Tis the Season....

Ok, not that season. But, it is the end of the school year season. Must of us in May and June are frantically trying to make all of the school plays, help our kids finish up big projects, and decide on gifts for teachers.

Little Brian Musyoka is 4 years old, is fatherless, and his mother is a prostitute. Before coming to Humble Hearts, Brian was locked out of his home and left to the mercy of kind neighbors. He has an eye problem that was never diagnosed or treated. But, because of wonderful donors giving the gift of education to children in African through our gift card program, Brian is now living at Angel Cottage and attending Humble Hearts.

These of Brian, children at Humble Hearts with fruit, and Tommy in China are all small representations of how gift cards have changed children's lives. These children and many others have been given gifts they never would have expected because so many people chose our gift cards for teacher gifts, Mother's day, Father's day, birthday's, etc.

Gift cards are the perfect way to give a meaningful gift to someone you care about while helping children around the world. Please consider going to http://www.angelcovers.org/giftcard s.html and give the gift of a new life.

Angel Covers is Huaibei, Anhui

Angel Covers recently sent a volunteer to the Huaibei, Anhui SWI to meet the staff, see the children, and evaluate needs. What she found was exciting! We have always known that the staff at the Huaibei, SWI (Social Welfare Institute) truly cares about the children. They are loving, in tune with the children’s needs, and work hard to give the children the best care possible.

Laureen and her son arrived at the SWI and was given a tour of the baby’s rooms, the play room, and the grounds right away. The babies looked wonderful! They have put on weight since Angel Covers started supplementing the formula and rice cereal they receive, and have been less likely to get sick. Laureen stated that all of the 50 babies looked healthy, well fed, and very clean. As they toured the SWI, Laureen saw the formula Angel Covers purchases, the kitchen where meals are prepared, and the old broken down refrigerator the staff uses. Buying a new refrigerator quickly became a priority.

When touring the playroom, Laureen saw the bouncers and strollers Angel Covers has purchased in the past, as well as other toys for the children. The staff of Huaibei tries to take the older children to this room each day, and when the weather is nice, they are taken outside to play on the playground.

The Assistant Director took Laureen shopping and dozens of blankets and towels were purchased. Here is what Laureen said about their shopping trip. “We bought many blankets and large bath towels. We decided that the towels (soft ones) can be used as both blankets in the summer or towels when needed. The orphanage was warm and the need was for lighter blankets. In addition, the refrigerator outside the kids’ room where the formula and food is made was very old and not working, so we purchased a new refrigerator. It was $279.00 and AC paid $250 and the orphanage paid $29. There was a smaller one for 250.00, but they preferred the larger one.”

Angel Covers would love to work on purchasing additional items for the playroom. The floor is hard and the orphanage staff is concerned about the children throwing toys and breaking them. Therefore, toys other than balls are generally not allowed. Angel Covers would like to buy additional padded floor squares and many toys, so the children have a wide variety of items to play with. The need for additional physical and mental stimulation is great.

Additionally, the need for medical evaluations is also great. Anyone interested in helping fund physicals for children with known medical needs such as cleft lips and palates, possible heart conditions, and others. Angel Covers have established a fund for these needs and would be happy to receive your donation.

The nutrition program for Huaibei is always in need of additional sponsors as well. If you or someone you know is interested in supporting this life-changing program, please go to www.angelcovers.org/donation and you will be able to make a donation specific for Huaibei.

To see additional pictures of Laureen’s visit to Huabei, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelcovers/
Thanks to all of you who have supported this program! You have changed the lives of these children.

An Angel Cottage Update

As you probably know, Angel Covers hosted a fundraising event at the Madcap Improv Theater on Sunday, May 3. Complete with a silent auction and private show by the Macap actors, this was a fun afternoon full of laughs and was a great success. $7,000 was raised for the construction of Angel Cottage! This money will soon be sent to Kenya so that construction can continue. With less than $18,000 still needed to complete this project, the children who will call Angel Cottage home, are closer to moving into a new home with plenty of space to run around and grow strong.

An additional 20 children who are currently on the wait list for Angel Cottage will also move into this new home. Currently these children are not attending Humble Hearts School because it too far or too dangerous to walk there everyday. Angel Cottage will not only provide a safe place for them to live, but will also allow them access to a great education, medical care, and healthy nutrition....none of which they currently have.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this project and came to our event on Sunday. You are completely changing lives.

Kari

Tommy and great gifts.

Angel Covers is proud to be able to continue sponsoring Tommy, a beautiful little 4 year old boy at the Believe In Me School Jingzhou, China. Your willingness to order gift cards for education programs in China has provided sponsorships to Tommy for more than a year. Tommy continues to grow and learn. He's also playing well with others and telling others his name.

Gift cards have also made it possible for us to send significant funds with Laureen to China. She leaves Friday and will be purchasing blankets for the Huaibei orphanage because of donations from gift cards. As soon as she returns from her trip, we'll post pictures of all the warm blankets she was able to purchase.

With Mother's Day and the end of the school year coming for all of us, please remember these great gifts. Your generosity provides warmth and security for children, while providing a gift to those you care about. http://www.angelcovers.org/giftcards.html

Angel Cottage

Recently we received some pictures I thought everyone would enjoy seeing. Because of recent donations, construction is progressing very quickly. We are excited that less than $25,000 is needed to complete Angel Cottage, and know the children will love it once it's finished.

I especially love the doors and windows. Don't the hearts just scream "welcome!" to all the kids?! Making this home warm and inviting has been the biggest goal for this project. We want the kids to know that this is truly their home and they are loved here. This isn't just a place for them to sleep.

Enjoy the pictures and please consider coming to our event at the Madcap Theater on May 3. All proceeds will go to the completion of this much needed home.

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The saddest news.

This week, Angel Covers received the saddest news possible from Humble Hearts. One of the beautiful children of this school died. Little Ruth Muhonja has had HIV since birth. Ruth also lost her hearing after contracting meningitis and malaria as an infant. Unfortunately Ruth was never able to received treatment for the HIV and she was recently hospitalized, and died this week. We are so sad that Ruth had such a short time at Humble Hearts, but so grateful that she knew her sponsor loved her. She was a bright, active little girl who deserves to be more than another AIDS statistic. She was a daughter and friend. I met her once and will never forget her beautiful smile and loving way.

We will miss you Ruth. May you know peace.

Kari

Web searches help Angel Covers

How many times a week do you search for things on the internet? Dozens? Hundreds? Now there is a great way to do all your searches and help Angel Covers too. Angel Covers has recently registered with Good Search. http://www.goodsearch.com/ With Good Search, you are able to search on anything just like you do now with Google and others. But, when you pick Angel Covers as your charity of choice, Angel Covers will get a donation of $.01 for each search you make. OK, so $.01 doesn't sound like much. But, think about how many times a week you search the internet. Pennies add up quickly. Millions of dollars are raised each year by charities around the world by asking children to save their pennies. This is no different. Millions of dollars have been donated by Good Search to Charities throughout the country.

Please go to http://www.goodsearch.com/ and check it out. You can easily add a tool bar so that you never have to remember to go to the Good Search site. I added a tool bar to my screen a couple of months ago and love it! Since it's there, I remember to use Good Search every time I need to complete a search and it's not in the way at all.

Thanks for considering this easy way to help Angel Covers. It's quick to add and costs you nothing to complete searches and help children around the world.

Kari