A special thank you to the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association at American University Washington College of Law for hosting a bubble tea fundraiser to benefit Children’s Hope Fund.  The fundraiser was a great success – educating the community about CHF’s mission and raising enough funds to provide assistance to four students.  Thank you WCL and APALSA for your generosity and support!

We are happy to announce that you can now set up a recurring monthly donation to Children’s Hope Fund through PayPal. If you look in the right sidebar you will see a “Donate Monthly” button with a drop-down menu to choose your donation amount. For as little as $10 a month (two trips to Starbucks) you can be helping the children of Bacoor get an education and escape the cycle of poverty. Every little bit helps, if 10 people commit to a $10 per month donation, that adds up to $100 per month ($1200 per year!) for the children of Bacoor , and so on, so don’t think that your $10 per month isn’t enough to make a difference, it all adds up in the end. Remember, it only takes ~$20 to help one child be able to attend school for the year by providing them with necessary school supplies and assistance with school fees. 🙂 Thank you again for your ongoing support!

Children’s Hope Fund would like to thank The Filipino Cultural Association at Towson University for their generous donation of school supplies for our students in need this year. We are very grateful for their help as these school supplies will enable the students at Bacoor Elementary School to start the school year with the supplies they need to succeed.

We have until May 25 to collect backpacks, school supplies, clothing, and of course monetary donations to help with our 2013 Back To School Backpack Drive.  Contact us at info@childrenshopefund.org if you would like to donate supplies. Below is a list of items that are needed:

• Backpacks
• Pencils
• Notebooks
• Erasers
• Chalk
• Arts & Crafts Kits
• Textbooks (K-6, all subjects)
• Teacher’s Manuals (all subjects)
• Dictionaries
• Encyclopedias
• Books (Fiction and Non-Fiction, K-6 levels)
• Educational Videos or DVDs
• Educational Games (Scrabble, etc.)
• Flash Cards (all types)

You can also make a tax-deductible donation through Paypal by using the link on our homepage or by mailing a check. A $20 donation will cover school uniforms, supplies, and fees for one student for one year.

This is our 2011 Year in Review video, showing how your support has helped the children of Bacoor. Thank you all!!

The video was put together by Brad Rossini. Thanks, Brad!

Children’s Hope Fund will be holding a Year in Review event on Tuesday, 7/26 from 7-9pm at Forest Room 5 in Denver, CO (map).  We invite everyone to join us for a presentation of our efforts and accomplishments over the last year and see how your support has helped the children of Bacoor. We’re also excited to announce that representatives from the Million Dollar Round Table Foundation will be joining us to present Children’s Hope Fund with a generous grant to help in our continuing efforts. We hope to see you there, and please invite your friends!

On March 21st we conducted our March meals program where over 300 children at Bacoor Elementary school were provided a hot meal of arroz caldo, a traditional Filipino comfort food.  Thanks to all our supporters and volunteers for making this possible.  We couldn’t do it without you!

We would like to thank everyone who supported our meals program in February. Meals were delivered to over 300 children at Bacoor Elementary School. A dish called arroz caldo was served. Arroz caldo is a Filipino comfort food – a porridge with rice, vegetables and chicken cooked in chicken broth that is eaten in many Asian countries. Filipinos love arroz caldo and will eat it anytime of day.

This activity was conducted by volunteers who unselfishly shared their time and effort in preparing and distributing the meals. Thank you to all who made it possible for these kids to enjoy a much needed meal. I would also like to thank the people of Bacoor who volunteered their time to help facilitate everything. Please check out the pictures so you can see the children that you’re helping.

In November 2010, I went on a two-week backpacking trip to the Philippines with my sister and friend. From Manila, with our 40-pound backpacks, our destination was 9.5 miles away: Bacoor Cavite. A typical 10-minute drive in the States was a three-hour adventure. We first took a tricycle to the train station, then rode the train to a jeepney stop.

Jeepneys. I’ve never seen anything like it – picture a carnival on wheels. Bright colors, wild graffiti and decorative adornments embellished a school-bus-shaped vehicle. We missed our stop, going too far south and had to tread down a dirt road to get to another jeepney stop headed back the way we came. We then took another tricycle to Bacoor Elementary School. We made it!

On our journey, many asked us why we, tourists, were going to visit this town. What is there to do or see in this poor area? Well, today we were going to volunteer with Children’s Hope Fund (CHF), a Denver-based nonprofit organization that provides educational opportunities and resources to impoverished children.

We were greeted by Rosalie Concepcion, a school teacher and volunteer for CHF. She warmly welcomed us into her home where over a dozen volunteers were cooking. This day was an exciting day for 300 children. They were going to receive a hot meal – for free!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA-Y65ywCIk

The Children’s Hope Fund was hosting its monthly meal program that provided one piece of fried chicken, white rice and a juice box to each child. When we arrived at the site in the poor village of Tramo, the children were waiting patiently and orderly in the hot sun. They were lined in rows, each holding “the golden ticket.” Tickets for the free meal were distributed to children in school, as a way of encouraging them to attend.

The volunteers gave us a tour of the area. Many of the homes did not have doors – we could look right into them. They appeared to be formed by upright pieces of wood with a board slapped on top to function as the roof.

Some of the children did not have shoes, running around on the path of dirt and rocks. They were playing with bottle caps. Everyone greeted us with a smile. Many were missing teeth.

When the food arrived, my sister and friend assisted in passing out the meal boxes to the children. I wandered the area taking photos and making conversation with the parents – nearly all were women. Most said they were single mothers, working as the breadwinners for their family. They expressed their gratitude for Children’s Hope Fund. This meal was important to them. Some children had waited in line for more than two hours. Many mothers asked if there would be leftover lunchboxes available for them. I watched the joy on the children’s faces as they enjoyed such a simple meal.

It was an eye-opening experience. With the kind hearts of its volunteers, the Children’s Hope Fund was making a substantial impact on the lives of these children. Rosalie shared a major problem is that after concepts are taught in school, they are not reinforced at home because most parents are not educated enough to help. Many parents shared the same sentiments, but with guilt that they could not provide more for their children.

As my eyes began to well up, I realized that not only do I need to better appreciate what I have, but that there are many ways to help others even on the other side of the world.

With this experience kept firmly in my mind and closely in my heart, we left Bacoor Cavite to Batangas.

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Annie Guo is the President of Asian Avenue magazine, a monthly publication based in Denver, Colorado. This is an excerpt from the magazine.

We would like to thank everyone who supported our free meal program in November.  Hot meals were delivered to children in Tramo, a village in Bacoor, Cavite. There were over 300 children who attended the meal program, some of these kids in this area frequently skip meals or eat too little. Fried chicken, rice and juice was served.

This activity was conducted by volunteers who unselfishly shared their time and effort in the preparation and distribution of the meals. Thank you to all who made it possible for these kids to enjoy a much needed meal. I would also like to thank the people of Bacoor who volunteered their time to help facilitate everything. Please check out the pictures on our Facebook page so you can see the children that you’re helping.

Children’s Hope Fund is holding its inaugural Halloween Boo-Bash and Silent Auction Fundraiser at 7pm on 10/23/2010 at Rex Lounge in Denver, CO. (map)

Come help us celebrate our one-year anniversary and help the children of Bacoor, Cavite in the Philippines. There will be a DJ with music and karaoke, dancing, and lots of fun. We’re getting a lot of great items donated for the silent auction, so come bid and treat yourself to something good while helping the children at the same time.

It’s just $5 at the door to join in the fun, with all proceeds from the door and the silent auction going to help the kids.  Costumes are optional, so wear one if you want, but don’t feel like you have to in order to join in.

Please let all your friends know, and we look forward to seeing you there!