August 2006 Newsletter
Joining Hearts and Hands
Volume 1
Number 1
Habari Rifiki!!
Hello dear friends and welcome to the first edition of the Joining Hearts and Hands Newsletter. So much has been happening that it’s time to share with our friends and supporters what has been going on stateside and in Maseno, Kenya.
Tax Free Status Approved
In June, Joining Hearts and Hands was granted a 501 ( c ) 3 status by the Internal Revenue Service. This means that all donations are tax deductible!
Website On The Way!
Thanks to the talents of Karen Maskens, Joining Hearts and Hands will soon have its website up and running. We’ll keep you posted!
Joining Hearts and Hands Welcomes Marty Cardona to Board of Directors
Brooks Hill principal and long-time agent with Love the Children, an adoption agency that has been placing Korean children in this country since 1978 has joined our board. Marty’s talents are tremendous and we are blessed to have her working for African children. We are sure that her vast foundation experience with Love the Children will be of great benefit to us all. Marty is already working on a corporate grant!
Wards Natural Science Commits to the Children of Kenya
Thanks to the wonderful people at Wards in Henrietta, the children in Kenya will be receiving many wonderful science supplies and equipment. For those of you who have seen our presentations, you know that the schools we work with have absolutely no teaching or learning materials. These supplies and teaching tools will make a world of a difference. Many thanks to Jeff Douglas, president of Wards and Donna Gage of marketing who connected us with Jeff.
Wards is a worldwide company that is a tremendous asset to our community. Jeff gave us a great tour of the Henrietta facility. We were amazed at the depth and scope of their business. If you are in education or simply interested in science, you MUST tour the facility. They’ll be glad to accommodate you!
Bella Bead Jewelry Joins Hands With Joining Hearts and Hands
Artist Linda Lawrence has designed a beautiful heart pendant to support Joining Hearts and Hands. All proceeds will go to the children in Kenya. When the pendant is available, I will e-mail the “how to purchase” link. In the meantime, please visit Bella Beads You will love her work.
Thanks to All Who Have Been Working to Support JH & H
Many thanks to all of our individual donors
Thanks to Fairport High School’s class of 2006 for designating JH & H as recipient of the 2006 class gift
Thanks to Fairport High School’s Outreach Club for their fundraising and raising
awareness of the plight of third-world countries
Thanks to the administration, faculty and parents of Brooks Hill for a very successful basketball fundraiser
Thanks to the administration, faculty and parents at Jefferson Avenue for a great
concert at Center Park this June. Special thanks to Lynne Manuel, Carmela
Hepworth and Rich Greene
Thanks to the Jablonskis and Dan Petzing, owner of Shamrock Jacks for a fun and
profitable spaghetti dinner
Thanks to Clawson Delicatessen for the constant support by collecting change every day
Thanks to all the kids at Minerva who sold JH & H T-Shirts
Thanks to Adam, Andrea, Karen, Katie and Kevin Jablonski for setting up and collecting returnable bottle boxes at the schools. Funds raised here are aiding in the construction of latrines in Maseno, Kenya
Rochester Area Churches Commit to Joining Hearts and Hands
Many Rochester area churches are tithing to this wonderful cause. Together we are making a difference. The following parishes are supporting Joining Hearts and Hands:
Assumption of Our Lady of Fairport
St. Joseph’s in Penfield
St. Louis of Pittsford
Spiritus Christi of Rochester
St Alban’s and St. Cecelia’s Guild of Christ Episcopal Church
St. Thomas Mission Circle of Alhambra, California
What’s Happening in Maseno, Kenya?
~In March, along with other aid organizations, Joining Hearts and Hands finished construction of a two classroom building!
>~When Joanne was in Kenya this spring, she had 156 uniforms made for the orphan students
~Currently 12 students are on high school scholarships, as a result of your generosity. We have another 12 scheduled to be placed on scholarship at the end of this school year (November). All scholarships are full-ride scholarships for 4 years.
~School supplies have been purchased for grades Pre-K through 8.
~ 60 chairs were purchased so the nursery school students do not have to sit on the floor.
~Tables were commissioned for the nursery school class and linoleum was bought to cover the dung floors.
~50 new textbooks were purchased to bring the student-to-textbook ratio down to 1 in 3 from 1 book for each 13 students.
~Currently, 35 Kenyan workers in Maseno are building all new latrines for the entire school of Mbaka Oromo. This spring, after a very hard rainy season, the pits below the current latrines collapsed. The new latrines are made of brick and concrete and have reinforced concrete, drainable pits.
What’s Planned for the Near Future?
~Joining Hearts and Hands is currently planning the construction of 6 new classrooms and a kitchen to provide breakfast and lunch programs for children who currently are too poor to have breakfast or lunch.
~Purchase of additional textbooks
~Additional planning for new scholarships for orphans
Long-Range Plans
Bill and Joanne Cala are returning to Kenya in October to examine the possibility of cooperatively building a community education center in Maseno. It is our hope to jointly work with the University of Maseno to see this project realized. The center would provide job training, counseling, a meeting hall, classrooms and possible computer availability.
This Fall’s Kenya Journey
When Bill and Joanne return to Kenya this fall they will:
Check on construction progress
Follow-up on progress of scholarship students
Meet new scholarship recipients
Meet with government officials to discuss needs of the community
Meet with University of Maseno officials to discuss community center
Purchase textbooks and supplies
Purchase/make desks
Deliver/direct donated materials
How Can I Help?
~Keep us and the people of Kenya in your prayers
~Organize a fundraiser. Everyone is not always able to contribute financially, however, we all have talents to share. Many people have come up with fundraising ideas and have run with them. Can you organize a run? A race? A dinner? An Auction? There are so many possibilities! Kids have worked wonders with lemonade stands!! Talk to your employers. Since we are a 501 ( c ) 3, many companies will provide matching funds.
~Donate if possible. Any amount is appreciated.
~Have an idea? Let us know at wcala@rochester.rr.com or jcala@rochester.rr.com
Thanks for reading our first newsletter and many thanks for your interest in the poorest of the poor.
I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do.
-Edward Everett Hale (By way of Mark, Adam Jablonski’s cousin)
|
