Nisha's Fundraiser is Compete!!

Thank you to all who helped get this fundraiser funded!!! Nisha and her brother will now get the tutoring they need!! What a great gift to give some one- an education!!!

iGive Check #2 Has Arrived!!

Our second iGive check has arrived!! It is very exciting because this one allowed for $37.58 to be disbursed into both current fundraisers we have going on. If you are not already signed up with iGive, make sure to get signed up and put Make a Change as the beneficiary! It makes funding these fundraisers go smoother for sure! I, also, put in my personal contribution as did John, so both fundraisers are looking better! Nisha needs less than $68!! Her link is here http://www.firstgiving.com/tutoringfor3siblings
And Maria needs a little under $300. Her link is here:
http://www.firstgiving.com/igpformaria

Thanks for all you do!!

Nisha's Fundraiser

Nisha's fundraiser is going well, and e only need $150 more to complete it! Yay!! This fundraiser will pay for tutoring so that the children can excel in school. If you would like to help this great cause, you can donate via this link: http://www.firstgiving.com/tutoringfor3siblings . Thank you in advance!!

Gift Distribution Table for Child Hope Zambia Children

If you haven't check out the Child Hope Zambia Blog, you need to check it out! This sponsorship program is revolutionary because we get to request how we would like things done! As you can see by looking at the photo above, these children need uniforms, shoes, hygiene kits, school bags, etc. With sponsorship, they will get just what they need!

For the Primary age students (grade levels 1-7), I want to show you the gift distribution schedule. This way you know when your sponsor child will get each thing they need. They will, also, get a picture of the child with each gift distribution! Here is the schedule for these children (this is for those sponsors that choose to pay monthly, the gifts are distributed as there is enough money raised to purchase them. This explains why the first month they will not get anything):

Month 1: nothing bought for child
Month 2: uniform bought and given to child
Month 3: nothing bought for the child
Month 4: hygiene kit bought and given to child
Month 5: nothing bought for the child
Month 6: school bag, exercise books, pencil, eraser, ruler
Month 7: nothing bought for the child
Month 8: school fees paid
Month 9: nothing bought for child
Month 10: nothing bought for child
Month 11: nothing bought for child
Month 12: shoes and socks bought for child

There is a balance carried over each month to cover the purchase of medication for malaria, worms, and other ailments.

A Letter from Brayan in Mexico

I received this letter from Brayan. I asked him if his younger brother Brandon was in school with him because I paid for their tuition back in September. It must have been a mistype because Brayan says his brother does not go to school yet. The money must have just been used for Brayan's tuition. You may remember he even got a mountain of school supplies to go with it.

I, also, asked him what city he lived in. That is because I have been to Guadalajara on many occasions, especially when I was living in the neighboring state of Colima. Guadalajara was only 3 1/2 hours away by bus. It turns out he lives in Zapopan. I have been there and seen the Cathedral several times. Their cathedral is hard to explain with words. Just imagine a place that is so done up that you feel like you are in a palace. It is AWESOME! For anyone heading o Mexico, you have got to check it out.

I hope I can go someday soon. Things are a lot harder to do when you have children! Before I was married & before I had children, I would go back and forth to Mexico with hardly a thought about it. I especially want to go now to see Brayan's mother's new business & home.

Tuition Assistance for Brayan & Brandon

I need to preface this post by telling you how I found out that Brayan needed tuition assistance. I had requested a special needs donation break down for Brayan back in June or July because I was concerned. The father had abandoned the family, and left them with no way to provide for the bills, food, etc. The mother is a house wife, and would have to transition to the working world to provide for her boys on her own. Their income was listed as $95 back in March. I am not sure where that figure came from, but their family would be linked income wise with Paola & Tomasa's family. $95 is EXTREMELY low for a family in Mexico!

A little more than two months after my request, I heard back from CI with a break down of their needs. This is a summary of what they told me:

The mother is not working, she is a housewife. She mentioned that she'd like to start a business selling clothes like: underwear, socks, pants, t-shirts, blouses and some imitation jewelry, since she said she used to sell them before and she has some experience.

She said she would sell these articles in her home, she'd put some signs to advertise these articles and inform neighbors and people that she sells clothes. She also would sell them door by door or in little street markets.

What she needs is as follows:

A little cart to transport the clothes and an inventory of items (underwear, t-shirts, socks, pants,

blouses and imitation jewelry ) $468.00 USD

She also expressed that her main needs at this time is to pay for the tuition of her children

(August 24th, 2009 when classes start).

Tuition for both children: $ 32.00 USD

One of the crazy things about this is that I received this breakdown on September 10th, 2009, 18 days after school was supposed to start!! Plus, all of us sponsors know that the money doesn't get to the family instantaneously! It may have been a full month after school started before they received the tuition assistance.

Now, here is the story: When I got the breakdown that included the tuition needs, and saw that it was past due, I had to act fast. I scraped together $32 & called CI to make sure they would be in school ASAP.
Here is the thank you letter I received with these pictures:

Dear Mrs. McLaughlin,
Thank you for the donation you sent me to pay my tuition and with what was left we bought: pencils, erasers, colors, pencil sharpeners, glue, and a box to put the supplies in. In school I am doing well and my teacher wants me to play Christopher Columbus or a sailor. I'm learning math, reading, addition, subtraction, running and playing soccer. Thank you for the help you give me. I send you hugs and kisses and for the girls Jaden and Morgan.
Brayan

Special Needs Donation for Brayan & Brandon

After much delay (and an extension request from the field), I finally received Brayan's special needs request yesterday! This is what I received:

We visited Brayan's home and talked with the mother.

The mother is not working, she is a housewife. She mentioned that she'd like to start a business selling clothes like: underwear, socks, pants, t-shirts, blouses and some imitation jewelry, since she said she used to sell them before and she has some experience.

She said she would sell these articles in her home, she'd put some signs to advertise these articles and inform neighbors and people that she sells clothes. She also would sell them door by door or in little street markets.

What she needs is as follows:

A little cart to transport the clothes and Items (underwear, t-shirts, socks, pants,
blouses and imitation jewelry ) 468.00 USD
She also expressed that her main needs at this time is to pay for the tuition of her children
(August 24th, 2009 when classes start).
Tuition for both children: $ 32.00 USD

***So, you may have noticed that she needs money for the tuition for Brayan and his 3 year old brother Brandon to start school on August 24th! Of course, I received the request on September 10th!

At any rate, I called CI this morning & gave them the $32, so that the boys can be in school. The IGP request will have to wait it's turn in the fundraising line, but at least they will have their most urgent request taken care of.

I have some more great pics of Brayan and his family, but I need to get them scanned. I will try to get to that soon (probably use Mack's idea and go to FedEx Office). They are great pictures that I got because Mack purchased some items for Brayan's family when she was in Mexico, and she left them at the center for him to pick up. The letter & pics are great, so I will work on getting the pictures scanned... Do you know what is stopping me from scanning them right away? Mack said she thinks it is a $5 flat fee to scan photos onto a CD, so I was waiting and hoping I would get more pictures in the mail and I could put them all on the same CD (I am waiting on several photos of 6 different children from the packages I sent over 2 months ago).