Give For Youth Challenge!

Tony and one of his favorite therapy horses, Pumpkin

Great News! Remember Tony? We’ve featured him on our blog as a Jacob’s Fund scholarship recipient , his heart wrenching personal story growing up as a boy with autism, and his successes in the Equestrian Special Olympics. 

We are excited to share that our Jacob’s Fund project, “Help Youth Like Tony Become Independent,” has been accepted into the GIVE FOR YOUTH CHALLENGE from Microsoft and Global Giving!

After the Equestrian Special Olympics

What does this mean? We have the opportunity to further help youth like Tony move successfully into adulthood, equipping him and others with disabilities with the life-skills needed to become part of the workplace upon high school graduation. Jacob’s Fund has supported Tony since he was sixteen. Now he’s twenty and eager to move into a group home and secure a permanent job. Our dream is to help him with that transition while continuing his much-needed therapeutic riding. 

Now we need your vote to win the chance 

to crowd fund on GiveforYouth.org*!

Microsoft has teamed with GOOD to find 20 outstanding youth-serving nonprofits to feature on GiveforYouth.org. We are excited that our project qualified! The top 20 vote getters in the Give for Youth Challenge will get to crowd fund their projects on GiveforYouth.org. Best of all, Microsoft will match funds raised during the challenge phase up to $100,000 across all organizations.

So you can see why we’re so excited (and we hope you are, too)! This is an outstanding opportunity and we hope you’ll help out.

Please take a moment to cast your vote by March 1st. Please forward this to anyone in your personal or professional network. The more votes we get, the better our chances to get this project off the ground!

Go to the Give For Youth website. Click the big vote button below the project name. Sign in using your Facebook info or create a username and password. Follow the instructions and make a difference in Tony's life!!!
   

During a therapeutic riding session in Georgia

Thanks for your vote!

GiveforYouth.org is a Microsoft YouthSpark program in partnership with Global Giving.

CHINA :: A miracle for Yong!

We believe in miracles! 

Within 24 hours of our post about Yong's needs, our partners at Love Without Boundaries informed us that the full $100,000 needed for his surgery had been raised! We are so happy to hear that he will receive the care that he so desperately needs. Thank you to everyone who shared our post within their networks. 

That's the power of connections!

CHINA :: 100,000 angels for Yong

Connections. That’s what The Red Thread Promise is all about. It is the root of the Chinese proverb from which we take our name and the cornerstone of our work.

• It’s that instant attachment you have to a child in great need, no matter what country they call home.
• It’s the heavy weight on your heart that can only be lifted when that child’s needs are met, no matter how extensive.
• It’s the heights we go to together, ensuring that we are part of the solution for this child, offering hope for the best life possible.

Connections also allow us to come together to solve problems, forging partnerships with other organizations and medical specialists. Through these partnerships, we capitalize on our individual strengths for the collective good.

In the case of this post, the collective good has a name, and it is YONG.

Only a week ago we met Yong through Love Without Boundaries, one of our partners in China. He is a sweet, handsome 5-year-old living in Guizhou. As you can see by the photographs, he has a large facial tumor that is growing rapidly and has recently begun to impact his ability to swallow and chew. While this brings its own set of challenges, the greatest threat at this time is that, at the current rate of growth, the tumor will soon close off this young boy’s airway.

Eating is a challenge

Yong has already received an MRI in his home province and a biopsy of the mass. Thankfully the tumor is benign, but the risks to his health from its rapid growth are grave. Both surgeons and radiologists have determined that an aggressive course of action must be taken to save Yong’s life that involves a series of complex and expensive surgeries. Many of his facial nerves have been massively stretched and the blood supply feeding the tumor are some of the biggest challenges during the operation.

At the hospital

Charming the nurses

Although many hospitals in both China and the US have been approached, none have been able to donate their services due to the intricate nature of the procedure. But there is hope. Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles has agreed to perform the initial operation. However, due to the magnitude of the procedure, his medical costs will be steep.

How do you put any price on the life of an innocent child?

Yong will need an army of angels to come together to fund the medical care he so desperately needs: 100,000 angels to be exact. The Red Thread Promise has agreed to be one of those angels and we invite you to join us in raising the $100,000 needed to cover the American surgeons’ and hospital fees. Together we celebrate that over $30,000 has already been raised for his care..

After the biopsy

Love Without Boundaries is working with the Chinese government to secure his medical visa so he can travel to the US and be seen in Los Angeles on March 1st! Yes, that is less than 2 weeks away. We’ve all seen the miracles that occur when people give from their hearts. Today YOU can be one of Yong’s angels.

If you would like to support Yong, donations can be made to The Red Thread Promise via PayPal or check. Please see the donation information in the left sidebar. Be sure to put his name in the memo line.

More importantly, please share this post with your friends, family, co-workers, employers, churches, civic groups and any others with a heart for children. Help us spread the word about Yong's critical need through your connections as well. Together, we can raise the additional funds necessary for his care, revealing that red thread of destiny.

THANK YOU for your support and prayers and this little guy.

CHINA :: A baby has landed

Each time we share a new baby's story with you, we are reminded of this beautiful poemby Joan Margalith entitled "The Babies Are Landing":

...There are so many places to land on Earth.

It all gets decided long before birth.

Every baby's landing is carefully planned

at this very moment, in that very land.

And it's just as sure as the nose on your face,

that each baby lands in exactly the right place...

Baby ZZT has indeed landed at just the right place—into the loving hands of the caregivers at Swallows Nest Children's Home in China. She is the first child that The Red Thread Promise is sponsoring in 2013.

Born with hydrocephalus, she has many challenges ahead. We are grateful that she has already received surgery for her condition and is recovering in the skilled hands of Swallows Nest's nannies. 

With your support, Baby ZZT will continue her recovery and grow into the healthy child she was meant to be. Her monthly care is $175 ($125 for the nanny / $50 for foster care). Donations can be made via PayPal or by check - information can be found in the sidebar at the right. 

Thank you for keeping Baby ZZT in your thoughts and prayers. 

HAITI :: Calling all camp counselors!

The following letter was sent to potential Camp Jake counselors this past week. If you are interested in becoming a counselor for the 2013 session of Camp Jake and did not receive a letter, please read below. We welcome all applicants!

Thank you for your interest in joining The Red Thread Promise as a counselor at Camp Jake, July 2013.

Camp Jake is an extraordinary summer camp where disabled Haitian children and teens are given the opportunity to move beyond their disabilities in a fun and compassionate environment, discovering and nurturing their own innate abilities. Each camper is given the opportunity to engage in cultural exchanges with counselors, sports, aquatics, creative arts, music and physical therapy at Kaliko Beach Club, located in Montrouis on the Northern coast of Haiti. Carefully selected activities are geared toward campers developing new life skills and experiences that impart greater self-confidence and self-esteem, with a focus on the campers’ future integration into the greater Haitian society.

The Red Thread’s first Camp Jake was held in January 2012, followed by another session in July 2012, each a success! Our campers continue to build on past experiences at Camp Jake and are excited about our next session. Camp Jake 2013 will host 50+ campers and with that we require 14-16 extraordinary counselors with varying backgrounds.

Given the harsh conditions of the Haitian environment and the many disabilities of our campers, we require our counselors to have the following characteristics:

• Empathy and compassion for both campers and their 
• Reliability and responsibility
• Patience with campers and other counselors
• Motivation
• Ability to follow detailed instructions
• Ability to multi-task in a high stress environment with sudden and expected changes
• Be physically fit with the ability to lift 75 lbs.
• Ability to work in temperatures exceeding 90F / 32C
• Ability to swim in both pool and sea
• A youthful outlook
• Energetic and gregarious personality
• Sense of humor

In addition to the above qualities, we look for candidates that have experience in the arts, sports, aquatics, French, ASL, physical therapy and those with CPR / lifeguarding certification.

Camp Jake 2013 will require counselors to depart the US from their respective cities on July 10, 2013 and return on July 21, 2013.  All counselors share the same flight into and departing from Haiti. The time includes an 8 day camp, a full day of training before the camp and time to recuperate following the camp.

Our fundraising efforts for the July camp will begin in February and we hope to be able to subsidize the costs of the counselors’ airfare to and from Haiti as we have for the past camps at an average cost of $900.00 per person. All remaining fees (estimated at $1,500 per counselor) are the responsibility of the counselor and must be paid in accordance with a schedule provided by The Red Thread Promise upon acceptance into the program. These remaining costs will cover all ground transportation, accommodations at the hotels in Port-au-Prince and Kaliko Beach Club and meals during the trip. The total cost per counselor is approximately $2,500.00 before any applicable subsidization.

If you plan to do fundraising for your own trip expenses, we will gladly assist you in your efforts over the next several months. Please inquire when you send your completed application and I will contact you to discuss your ideas as well as those used by previous counselors successfully. We encourage all to apply and let us help you through fundraising.  While it may seem daunting task, it can be fun and a highly rewarding experience.

If you would like an application to be a counselor at Camp Jake July 2013, we ask that you contact Kathy Korge Albergate by phone at 817.320.6522 or email at kathy@redthreadpromise.org.  If you have any questions regarding the camp or being a counselor, please contact Tom Landry, Camp Jake Director at tom@redthreadpromise.org.

Given the number of applications we receive for counselor positions, we encourage you to return your Request for Application by February 20, 2013. Upon receipt of your completed application, a formal time-line will be provided for conference calls and fees. Please note that late applications cannot be considered for this session due to the logistical nature of this camp.

Questions and additional inquiries welcome!

Thank you.
Tom Landry, Camp Jake, Director
Kathy Korge Albergate, President, Founder

About Jake Richard, Camp Jake namesakeJake is a vibrant teenager with Duchenne Musclular Dystrophy, a rare and progressive disease that involves rapid degeneration of the muscles with a life expectancy in the late teens. Jake’s dream is to provide a unique summer experience for children with disabilities like his own in a supportive, barrier-free environment. Jake participates in the planning of camp activities and engages the campers via Skype.

HAITI :: 1/5th of the way there!

Beautiful Diana in her Red Thread wheelchair!

While it may be an unlikely name for a blog post, it couldn't be more true today. We are 1/5th of way to funding a full container of All Terrain Wheelchairs (ATWs) for Haiti and we couldn't be more thrilled! 

Yesterday we received a $7,000 grant from the Lukens Fund of The Columbus Foundation toward this project. We are so grateful for this amazing gift! When added to the funds already received for the wheelchairs, we now have over $10,000 designated specifically to Haiti.

A full container holds 100 - 120 ATWs (depending on the wheelchair sizes specified). This comes at a total price of $45,000—approximately $350 per chair—which, in the world of specialty wheelchairs, is extremely reasonable. Yet, as we have shown in previous blog posts, the chairs are durable and easy to maintain and repair. We continue to check up on the chairs with each trip to Haiti, bringing replacement parts as necessary to keep the chairs in good working condition for years.

It is your generosity that has helped us come this far and your continued support that will allow us to completely fund a full container—a container that will change the lives of many Haitians with disabilities, like Diana, one of our first wheelchair recipients. 



Please consider sharing this project with your co-workers, friends and family as we can make a difference together! As always, donations can be made via PayPal or check. All info is in the right sidebar.

HAITI :: Video accolades!

We have exciting news to share! 

Do you remember the beautiful video that Tell Collective (formerly BE Productions) shot for us, visualizing the story of The Red Thread's work in Haiti? We just found out that the video won an Addy in the Public Service category in 2012! 

What's an Addy you might ask? Per the American Advertising Federation's website: "The ADDY® Awards honor advertising's best & brightest. The awards represent the true spirit of creative excellence by recognizing all forms of advertising from media of all types, creative by all sizes and entrants of all levels from anywhere in the world." 

We are humbled that our work, so beautifully captured by Tell Collective, won this award. If you haven't seen the vide or just need a refresher, please watch. 

Here's the story behind the video and the men who made it happen.

Bob, director extraordinaire

Al and some of his assistants!

A heartfelt thanks again to Tell Collective for their work on this dynamic piece!