Fall Sponsors Meeting

Hello All,

Most of you should have received the Meeting Minutes--from our October 3rd meeting-- via e-mail by now. To summarize, we discussed our most recent trip to Ethiopia (July 2009) and brainstormed ways to combat exorbitant (but unfortunately still rising) shipping costs. We are going to have to make some revisions to our care packages this Christmas, but care packages will definitely be sent.

Another topic we discussed at the meeting was the formation of "The Breakfast Club." We learned on our visit to Debre Libanos this summer that Yesewasew Genet Orphanage is no longer able to provide the orphans with breakfast each morning due to lack of funds.

KHNK would like to be able to help the orphans enjoy a nutritional breakfast each morning; our idea is to form "The Breakfast Club." Donations can be in increments of $1, $3, $5, or $10. If donors would like to contribute more, higher amounts can be specified according to their wishes. KHNK will provide more information on how you can participate in "The Breakfast Club" at a later date, posting info here on the blog and on our website.

Our First Success Story

Jerusalem Amde was one of the first children to be sponsored through KHNK. A determined and talented teenager, she was raised by her mom in Addis Ababa. Due to health problems, Jerusalem's mother could not work full time. When Jerusalem entered high school, she became an active participant in her school's music program while still maintaining her good grades. During our trip to Ethiopia in 2006, we were pleased to learned that she was a still a strong student and that the 63 birr ($8.00) she received each month was helping her with small but essential expenses.

An important component of each sponsorship is the letter of encouragement. Through this simple but heartfelt method of communication, Jerusalem and her sponsor, Lulit Price, discussed important issues like school, extracurricular activities, and future plans. A few grades ahead of Jerusalem in school, Lulit was able to offer her genuine advice and encourage her to remain strong when things were tough for her. An only child, Jerusalem quickly looked to Lulit as a confidant and friend.

On our most recent trip, Lulit, Mehron and Luladay got to meet individually with all of the children KHNK supports. All of us were happy to learn that Jerusalem recently graduated from high school, and found a job as a singer at a music hall in Addis Ababa. She is very happy with her job as a performer, and expressed her gratitude for the support KHNK has provided for almost 6 years. Jerusalem, right, and Lulit, left, are pictured below (July 2009).


The termination of a sponsorship is not always a bad thing. KHNK exists to help
others, yes, but our goal is to empower needy children to help themselves. Sponsorships are not designed to be lifelong conditions, but a temporary measure towards helping a child reach their goals. All of us at KHNK are extremely proud of Jerusalem and the strides she has made towards financial independence. We wish her the best of luck in the future!

Our fresh new face!

Hello KHNK sponsors and friends,

We have returned from our trip to Ethiopia and have so much news to share. But first we would like to invite you to take a look at our new and improved website. Our site is now more user-friendly, featuring up-to-date information and even pictures from our 2009 trip! Visit http://www.khnkp.org/ and send the link to your friends who might be interested in sponsoring a child today. We hope you find the new layout helpful! As always, feel free to send us your comments and suggestions using the Feedback form on our site.

-The KHNK team

Summer!

Hello Sponsors and friends of KHNK!

We hope that everyone's summer is off to a great start! This blog post is just to inform everyone that the Price family will be visiting Ethiopia this July! While we're there, we plan to get very up-to-date profiles for each of the children you sponsor, have another meet-and-greet picnic day to distribute the Christmas care packages, and take plenty of pictures for all the sponsors back home.

With this trip comes an opportunity we shouldn't pass up: bringing clothing materials to KHNK's sponsored children. We would like each sponsor to pack a small care package for your child, consisting of only a letter of encouragement, a T-shirt in their approximate size, and a picture of yourself enclosed with the letter (optional, but highly recommended).

Please have these packages to us no later than Friday, July 10th, 2009. We need time to pack them in with the other materials for KHNK that we will be taking with us. Please e-mail us if you have any questions (or call 301-430-0195). Thank you so much! Please continue to check our blog and website throughout the summer for fresh posts on Kids Helping Needy Kids. We look forward to sharing pictures and information from our trip with you at the next sponsors meeting in September!

May 2009 KHNK Fundraiser...

Kids Helping Needy Kids representatives will once again be present again at the Beltsville Day 2009 festivities at the Beltsville Community Center in Beltsville, MD. KHNK will have a table where we will be selling pizza, chips, and drinks. In addition, we will spread the word about KHNK by distributing brochures and info about our organization.
Sponsors and friends of KHNK: If you're available, come out and support us! Enjoy some pizza from the KHNK table and the variety of other attractions this community event has to offer, including a moon bounce, dance shows, face painting, and much much more. This event promises fun for the whole family.

Hope to see you in the afternoon on Sunday, May 17th!

Beltsville Community Center Address:
3900 Sellman Rd Beltsville, MD 20705

Tax Exemption Status!! Whoop!!

Kids Helping Needy Kids is pleased to announce that we have received tax exemption status from the IRS, and have been officially recognized as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization in the state of Maryland! From this point on, any donations made to KHNK (including your monthly sponsorship checks) are tax-deductible. This also means that checks can be made out to "Kids Helping Needy Kids" or just "KHNK".

We were greatly helped in this achievement by Mr. Vincent Wilkins, a lawyer who generously donated his time and services to help us reach tax-exemption status. We look forward to moving forward as an officially recognized non-profit! We can't wait to see what God can do.

Care Package Assembly Day 2008

Each year, KHNK hosts an event where sponsors can actively participate by assembling care packages for all of the children we support regularly as well as those at the Debre Libanos Orphanage.

Thanks to the Christmas in a Shoebox Fundraiser at the Calverton School in Huntingtown, MD, KHNK received dozens of shoeboxes filled with goodies for the children. On care package assembly day, sponsors and friends gather to unpack, sort, and repackage hundreds of school supplies, toothbrushes, first-aid kits, stuffed animals, and light-weight clothing for each boy and girl.

This year, KHNK was fortunate enough to receive 82 shoeboxes from the Calverton School!

The shoeboxes were unpacked and their contents sorted. The bulk of KHNK's clothing and school supplies came not only from The Calverton School but also from the Girls of Character Ministry at Woodstream Church in Mitchellville, MD. This donation was organized by Ms. Wanda Coleman and Ms. Shari Davis. Thanks everyone!!

Sponsors Mehron and Quinyse and volunteer, Manning, work at the school supplies station.

Stacks of various boys clothing.


Sponsors Luladay, Setota, Matthew, and volunteer, Michelle, make Christmas Cards to give the care packages a personal touch.


Volunteer Semret Tefaye help Ms. Kristina Palmer (sponsor) and her children Jamal and Kelley wrap a toy for each child. Boys received Nerf balls, jacks, and toy cars while girls got glitter pens, journals, and hair accessories.


Sponsors, Tsige, Lulit, and Mehron Price review the official list of children.

All in all, the care package assembly day went very smoothly. With the help of everyone who attended , we were able to make 65 care packages for the orphans in Debre Libanos and 35 care packages for the sponsored children. (Pictures used in this entry are courtesy of Mr. David Edwards, a senior at The Calverton School.)