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Newsletter

Nelson’s Story of Hope

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(An excerpt from our latest newsletter)

When Nelson was just a young boy, he lost his parents to alcoholism and poverty. He never had enough food or clothes, and he never went to school. A dedicated man of God in India had opened an orphanage nearby and welcomed young Nelson in. Nelson says, “Though I lost my parents, the Lord took care of me through his faithful servant. The atmosphere was warm, loving, and Christ oriented.”

The love and support he got from his home is what made him who he is today. Now, when he sees a child without parents, proper clothes, education, and despised by society, he “can feel their pain and understand their situation.” That is why Nelson has spent his adult life serving abandoned children. He is currently involved with several Kidstown homes, working hard to help these hurting children.

Nelson still remembers the moment he invited Jesus into his heart as a boy. “The feeling that I experienced at that time feels like it was just yesterday. My wish and prayer is that many more people would experience the same.” This transformation has allowed Nelson to pour himself into the Lord’s work. India is currently facing a lot of opposition against Christians, including Christian children’s homes. According to Nelson, it is becoming increasingly hard to run a Christian home due to false accusations, imprisonments, and deportations. As things get worse for them, Nelson and the rest of our home leaders continue to work hard to heed their government’s rules while creating a safe home for their children. “My hope and prayer is that the Lord would continue providing for our needs in the homes and that our children would become an instrument in the expansion of His kingdom.” –Nelson.

It is because of our leaders, like Nelson, that there is hope for hurting children. Because they see the need and do not back away from the call to help, every child under their care now has the chance of healing and transformation. We are extremely grateful for our leaders!

An Effort to Break the Cycle

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Education Initiatives

Running the Race and The Final Mile

In countries like India and Nepal, an education is out of reach for many people living in poverty. Without an education, every generation born into poverty is trapped, with no means of escape.

Going to school gives children the chance to learn and grow in ways previously not available to them. It gives them the opportunity to dream about what they want to do when they grow up and gives them a path to achieve their goals. With a quality education, these children grow up and get better jobs. They make enough money to support their families, and even have the time and resources to give back to their communities. By simply giving a child the chance to go to school, the cycle of poverty can be broken.

For 25 years, the mission and vision of Kidstown has been, “Where every child is loved and equipped to impact the world.” Every child in our homes should receive the additional educational support that will allow them to successfully complete their education and go out to impact their families, communities, and the world. This support begins at the elementary level with the “Running the Race” Children’s Education Initiative. It finishes with the “Final Mile” Education Initiative which provides strong support for Kidstown children attending university or tech school.

Education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, preparing our children to bring hope and restoration to their communities. Your support is both immediate and life changing.

*Our sponsorship gifts are pooled together to provide for and empower all the children at each Kidstown supported home.

Running the Race
➢ Add to your current monthly sponsorship with just a few extra dollars a month
➢ Elementary Level
➢ This gives children the opportunity to attend a good school and have a tutor
Final Mile
➢ Scholarship Fund
➢ Higher Education – allows Kidstown children to attend university or tech school
➢ Allows for future career choices later through additional schooling

Find more information about our efforts to support education HERE. 

 

If you would like to donate towards “Running the Race’ and learn more about it, click HERE.

If you would like to donate towards the ‘Final Mile’ click HERE.

Blessed to be a Blessing

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Planned Giving

Being Good Stewards – Blessed to be a Blessing

How will you steward your legacy?
Stewardship is an acknowledgement that God owns everything. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.” Psalm 24:1
Consider a Legacy Plan that includes Kidstown!

Did you know that as we grow older, over 90% of our estates typically are in appreciated non-cash assets such as retirement funds and real estate!
The tax-liability implications are extremely disappointing – but can be avoided. Kidstown is working with the National Christian Foundation and other highly qualified wealth-management experts to provide excellent opportunities to help our supporters wisely and carefully maximize their wealth.

“By donating assets such as stocks, real estate, and business interests before sale, you can reduce taxes and send more to charities.” – National Christian Foundation website.
In addition, because you receive the full tax deduction, you will see significant savings on your income tax returns.

If you would like to discuss this topic or any other, contact Dennis Janzen, Ph.D. (Vice President, Kidstown) at 559-287-8389 or dennis@kidstown.org.

We are “blessed to be a blessing” and your planned gift to Kidstown can change the lives of so many children, while also strengthening your own financial future.

Back to School?

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Back to School?

From one of our young boys, here is his recent perspective of life at his home.

“I wake up at 6 in the morning and get some fresh air outside. I brush my teeth and have morning prayer. I eat breakfast and then I join my online classes. After my online class, I eat lunch and take a nap. In the evening I play some games outside and we do evening devotion. Before, I could go to school, church, and have so much fun, but now I can’t. It’s different when I study in online class, but my teachers are helpful and so good. We can watch videos in online class. I feel a bit scared sometimes, but I can pray and listen to family.”

It’s hard to hear about the difficulties of the changes in school for our kids. We want to see them succeed in life, and education is crucial in their development. But it is encouraging to hear teachers stepping up to help the kids learn, and we know our leaders are doing their best to support them. These are very resilient young children, and they still have bright futures ahead!

 

Find more information on our efforts involving education here! 

MUST READ-Letter From the Executive Director

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DOUBLE-YOUR-MONEY MATCHING GIFT OPPORTUNITY!

Dear Kidstown Friends,

The year of 2020 has certainly been a year of new challenges and change for all of us!

This is also true for the Kidstown children you so generously support. They are experiencing the same challenges presented by Covid-19 that we all are. However, in most locations, these challenges have been amplified by the poverty that already exists there. Costs have risen due to shortages basic needs like food & hygiene are increasingly hard to meet. As we attempt to provide for these needs, we need your help now more than ever and today we have Matching Gifts to double your impact.
I know that many of you have also been challenged by the loss of a job, a decrease in income, or are working from home, while others have weathered the storm with very little change, in either case, we are all navigating a new-normal, as are the children in our Kidstown children’s homes. Because these children need our help, I am asking you to consider what you can do to bring about real change in the lives of our kids. Thankfully, while our future may seem uncertain, we know who holds the future and our confidence is in Him.
As an organization that depends on donations from faithful givers like yourself, this year of financial crisis has left us with the largest income deficit in our 25-year history. Even so, we are confident in the plans we have set in place and we are committed to helping even more children in 2021 – AND we are also working to grow our Education program to provide the best future we can for all of our Kidstown children. More than ever, we are determined to make certain that our Kidstown children are secure in the knowledge that their needs will be met.
Which brings me to an amazing opportunity we’ve all been given to maximize our funding. Because of generous donations to our Matching Gift Fund, once again, we are able to make it possible for you to DOUBLE your impact when you give today. All gifts given to this fund, to a total of $20,000, will be doubled. That means your gift of $50 becomes $100, $500 becomes $1000, and a gift of $1000 will become $2000! This is a great way for you to help even more children as you plan your year-end giving!
With these additional funds, you will be helping hurting and hungry children in Nepal, India and Romania get the resources they need during this difficult time. You will be providing a loving and Godly home environment, nutritious food, an education, and medical and emotional support – all things vital to re-writing their stories.
In this crazy year of uncertainty, your gift will help TWICE as many children live with the confidence and certainty that they will be provided for! That is HUGE for a child who has lost everything. Your life-changing matching gift today will help to break the cycle of poverty and give our Kidstown Children a bright future, filled with hope and expectation – YOU WILL make a difference in a child’s life!
Thank you for joining with us and generously supporting our vision and our children! We are all in this together!

And please note that this does not relate to your normal sponsorship giving. This is only for donations given towards our matching fund, not our sponsorship fund.

Chuck Valley
President/Executive Director

 

 

P.S. Please note December 31st is the last day for gifts to be matched! Please visit our website donation page or send your check to our office. 119 North Commercial St. STE 165 Bellingham, WA 98225

December 2016 Executive Director Update

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So much has happened over the last few months in the KidstownInternational world, that I thought it might be time for a quick update and to look to the future with needs.

First of all, I wanted to say thank you for all of you that helped with our “#GivingTuesday” and our “Christmas Gift for Every Child” campaigns. We are now able to make sure that every child within our Kidstown supported homes has a gift and Christmas celebration! The children feel so blessed because of this.

In October, a team went to Romania and visited three Kidstown supported Homes while spending time with some amazing Kids. They had the opportunity to get to know the children, where they live, and also see the challenging situations where many of them came from. Our group was blessed with taking one group of kids to a castle, a park and ending the day at McDonald’s. For these children a visit to McDonald’s happens maybe once every two years unlike many children here in America. Thank you for all of your support with sponsorship of these children!

There are two groups traveling to India and Nepal next week and we ask for prayers! Please pray for protection during their travels and for clarity in seeing the vision of Kidstown, rescuing children from poverty, abandonment and being orphaned. Seeing these homes and the children first hand, changes one’s perspective of the world and what is truly important. These two weeks will change lives for both the children and our teams.

Much is happening overseas in India and Nepal that continue to make life difficult for many children as the need to rescue them grows daily. The governments in India and Nepal persecute many of our homes with regulations not required of other homes in the region. In India specifically, religions other than Hindi are not given equal opportunity and simple things like banking and getting food supplies are made difficult. Please pray for safety, as one of our homes must pack up and move from their home to avoid insurgents who have kidnapped the home leaders on multiple occasions and demanded ransom be paid for their return. They will relocate to a safer region at much cost and sadness in leaving friend. Safety is first and moving cannot be avoided. The sad thing is that these things happen often and we are powerless to help, but by prayer, so please help in lifting up these homes.

We are working hard to catch up with a back log of new children needing sponsorship. As we celebrate the Birth of Christ, this is also a time to think of giving. Our goal is to have every child sponsored in our Kidstownsupported homes and you can help by sharing the story of Kidstown with just one other person this holiday season. At Christmas dinner or with family visiting in the next few weeks. Just share the story of a rescued child you sponsor and God will do the rest as their hearts are touched. We are advocates for these kids. Join with me in stepping out as child advocates in saving lives in 2017.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!