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måndag 9 februari Ett Nyårskort i snigelpostenHEJ ALLA! Det kom ett tack- och nyårskort från HTS som var så vackert!! Klicka på bilden för att se den större!
In search of beautiful sights I forget the cold -Yang Wanli (Song Dynasty)
Wishing you and those you love peace and prosperity in the New Year!
On behalf of the folks at Half the Sky Foundation and the children in China whom we serve
Publicerad i kategori Tackbrev
måndag 9 februari Big News from Half the Sky!
Dear Half the Sky Community,
Here's a special Chinese New Year greeting from all of us at Half the Sky--with warmest wishes from our staff, board, volunteers and, most especially, on behalf of all the children you have helped this past year.
Our greeting comes a little later than usual this year because I wanted to be absolutely certain that the news I'm about to share is really true. It is!
Perhaps even more than in the west, the Chinese Lunar New Year is a time to sweep away the troubles of the past and welcome a time of fresh beginnings. In even the poorest families, debts are paid, homes are scrubbed top to bottom and filled with flowers, fruit and candies. Children too - scrubbed clean and adorned in bright new clothes.
We can't quite sweep away the old year's troubles these days, but we at Half the Sky can look to the New Year of the Ox with hope and - I'm, at last, happy to tell you - some certainty that this will be a year filled with bright promise. Here's our good news..
Our board of directors has just approved an alliance with an organization whose work with orphaned children perfectly complements that of Half the Sky. The organization is the China Care Foundation. To tell you why we've decided to partner with another nonprofit at a moment when we - like so many others-are working hard to pare away and streamline our operations through challenging times, I have to tell you a little of the China Care story.
It is a story about a remarkable, 11-year-old boy who spent a year in China, learned the language, and like me and so many others in Half the Sky's global community, loved the country, and was moved by the plight of her most vulnerable children. Five years later, at 16, the boy returned to China with a determination to help the orphans. That is how China Care, a Connecticut-based nonprofit founded by young Matt Dalio, came to be.
There is an extraordinary synergy between Half the Sky's and China Care's philosophies and missions. Where Half the Sky offers education and nurture, China Care offers specialized medical care and nurture.
China Care provides medical care with as much concern for the emotional health of the children as for their physical well-being. China Care's staff spends 24 hours a day with its tiny patients who are enduring life-threatening medical procedures, calming their fears, wiping their tears, and rejoicing when they coax those first, tentative smiles from babies who are not only healing but know that someone cares.
In the decade Half the Sky has been providing nurturing care in government orphanages, I have seen too many small children who desperately need medical care that is simply not available locally. It is heartbreaking to not be able to help. Now, working with China Care, we can!
When Matt founded China Care eight years ago, he did so in order to rescue orphans from what seemed to be an impossibly broken welfare system. At Half the Sky, we've always believed that what's broken can and must be fixed. In partnership with the Chinese government, Half the Sky has made giant strides in bettering the conditions inside welfare institutions. China Care has witnessed the changes and, with us, sees the possibilities.
Now, by taking on China Care's high quality medical care program as our own fifth program - The China Care Program at Half the Sky - we, in partnership with China Care and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, will finally be able to offer orphaned children a comprehensive, personalized plan for the brightest possible future.
Yet, though our hearts and our missions intersect so closely, even that would not have been enough for us to enter into a partnership and new venture in these difficult times. Our due diligence taught us that
- China Care shares our frugal approach to maximizing the impact of every donation and, like Half the Sky, has a loyal and generous group of donors. - China Care is blessed with a board of directors that underwrites its operational costs so that every dollar donated goes directly to support its programs. - The China Care Foundation is fully committed to support The China Care Program at Half the Sky. It will operate no other program in China.
As we enter into this strategic partnership together, we can help to ensure our combined futures, make more effective use of our resources, and, most important - reach more children who need help. And some of you may already know that there is another happy side to the China Care story. When Matt Dalio went to Harvard, he started a youth empowerment movement that is spreading across dozens of college and high school campuses in North America and soon, beyond: China Care Clubs. This terrific network of young people - who not only raise funds for orphan support but also mentor adopted Chinese teens and run playgroups and celebrate Chinese culture with the youngest adoptees - will now also become a part of our family.
It's truly a great fit in every way.
You can learn more about China Care at www.chinacare.org. You can learn more about The China Care Program at Half the Sky at www.halfthesky.org/TCCP. Please feel free to ask any and all questions. We'll do our very best to keep you informed as our new 5th program gets ready to launch. For now I just wanted to share our happy news with you, our most valued partners. Half the Sky is your organization. Your concern for the children makes even this exciting opportunity possible, for without you, Half the Sky would not exist.
In the last decade, we have welcomed so many different sorts of people into Half the Sky's global family - adoptive parents who know that the waiting children in China are their children's brothers and sisters, people like Matt who have a special love for China's orphans, those whose birthplace and/or heritage is China, and generous corporations and foundations that strive to make the world a better place. Each addition has made our community stronger and better.
Now, as we welcome China Care's family into ours, our hopes for the future are brighter and better than ever.
From all of us at Half the Sky. Happy Year of the Ox!
With love and gratitude, Jenny Bowen
Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.
Want to receive our free Half the Sky newsletter, full of stories and photos, via regular mail? Just go to our website www.halfthesky.org and click on "Join our Mailing List."
Publicerad i kategori Nyhetsbrev
lördag 24 januari You are the BEST!
A while ago I wrote to you and shared that, like so many nonprofit organizations, Half the Sky was more than a little bit worried, during this uncertain economy, about what might happen to the children who depend on its programs. No matter what, we knew we must somehow meet our promise to keep those programs going.
Publicerad i kategori Nyhetsbrev
lördag 24 januari Before the clock strikes 12
Dear Friends,
As we turn the page on 2008, it's impossible not to reflect back on all we'd envisioned just a year ago. This was our tenth anniversary year, the Olympic year, the year of the launch of the Blue Sky Plan - the government promise offering Half the Sky an open door to change orphan care in all of China forever. It hasn't turned out quite like that. We've seen storms and earthquakes. We've seen a financial crisis that rocked the world. I am so proud of what we have accomplished together during this chaotic year. We brought the loving care of HTS nannies, teachers and foster parents to children living in 41 welfare institutions. We created four new HTS Blue Sky Model Children's Centers. We trained orphanage staff across an entire province so that they can begin to offer HTS-style programs of nurturing care and education on their own. We brought relief to 98 orphanages battered by the spring storms. We brought relief to the quake-orphaned and displaced children of Sichuan. We set up six "Big Tops" - children's centers housed in giant tents in refugee camps near the epicenter - places where children can learn to smile again, nurtured by teachers receiving ongoing training to help traumatized children begin to heal.
It is, of course, your love and support that has made every bit of this possible.
When I last wrote, I told you why we can't stop now. Without our determination to help the children during even the hardest days, they will surely not be heard. When the whole world is hurting, these most vulnerable children will simply be forgotten. Many, many of you have listened and you generously responded. Hundreds of you honored your loved ones through donations. Over 200 of you answered our wish for child sponsors for the more than 2,000 who need them.
But there's still lots to do. And there's still time! If you haven't yet made your year-end gift to help the children, you'll be glad to know it's not too late. To qualify for tax deduction in the US or Canada, donations paid by check must be postmarked by December 31. Or you can call our US office 1(510)525-3377. Or simply click here http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/StoreFront Every little bit will help during these most critical days. The storms have passed; the quake area begins to rebuild, but the legacy of 2008 lasts as we enter the new year.
From all of us at Half the Sky - the nannies, the teachers, the field and office staff, the volunteers, and, especially the 5,000 children whom we serve - in Anhui, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Sha'anxi, Shandong, Sichuan, Tianjin - and soon we hope, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Xinjiang - We hope this New Year's Eve and Day finds you safe, warm, at peace, with a heart full of hope, and surrounded by the ones you love. Happy New Year!
With love and gratitude, Jenny Bowen
Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.
Publicerad i kategori Nyhetsbrev
fredag 19 december Julbrev från HTS (2008)
Hello -
If you've already received our year-end letter, you may wish to ignore this one. I hope you won't. It has never been so important to reach out to every single person who might care what happens to children who've lost their families. During tough times, it's easy to forget.
There are stories I could tell you - of storms, earthquakes and more - about why this year has been particularly tough for Half the Sky. There are things I could say about why we are afraid for the future of our programs as we watch the world struggle with economic woes. But you already know.
I want to tell you, instead, about some truly great things that have happened this year. I want to tell you why - no matter how difficult the times - we can't stop now.
If you're an old friend of Half the Sky, you might remember sad-faced little BaoBao. Back in 2004, when Half the Sky first brought its programs to Xinyang, her orphanage, I wrote,
"I place on my lap one little girl of about 3 who has mysteriously lost both of her feet. Both of them cut off. No one seems to know why. She allows me to hold her close. Not tense or fearful-just unaccustomed to this sort of intimacy. She gazes at me with a sort of foggy curiosity. I whisper that things are going to get better for her. I promise."
And so they did. After we arranged for BaoBao to be fitted with prosthetic feet, she thrived in our Little Sisters Preschool. She made friends and played dress-up and painted pictures. Along with her colors and numbers and songs, BaoBao learned that she is important and that she is loved. This fall, BaoBao received the best gift of all - a family of her very own. BaoBao doesn't need Half the Sky any more.
But just last week, in an orphanage in southern China, I met a child I'll call DanLu. DanLu is only 2 years-old. She was riding with her father when they were in a motorcycle accident. It took several days for DanLu's parents to bring her for medical care. When they finally did, her leg had to be amputated. Last month, her parents abandoned her at the hospital. Like BaoBao, DanLu needs a second chance at life. Half the Sky can give her that.
In the spring of 2005, Half the Sky was putting the finishing touches on a new preschool and infant nurture center in Haikou. Our trainings for new teachers and nannies was just wrapping up. The children were already beginning to respond to this new and exciting attention. Then someone mentioned that there were a few more little ones we hadn't seen. Children not well enough to participate. All children can participate, we told the director. We were taken to a room not yet seen. Six small children languished in their cribs. One of them was a child I'll call XiaoWan.
Three special nannies volunteered to work with the six who'd been left behind. They were devoted to their charges, refusing to let special needs stand in the way. Today, all six are in the Little Sisters Program at Haikou. And that HTS miracle has happened yet again. Little XiaoWan will soon have a family of her own! Soon she won't need Half the Sky.
But what about FuTing of Ningxia...a girl whose body is locked in a wheelchair but who dreams of learning? At 15, her time to get an education, to start a life, is running out.
What will happen to JiaLi.a tiny child with a severe heart defect who has just arrived at an orphanage in Inner Mongolia? When that heart is healing, who will hold her?
I know that, for many of us, this is a difficult time. We've received regretful phone calls and emails from some of you who have to cancel child sponsorships and other monthly donation commitments. We've seen two corporate sponsors fall away. We've already pared our plans for the coming year down to the bare minimum to keep our programs alive. But we must keep going.
Yes, times are hard for all of us right now. But, no matter how tough things are at your house or mine, they're tougher for DanLu, FuTing and JiaLi. We can't stop now. We must continue this work that so profoundly changes young lives. We must not close our doors on any child.
But why - you may wonder - do we have to take on so much when China seems to have so much? I can't speak for China, of course.. But I have seen with my own eyes that children who are abandoned, who have lost a mom and dad who will fight for them - are simply the first to be hurt when times are hard and the last to benefit when times are good. It isn't fair; but it is so.
In this, our tenth year, when Half the Sky finally has the opportunity for which we all have worked so hard - the chance to impact the life of every single orphaned child in China - we have also been confronted with our greatest challenges.
But you have always been there when we needed you most.
Now we need you more than ever. Now, when some of our donors can no longer manage even a small donation, won't you do the best you can to help Half the Sky keep its life-changing programs alive?
Please. We have 4,600 children in our programs right now. Less than half of them have a sponsor. Next year, we hope to add 600 more children. We just can't do it without your help.
This year we failed to meet our goals in one fund drive and had to cancel another because of disaster. But we can't stop trying to reach every child who needs to know what love feels like. Because we CAN do this, we must try.
If you are a child sponsor, please renew your sponsorship this year. If you've considered sponsoring a child, now's the time! 2,700 children need your help right now!
How about a Big Sisters sponsorship to help give older kids a chance?
Or, if you can manage, give our children wings by becoming a HTS Guardian or HTS Angel. If you can't do it alone, how about asking friends or family to join together?
This year, your gift of any size will mean more than ever. You can count on that. Now is the moment - please do what you can do for the many beautiful children who do not know that they matter in this world. Help them know the gift of loving care. With your help, we can make thousands of miracles happen. It's in your hands.
With special thanks in these hard times,
Jenny Bowen
Jenny Bowen Executive Director Half the Sky Foundation www.halfthesky.org
Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.
Want to receive our free Half the Sky newsletter, full of stories and photos, via regular mail? Just go to our website www.halfthesky.org and click on "Join our Mailing List."
Publicerad i kategori Nyhetsbrev
måndag 29 september Nyhetsbrev HTS, sep 08
Hello dear friends,
We've heard from many, many of you who are deeply worried about the babies affected by China's latest disaster - contaminated milk powder. Half the Sky has been in daily contact with the 41 welfare institutions where we work. We've also been in constant contact with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which has been working to provide guidance to all the institutions that house babies. They have promised us a full report and I hope to receive it before the coming National Holiday. In the meantime, they tell us that a letter was sent out to all orphanages as soon as the crisis was recognized. Orders were to have all children examined at local hospitals and the government will cover all costs, including any necessary treatment. All orphanages using identified tainted brands have changed to either fresh milk or to a brand that has been identified as safe.
Here is what we have learned about the institutions where we work who were using tainted brands: Tianjin CWI was using Sanlu, among other brands. Forty children were drinking Sanlu and of those, 2 were diagnosed to have kidney stones. Xinyang CWI was using Sanlu exclusively. 43 children were taken to hospital and 2 have been diagnosed to have kidney stones. Yiyang SWC was using Sanlu exclusively. All children were taken to hospital and 5 were diagnosed to have kidney stones. Maoming CWI was using Sanlu among other brands. All children were examined and 2 were diagnosed to have kidney stones. None of the children with kidney stones is seriously ill. All are being treated. Most of the other institutions were using non-affected brands. Nanjing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Guiyang, Guangzhou, Luoyang, Nanchang and Qingyuan were using affected brands but the children were examined and are all right. We are told that all of the children are being watched carefully. We know the institutions with whom we work will give us further reports if the situation changes. You can be sure we'll pass any news onto you.
For those of you who are worried about Typhoon Hagupit which hit Maoming, Guangdong on Wednesday, I have this report from ZZ, Half the Sky's managing director: "It was a big wind but not heavy rain, so a few brave people could still go out in the street. At Maoming CWI, they allowed the nannies to stay home and our program has stopped for one day. In the Family Village, some of the windows were broken due to strong wind, but they were immediately repaired. "In Maonan CWI, the nannies were so brave they came to work, but in the street they had to get help from the trees or the street light poles when the wind was too strong. Since they were told that the wind and storm would arrive at about 6:30am, many of the nannies came before then - around 5:30am. What a group of dedicated and strong women! "All of the children are fine and there is no damage to either institution."
What a year! It may seem lately that Half the Sky is nothing more than a disaster relief center, but that is far from the case. In late August and early September we created three new HTS Children's Centers which will also become Blue Sky model training centers for their provinces: Xi'an, Harbin and Shenyang. We were fortunate to have a wonderful crew of volunteers helping us out in Xi'an and Harbin. Next up in November is the new HTS Children's Center in Qingdao. It will also be a Blue Sky model.
In late October, we will host an international training on child trauma as a result of the Sichuan quake. Together with the US National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement and the Mental Health Center of Huaxi Hospital at Sichuan University, we will be training child psychologists, psychiatrists, school counselors, and, of course, our staff at the Big Top Children's Centers who continue to work with displaced and traumatized children in relief camps. Five of our promised ten camps are in operation now. The centers are hugely popular - a refuge where children can be children again. The government is telling us the need may be for five years.
Our big thanks to those of you who voted for us in the American Express competition. Although you gave us enough votes, our project to help earthquake victims wasn't selected for the next level. And thanks to those of you who have contributed to A Daddy's Challenge. We haven't come close to meeting the $75,000 challenge; but we understand it's a scary time for everyone.
You know we will do our best to care for the children, whatever happens.
Take care and be well, Jenny Bowen
Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.
Publicerad i kategori Nyhetsbrev
söndag 10 augusti Nyhetsbrev HTS, aug 08
This morning as I write, typhoon winds batter Hong Kong. Yesterday there was a 6.0 quake in Sichuan and we received an urgent plea for flood relief assistance in Chuzhou. By any measure, 2008 is not turning out to be the year we imagined.
Instead of 10-year anniversary celebrations and joyous Olympics parties, we've had disaster upon disaster. Half the Sky has done what it had to do - we turned our attention and gave our all to children in urgent need. During this past month, even as we've raced to create safe havens for hundreds of displaced children traumatized by catastrophe, created programs for them and hired and trained caregivers for these new "BigTops" in Sichuan, we have somehow managed to continue smooth operations in our 37 centers across China and also further our plans to create Blue Sky model centers in four new provinces this fall.
We have managed because we have an extraordinary, truly dedicated staff. And because we have you - simply the most amazing, caring community of supporters any organization could hope to have. Thanks to you, we raised $1.4 million US dollars to help the child victims of the Sichuan tragedy. We spent $375,000 on direct relief - food, tents, medical supplies, clothes, blankets, beds, etc. We will spend $136,000 to create, equip and operate each of our BigTop children's activity centers for two years and additional funds over five years to provide special training for doctors, teachers and caregivers in helping grieving children to develop resilience. It's a huge undertaking, but it is well worth it! Just take a look at what's happening for the children at our BigTop #1 in Qinjian Refugee Camp http://www.halfthesky.org/work/earthquake08-bigtop.php#part3 Five more BigTops are underway already. We hope there will eventually be 10.
Each BigTop offers a preschool and afternoon and weekend activities for school-age children: art, music, dance, sports, games. The idea is to create safe spaces for traumatized children to just be children again. Our partners at Huaxi Mental Health Centre of Sichuan University and at the National Center for School Trauma and Bereavement tell us that this is a critical first step toward healing. The children receive counseling at the BigTop but it feels incidental - they come to play and to have a place that is their own and to feel safe.
In this terrible year of earthquakes and snowstorms and floods, we put aside all our usual efforts to raise funds to support our programs. We even let go our annual Children's Day Challenge, the fundraiser that traditionally pays for the creation of new HTS Children's Centers each fall. In a year where we're still committed to opening new Blue Sky Model Centers in four cities, this was no small sacrifice.
But ten years of bucking the odds, doing what we're told is not possible, and watching miracles unfold in China has taught us that we can make just about anything happen if we're determined enough and if we have this great community behind us. We will keep our promise to the children. A corporation will underwrite the costs of our new center in Qingdao. A family will sponsor the startup of our new center in Harbin. And now, one super Dad with a beloved daughter adopted from China has offered us a $75,000 challenge grant to help us make up the shortfall. So we're launching A DADDY'S CHALLENGE. If you give an unrestricted gift of any size between now and the end of September, you can help us double that $75,000 gift. http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=A+Daddy's+Challenge. With one Dad's help and yours, we can still keep our promise this fall.
You can also help by sponsoring a child in one of our new centers. Or by sponsoring a permanent loving family for children with severe special needs in our Family Village Program. Or by sponsoring training for caregivers at orphanages that have no Half the Sky center through Blue Sky Training Sponsorships. http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Annual+Sponsorships
Beyond the thousands we help in Sichuan and the hundreds of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Henan, Half the Sky currently serves about 4,500 orphaned children. This year we will offer the loving care of HTS' four programs to over 700 more children living at our newest Blue Sky sites: Guiyang, Xi'an, Shenyang, Harbin and Qingdao. There are many, many ways to help HTS reach its "impossible" goal of providing a caring adult in the life of every orphaned child. Thank you for whatever you can do and for all you've done already. I'll let you know how A Daddy's Challenge goes.
With love and gratitude,
ps - Here's one piece of great news: On July 4, Half the Sky became one of only a tiny handful of foreign NGOs that is officially registered by the Chinese Government. Those who work in the nonprofit world in China will know what a tremendous honor this is. We are aware of only two other foreign organizations that have been recognized in this way. We are very proud!
Jenny Bowen
Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.
Want to receive our free Half the Sky newsletter, full of stories and photos, via regular mail? Just go to our website www.halfthesky.org and click on "Join our Mailing List."
Publicerad i kategori Nyhetsbrev
fredag 27 juni Tackbrev HTS, Earthquake Relief Fund"Utmaningen" i hamn!!! Vi samlade in 12840,48 kr. Tack till ALLA som inte bara skickade pengar själva, utan dessutom engagerade släkt, vänner, arbetskamrater och grannar!!
Läs här nedan det tackbrev som vi fick från HTS.
Half The Sky Foundation May 30, 2008
Malin Björkman, SWEDEN
Dear Malin,
Thank you so much for reaching out to help the children in China who are suffering in the wake of the devastating earthquake and aftershocks in Sichuan Province and Chongqing. Your gift of $2120 to our Children's Earthquake Fund will help children who have lost or been separated from their families by providing emergency shelter, food, and medical care, short or long-term foster care, and institutional care if necessary.
With love and gratitude, Carol Kemble Director, Individual Philanthropy
Publicerad i kategori Tackbrev
fredag 27 juni Morsdagsbrev HTS, 2008Hej alla! Det kom ett brev från Jenny Bowen och Half The Sky. Mvh Malin Björkman, biståndsansvarig
Greetings from China!
I've just returned from a road-trip in the north. This fall, if we can raise the necessary funds, we will be opening three new Half the Sky centers: in Harbin, in Shenyang, and - a change - in Xi'an. While the famed Terracotta Warriors have brought tourists and a healthy economy to Xi'an, there is little evidence of the "new China" in Harbin and Shenyang. Conditions for the children in all three institutions are pretty basic - no programs, not enough caregivers; they are more than ready for Half the Sky. Like just about everywhere in China, there are fewer healthy infants at these three orphanages, but there is no shortage of children who need our help. Most of them will spend their lives in institutions. Those of you who have adopted children who have benefited from HTS programs know intimately what early intervention and nurturing care means to a child. But think of what it means to children who will NEVER know a family's love. Our new programs in Xi'an will benefit 340 children, in Harbin - 215, and in Shenyang - 120 children. We hope to create all four HTS programs at each site. We have a big challenge before us, but with you beside us, we'll find a way to help them all. Why not make a commitment right now to sponsor a brighter future for one of these 675 children or one of the dozens of children in HTS programs who still lack sponsors? http://www.halfthesky.org/help/sponsorships.php#spchild Because we are able to offer only one volunteer crew opportunity in China this year, we are doing our best to make it a truly memorable experience. Our group will meet in Beijing on Saturday evening, August 24 and travel first to Harbin and then Xi'an. Your work at the orphanages, helping to create infant nurture centers and preschools in both places, will allow plenty of time with the children as well as time to experience these two fascinating cities. We're even going to try to arrange to take the older preschoolers of Xi'an CWI to see the famed Terracotta Warriors. The journey will end on Saturday, September 6. We're working now to calculate the costs for the lucky few volunteers who will join us. If you'd like to be among them and haven't yet sent in a crew application, please do so right away http://www.halfthesky.org/help/volunteerresources.php#workcrew It's almost Mother's Day. But there's still time for our favorite Half the Sky tradition - Each year, as Mother's Day comes around, we at Half the Sky can't help thinking of all the children who have no mother to draw rainbows and flowers for on that special day. No one to hug them for the efforts spent crafting a handmade pillow or a clay candlestick. No special person in their life whose love they can celebrate. Mothers teach their children to care about others. Show the moms in your life you paid attention. If you have a mom or if you know a mom or a grandma or a godmother or a mom-to-be, won't you celebrate them by giving a child in China the gift of hugs for Mother's Day? Give a gift that really matters with a Half the Sky Mother's Day Sponsorship Certificate: It's easy - it's fast - and it's unforgettable. http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Detail?no=76 Thanks so much for always remembering the children left behind..
Warmly, Jenny Bowen Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.
Want to receive our free Half the Sky newsletter, full of stories and photos, via regular mail? Just go to our website www.halfthesky.org and click on "Join our Mailing List."
Publicerad i kategori Nyhetsbrev
fredag 27 juni Tackbrev; HTS Little Mouse Emergency FundVi fick ett tackbrev från Half The Sky!
Brevet var ju adresserat till mig, men pengarna från biståndskontot kom naturligtvis från er alla medlemmar!!! (och 1962 kr blev det i svenska pengar!)
March 3, 2008 Mrs. Malin Bjorkman SWEDEN
Thank you so much for your gift of $300.00 dollars to our Little Mouse Emergency Fund. I have been so moved by the stunning response to our plea for help for the children during this frigid winter in China. How can I thank you enough for reaching out to bring warmth and comfort to the children? Thanks to the generosity of our wonderful Half the Sky community, the most impacted orphanages, in southern and central China in particular, have been able to buy supplies to get them through this winter that seems to be never ending. The sun will shine again in southern and central China and the snows will melt, but your gift will endure - you have helped make a difference in the lives of children at a time of great need.
With love and gratitude,
Publicerad i kategori Tackbrev
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