Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Philippines fundraising dinner supports two charitie


The second annual Philippines fundraising dinner was held on April 2 at the Heartland Community Church in Clinton. This dinner supports two charities, Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW) andHarvest of Love.

By donating to SCAW, people can purchase bed kits with the knowledge that 100 percent of their donation will be given to children living in poverty. Thekits include such items as a sleeping mat, mosquito net, clothing, personal hygiene items and school supplies. Husband and wife Chris andGailHills volunteer with SCAW. Volunteers can go overseas to assist with giving out the bed kits once per year. This is the last year Chris will be going to the Philippines as SCAWrequires team leaders to change which country they visit after four years. SCAWfacilitates 12-13 distributions per year, giving out between 5,000-6,000 bed kits per visit to each country. Chris explains that many of the villages that he has visited consist of homes that are approximately 20 feet by 20 feet with a dirt floor and no amenities of any kind. Many of the villages are on river flats that flood every year. The families are living in extreme poverty.

The Harvest of Love was founded by Charie Hendrick. This is a family- run charity to feed less fortunate people near her home in the Philippines.

The Fundraising Dinner began as a different project in 2014, when Hurricane Hayan struck the Philippines. The Canadian Filipino community realized that they needed help and held the first Philippines Fundraising Dinner. The first dinner was such a success that it was decided to hold it again, but this time making it a combined fundraiser for the two charities with half of the proceeds going to each.