completing the fundraiser- $411 dollar

Pictures of Maila and her family with big smiles after getting the new items- PRICELESS!

To enter the raffle, just make a donation to Maila's Fundraiser. The winner will be drawn at 10PM PST, 12PM CST! Stay tuned!

12 Days of Christmas Raffle-thon

Don't forget to mark your calendars for Tuesday Dec 1. That is when the first raffle will launch!! This will be very exciting, and I hope everyone has fun. I don't want to spoil the surprise by telling you what is coming up because that wouldn't be any fun... I can tell you that Steve, Su, and myself have each put together 3 gifts (for a total of 9), and I am waiting to hear from the 4th person. All proceeds from the raffles will go to Children International, and help some of the needy children we have current fundraisers for.

Make sure to put us out there on Facebook, Twitter, and any forums or other online groups you may use. The more $1 donations we get, the more children we can help! Let's make this Christmas a fun one for our sponsor kids & their families!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Do any of you know the story of the first Thanksgiving? The story starts with the pilgrims who came to America from England to flee religious persecution. They arrived in 1620. There were originally a little over 100 puritans to arrive at Plymouth Rock in December of 1620. These pilgrims arrived on foreign soil, and were unsure how they were going to get food, shelter, and the other things that they had taken for granted in England.

Luckily for them, they came across some natives who were already surviving off of the land. The natives taught them how to farm the land. Unfortunately for close to 50 of the pilgrims, the food did not come soon enough. 46 pilgrims perished before the fall of 1621 (less than 9 months after arriving in the US)!

When the crops came up that autumn, there was so much to eat. The pilgrims decided they wanted to share their food with the natives that taught them how to plant it. They invited about 90 natives to their 3 day harvest feast.

It's interesting to note that these two groups of people gathered together. First of all, the pilgrims were invading the land that was already being used by the natives. Secondly, they couldn't speak each other's language, so they had to come up with a different way of communicating. Thirdly, their customs were so different one from another that there was bound to be a miscommunication for which they would have had to excuse their differences and know that the other person meant no disrespect.

All over the world now, people of different cultures are coming together in more ways than ever. The computer has brought endless opportunities of reaching out to others across the oceans. Cameras take pictures that give a person a chance to see what you look like without ever meeting you face to face. Letters are sent and received, and it is almost like being face to face with that person talking to them.

Imagine what a change we can make with all of the technology we have available to us! The natives had to face the pilgrims (and maybe walk quite a while to reach their camp) to teach the how to plant seeds. We can send a wire of money to buy seeds for someone any where in the world! It is just like the income-generating projects we do. Instead of handing the person money to buy a bed or food for a month, we hand them money to start a business. In turn, this business provides them with month after month of food and other necessities!

This reminds me of an ancient Chinese proverb that came from Lao Tzu. You have probably heard it before. It goes like this: "Give a Man a Fish, Feed Him For a Day. Teach a Man to Fish, Feed Him For a Lifetime" This is exactly what we are doing with the Income-Generating Projects (IGP's) we are funding. The parents who have already received their gifts to start their own businesses are no doubt feeling the sense of accomplishment that comes from providing for themselves and their families!

What a feast we have given our children! In 7 months, our group has raised $6,236.70 for children and their families living in poverty! That is about $11,000 a year!

I am very grateful for the support of our donors, and that we can all share the joys of sponsorship together. (If you are still reading this post all the way to the end of my jabber, I have a surprise for you especially)

Starting December 1st, we are having a 12 Days of Christmas Goody Give-away! This is how it will go:

*On November 30th, I will make a post giving you an idea of some of the prizes that are scheduled to be given away.

*Then, on December 1st, you will see the first item that will be raffled off. All of the items will be nice, gift-giving or gift-receiving quality, so you can use them to fill in some of the holes in your Christmas gift-giving list.

*To participate in each raffle, you will donate to whichever fundraiser is being showcased at the time. For every $1 you give, you will get 1 raffle ticket. The drawing for each prize will happen the very next day (after all donations have been tallied).

*On December 2nd, you will see who the winner of the first prize was, and you will see what day 2's prize is that is being raffled. (The winner of day 1's prize will get their prize shipped to them immediately, and all gifts should make it in time for Christmas.)

So, save your coins or dollars because this should be fun!

A Rainbow of Colors

I have some more GREAT jewelry for anyone who would like to help complete Jonathan's Fundraiser & help out Steve! Jonathan's fundraiser only needs $150, and Steve's fundraiser could use $150+.

I just finished making some bracelets for Steve, and the above bracelets were two of them. Each bracelet is unique, but they all have two things in common- They have all 6 rainbow colors and sterling silver spacers in between. These type bracelets, also, look great with sterling silver & one or two solid colors alternating. For example, you might choose the 3 colors in the child's country's flag.

To help Steve further & finish out Jonathan's fundraiser, here is how you can get some of these bracelets:

1 bracelet= $3 ($1.50 to Maila & $1.50 to Jonathan)
2 bracelets= $5 ($2.50 to Maila & $2.50 to Jonathan)
5 bracelets= $10 ($5 to Maila & $5 to Jonathan)
20 bracelets= $35 ($17.50 to Maila & $17.50 to Jonathan)

These prices include shipping to anywhere in the US! To order, you just need to make a payment (half of the payment should be donated to Jonathan's fundraiser & the other half to Maila's fundraiser) After you make both payments, send me an e-mail with your address and how many bracelets you would like to order. I, also, need to know the sizes you want:

small- fits age 3 to 10
medium- fits age 11 to 15
large- fits 16 to adult

These will make great Christmas gifts, stocking stuffers, and EVEN fit in to a letter to your sponsor child!!

http://www.firstgiving.com/igp4jonathan

http://www.firstgiving.com/householditems4maila

Fundraiser #17 Paying Steve Back

I was holding this fundraising page to the side to let these other 3 fundraisers complete first. However, there has been an overwhelming "pay it back" response to all of Steve's generosity, so I decided to go ahead and give you the link. This is Steve's fundraiser. I know there are A LOT of you who would like to repay Steve, so I will be working on another page for him as well. We can start with this fundraiser, and in the meantime, I will set one up for Areceli (for which Steve will match every donation dollar for dollar!!!)

Let's see how fast we can get this one funded!!! Based on Steve's generosity, I would say, we can have this fundraiser completed by the end of the day today!!!

By the way, instead of going over the goal of this fundraiser, please hold your funds once this fundraiser is completed. I will have another fundraiser up for Areceli's home tonight, and the excess funds can go to that.

Let's show Steve how much his selfless dedication and kindness mean to us!

http://www.firstgiving.com/householditems4maila

An Ever-Giving Steve

Steve with Mario and his mother

Barbara wrote:

We all know how generous Steve Hogan is with his time and effort in providing photos and videos of some of our sponsored children during his trips to visits his sponsored children. Sometime even to the detriment of having less time with his own sponsored children. This is yet another example of his kindness in caring for less fortunate children. Some sponsors may remember Steve delivering a world globe to Mario my sponsored child during his visit to Chile at the end of June. At the same time I had asked CI to check into the possibility of starting an IGP for Mario's mother. The information was finally received but the news was devastating. Mario's mother had been forced to flee domestic violence taking with her Mario and his older sister. . Fortunately, they found temporary shelter of one room and cooking facilities in a church facility in exchange for Mario's mother keeping the church clean and other small duties. The children were given two meals a day at school and the church provided food at weekends.

The IGP was out of the question due to the new situation of the family; and CI's Chilean staff had sent an urgent Special needs list instead.. The only things that they had been able to bring with them were the gifts and Special Needs gifts that I had sent Mario over the years. Luckily, I had provided them with bunk beds a year earlier but had only been able to afford one mattress. So, Mario was sleeping on that one and a church member had lent them another mattress for his mother and sister to sleep on temporarily. Their clothes and other belongings were in boxes on the floor. They desperately needed another mattress since the owner wanted their's back plus somewhere to store their clothes and possesions.

Their situation prompted a generous anonymous sponsor to provide a large sum but there was still an amount left that I just could not afford. In a panic, and needing something to talk to, I sent an e-mail to the only other sponsor who had met Mario, our Steve, and explained his new, sad situation. Without any hesitation Steve immediately offered to contribute the balance required to provide the necessary items to the family. Needless to say I was very touched by Steve's concern and generousity to a child who was sponsored by somebody else.

This week Steve received the above shown thank you from Mario and the photos of their new acquisitions. Not wanting to open the floodgates of other sponsors asking Steve's help for their own children's sad situations but wanting to let others know of his extraordinary kindness I kept this all to myself. However, Steve gave his permission to tell his story in the hope that other sponsors might use the example to help others in a similar situation. So, once again, Steve, many thanks for your generous spirit and caring nature. As my mother used to say when not able to thank somebody in the present 'your reward will come in heaven!!"

The list of gifts provided to child and family

1 mattress
1 closet
1 chest of drawers
6 underwear
1 personal hygiene items
1 cereal and milk

The family's comments when the gifts were delivered

'They were very happy and thankful for the sponsor's donation and constant help.'

How will the gifts benefit the child and/or family?

'The donation means a great help for Mario and his family, because the chest of drawers and the closet will help the family store all the clothing, and the mattress has come in very good time, because the one they were using was only lent, and the owner had told the mother that they needed it back.'

Paola's Package is on it's way to Steve!!

For those who have been waiting to see what would be sent with Steve to give to Paola on his visit next week... This is what I have put into a flat rate box that is being shipped to him tomorrow:

*1 Biligual English/Spanish Children's Laptop

*1 Bag of Lollipops, per Barbara's request- to be handed out at Halloween

*1 Bag of Jax

*1 Chalkboard with chalk & eraser

*1 Water-color Paint Set

*2 Velvet Disney Princess Pictures with Markers for Paola & Tomasa

*1 Tinkerbell Mini-lunch Pail

*4 Old Navy Shirts to be shared between Paola & Tomasa

*1 Cuddly White Lamb (yeah, I know, it will be brown in less than a day)

*1 Magnetic Play Circus Scene

Sorry, Barbara, I did not get a chance to throw in a costume for the baby (Long, depressing story that I don't want to get in to)

So, there ya go. It is headed to Steve. I am sure we will have some great pics & videos to add to this blog shortly!!! Thank you, Steve!!!

So close!

http://www.firstgiving.com/igp4nsenzeni

I hope everyone can help with this fundraiser. It only needs $200 more, which is the amount of our small fundraisers that we originally started with. I know these large fundraisers are hard to fund, and most of us are short on cash. Soon we will be back to the lower amounts, and these will move more quickly. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

1. Every dollar counts, so if you can donate $1 or $3 or whatever, it all adds up!!

2. Once this one funds, we will go on to the next fundraiser!!

3. Here is the list of fundraisers coming up soon after this one... Make sure that you have put in your 25% by the time it is time to launch your fundraiser, so that it doesn't get delayed!:

Next in line~ Crystal & Gema (Su)

2nd in line~ Maila (Steve)

3rd in line~ Adriana (Candace)

4th in line~ Yamileisy (Dee)

These other sponsors, bless their hearts, have been given the short end of the stick!! Jennifer and Robyn have both been pushed out to later fundraisers because of problems getting the reply back from the field. Jennifer got a reply from the field, but instead of giving us a fundraiser of $500 or less, they requested $2,500!! Because Robyn's was being delayed, we sent another request out for a different child of hers, that way at least one will come back in time! I hope that by the time Dee's is getting ready to finish, they will have their responses that they need!