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

Water is so precious!

Everyone will agree that water is vital to our health and survival. Everyday I’m so thankful I can simply turn on the faucet and watch it flow. I am constantly thinking of ways to use less to help protect the planet, but never do I truly worry about not having water when I need it. The children living at Angel Cottage aren’t so lucky. For the past several years, there has been a terrible drought in Kenya. Because it’s summer in Kenya now, the hot weather is making water harder and harder to come by. Because there is no water tank at Angel Cottage, the staff is forced to buy water from the city each week and store it in any container available. Unfortunately, so few containers are available for water storage that the children are running out after only 2 days, causing the staff to purchase water at a much higher price from neighbors or local businesses.



The solution? To purchase a large water tank for Angel Cottage, just like the one that already exists at Humble Hearts. This tank can be purchased for $2,150 and will be large enough to provide all 37 children water for at least a week. And, after the new Angel Cottage is completed, the tank can be moved to the new home and used there. Although the new Angel Cottage will have access to running water, frequently during drought this water is shut off and the tank will provide a great back up system for the children and their caregivers. Additionally, this water tank will be a source of income because excess water in the tank can be sold to neighbors in need. Please consider donating to this critical need! www.angelcovers/donation.html

Mama's Wish Letters Are Here!

We are delighted to have just received another big batch of letters from our Mama's Wish students. We are so pleased to be able to send these letters to their sponsors. They are wonderful to read and give a small glimpse into the girls' lives. Many of the girls write about their family's traditions during the recent Lunar New Year celebration, including sharing meals with relatives, visiting the local temple and a hair cutting ceremony. I was very touched by how many girls, despite their own hardships, wrote of their concern for their sponsor's well being during these tough economic times. Each of the girls are so incredibly grateful for the opportunity their sponsors are giving them.

We still have several students that need sponsors. I would love to be able to send their letters to their new sponsors. Please visit our website to see their photos. http://www.angelcovers.org/mamawishsponsorship.html
We are hopeful that we can find sponsors for these bright girls.

If you are interested in sponsoring a Mama's Wish student, please contact karen@angelcovers.org

In the words of Mama's Wish student Li Mao - "I wish you everyday happy."

Karen MacNair
Sponsorship Coordinator - Mama's Wish Education Program

Mama’s Wish Sponsors Needed

Over the past year and a half our wonderful Mama’s Wish sponsors have given the amazing gift of knowledge to over 100 bright girls in the rural QingHai Province of China. These young students aspire to be doctors and teachers, scientist and lawyers, and each one dreams of the day she will be able to give back to her community. But without our help these dreams would not be possible. Most of these girls would have been forced into marriage at a very young age, working menial jobs to support their families.

We now have three high school students and one college student who are in need of new sponsors. These are incredibly hard working students that deserve our help.

#7 - Duojie is in her third year of high school. She hopes to become a female politician. Her favorite subjects are geography and politics. She enjoys climbing mountains and singing.

#92 - Wan is in her second year of high school. Her favorite subject is Chinese. She is very motivated and works hard on her school work. In her free time she enjoys being with her friends.

#97 - Li is in her second year of high school. She looks forward to being able to give back to her community and helping other poor children in the future. She is an excellent student and earns very high grades.

#1001 - Gen has beaten all the odds and is now attending college! Her goal is to become a biology teacher in her home town. She works very hard and gets excellent grades. During her vacations, she volunteers her time teaching poor children in the rural countryside.

Can you help these bright girls? For just $120 we can send one student to high school for a year, while $1350 funds a year of college. College fees can easily be split among several donors to keep payments affordable.

If you are interested in sponsoring any of these students, please contact karen@angelcovers.org

More information on the Mama’s Wish Program can be found at our website: http://www.angelcovers.org/mamawish.html

Thank you for giving these girls this priceless gift of knowledge.

Karen MacNair
Sponsorship Coordinator - Mama’s Wish Education Program

Our sponsors are AMAZING!

In the past week or so I have gotten so many pictures of the children at Humble Hearts. All of the pictures have been of children who are sponsored. Sponsors always have the option of providing extra items for their kids....books, hygiene items, clothes, etc. But every day I turn on the TV to hear more and more stories of the current US recession. More and more I'm hearing of people in threat of losing their homes, losing their jobs, or having a hard time paying bills. And yet, individuals from around the world continue to send items to children in Kenya they have never met. Children, who without their support, would have no steady source of food or education. Children who have never had someone constantly in their lives to care about them and their future.

I simply want to post several of the pictures I have received this week. The smiles say it all. You don't need me to tell you that these children feel loved and respected by their sponsors. It's written all over their faces.

To all sponsors everywhere, I say....YOUR AWESOME!

An Angel Cottage Update

Since posting 2 weeks ago about the desperate need for more Angel Cottage funding, donations have been coming in steadily. In such hard economic times, the outpouring of support for this project is wonderful to see. Approximately $1,100 has been received and numerous names have been added to the list for bricks. Beatrice tells me she will be able to start making bricks at the end of this month. I can't wait to see names on the walls!

Many of you have not only made a donation,but have also passed the word along to family and friends about this great need. One example is of a couple who decided to look through their checkbook and make a donation equal to their largest Christmas present, and challenged their friends to do the same. Because of this great idea, hundreds of dollars was raised for Angel Cottage.

Just this week, Beatrice send me another story highlighting this great need. I'm going to post the story of Peter below. Feel free to pass this story on to anyone you know. We need less than $26,000 to complete this project. I know this seems like a lot of money, but just a month ago more than $40,000 was needed. Every single dollar makes a huge difference in the lives of these children. I'm so grateful to each and every one of you who has supporting Angel Cottage and the children who live there. They have a bright future because of your support.

"Peter walked in at Humble Hearts (HH) just at about 4pm when everyone was preparing to go home. He was in the company of a lady aged about 58 who introduced herself as a social worker. She then narrated on how she had met the lone Didi on the streets of Nairobi three and half years ago and took him to a government rehabilitation center where she works. Many of this government run centers are in pathetic situation and corruption is the order of the day.

The Center works hand in hand with police who bring them children that are lost or runaways some of the children end up being united to their parents but also most of them don't. The high rates of street children has lead to the home being over crowded all the hearing children in the center of 250 are taken to a school near the center except for Didi who could not cope in the hearing school due to his disability.

For the three and half years Didi has always been left in the center helping with the delaying chaos, longing for a day when he too will be able to go to school like other children.

Peter Didi became his nickname since those who found him and live with him don't know any sign language and neither does his.

The social worker was told about HH by a friend and she promised herself that she was not going to take NO for an answer, she said all the children living in the center came out to escort Didi to his new school and would be very sad if he was turned away.

No words could convince the two that AC was already full, they were willing for Didi to sleep in the class but attend school as the center could not afford his daily fares to school and back to the center.

Didi who we suspect could be about 15 years is now leaving at AC we have found him a mattress, blanket and sheets and he is now sleeping on the floor.

Didi looks very happy to be among other deaf children and really wants to learn sign language."

Momentum

Throughout 2008 you heard us talking over and over about the need to build Angel Cottage. This is a huge project that feels like it's been around forever. Dozens of deaf children are waiting for this new home so they can not only attend school, but learn a language, be valued, and see a life completely different than they one they currently living.

2008 was hard for all of us. Overall Angel Covers donations and sales were down by 34%....about the same amount we have all lost in our 401K's and other accounts. People are struggling to pay for food, gas, and other necessities. Fund-raising for Angel Cottage stalled and the construction almost completely stopped.

But then December 2008 came around and so many people donated saying they believe the true meaning of the holiday season was to give to those who have even less than they do. More than $12, 500 came in for Angel Cottage in December. Dozens of individuals and businesses purchased their holiday cards through us and our greeting cards were given as numerous gifts. Because of these purchases, another $2,250 was raised for Angel Cottage.

As I have been opening more and more donations for this extraordinary project, the word that keeps going through my head is momentum. We have been given a huge gift in the past couple of weeks. Currently less than 1/3 of the total cost of Angel Cottage is needed. Dozens of names have been added to the list of bricks to be made. To those of you who have supported this project, you have my sincere thanks and appreciation.

Please helps us keep up this great momentum. Spread the world to everyone you know. Every single dollar makes a huge difference in this project. Gas prices are down, the holidays are over....please consider making a donation to this project. Help us get Angel Cottage built! If all of the funds were raised today, Angel Cottage could be completed in 2 months. Wouldn't it be amazing to think of 55 deaf children moving into this beautiful new home before school starts in May???!!!!

The waiting list of deaf children currently been locked away at home, not allowed to attend school, unable to communicate with their family or peers, is long. Please send this to anyone you know and help us change their lives from one of complete isolation to one of laughter, love, and fun as soon as possible.

http://www.angelcovers.org/angelcottage.html