An article on the Charity Village website, March 14, 2005.
By Doug Jamieson
When disaster strikes, some people don't think twice before putting their lives on hold and getting involved.
As we all know, on Boxing Day a tsunami devastated Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the southern coast of Asia, and areas on the African coast. Most of you probably supported the relief effort with your donations. But for some, just writing a cheque wasn't enough.
As news of the carnage spread, Clarence Deyoung of Bedford, Nova Scotia, his wife Mary Ann, and his son Roy met with a Sri Lankan family who live in Bedford to find out what they were hearing from their families.
They learned that 70 schools were completely destroyed and 95 schools were partly destroyed in Sri Lanka. In addition, more than 200 schools were being used as camps to house people who had lost their homes.
Clarence has long been a volunteer with Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW), and has made many trips to underdeveloped countries to distribute bed kits to children who don't even own a toothbrush. So he felt that he could do something about this problem in Sri Lanka. Under the banner For the Children, he contacted friends, relatives, and business associates he thought would help, and raised enough money for 5,000 kits.
For $12 each, they put together school kits containing twelve exercise books, one science project book, two square rule exercise books, one box of coloured pencils, two pencils, two pens, one ruler, a pair of shoes, and a school bag to hold everything.
Clarence already had Rotary Club contacts in Sri Lanka from earlier SCAW trips, and they identified the remote areas that were most in need. Rotary also bought the kit contents with the funds that had been raised in Canada.
Plane tickets, visas, police checks, passports and innoculations were quickly arranged, and Clarence and Roy flew from Halifax on February 2nd via London and Dubai - 26 hours of flying - to assemble and distribute the kits.
Distribution of these school kits in seven of the affected areas was coordinated with the local school board, and all children in the chosen schools, both Tamil and Sinhalese, received a kit. DSI, a local shoe company, followed Clarence and Roy around in a truck loaded with shoes so the children could select the proper size.
While working 20-hour days in temperatures up to 38 degrees Celsius, Clarence and Roy still found time to send pictures and regular updates to their supporters by e-mail.
Clarence reports, "Many great things have happened as a result. For example, we got help from four schools. After we came back, Roy put together a PowerPoint presentation that we presented to all the children in those schools to thank them for their help, to show them the actual distribution of the school bag process, and answer any questions they might have. I have always felt that it is great to get children helping children. These children asked a lot of good questions, and you never know when you are planting a seed that will get these children involved in doing volunteer work or helping others somehow. As a matter of fact, from those presentations, I am working with three high school students who want to go to a developing country this summer to work on a project of some kind. Plus, we are now getting calls from other schools and churches to go and do the presentation for them."
They arrived back home on February 18th.
Mission accomplished. Thanks guys.
Monday, March 14, 2005
Monday, February 7, 2005
600,000 kids, and still going strong
From the Times of India, February 7, 2005
Rahul Chandawarkar/TNN
Members of the Canadian charitable organization, Sleeping Children Around the World, and volunteers of the Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment distribute sleeping and school kits to children in Wagholi on Sunday.Pune, India: The Canadian charitable organization, Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW), joined hands with the Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment to distribute 600 sleeping and school kits to needy children in Wagholi and Mulshi, on the outskirts of the city, on Sunday.
Members of the Canadian charitable organization, Sleeping Children Around the World, and volunteers of the Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment distribute sleeping and school kits to children in Wagholi on Sunday.
SCAW was founded by Canadians Murray and Margaret Dryden in 1970 and till February 2002, has collected over $15 million to provide sleeping kits to over 600,000 children in 31 countries world-wide. Typically, SCAW donations provide sleeping kits to children of any race/religion in underdeveloped and developing countries. Each $30 donation (Rs 1,130) provides for a sleeping kit that consists of a mat or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net (if applicable), school uniforms, undergarments, shoes, school supplies and a towel.
Veteran Mumbai-based Rotarian Shamaldas Parekh (82), who is traveling in Maharashtra and Karnataka with the Canadian team and has collaborated with SCAW for the last 25 years, said the first-ever Indian distribution was done at the St. Crispins home in Pune in 1971. SCAW joined hands with the Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment in 1995 and has been carrying out distributions in Pune for the last 10 years.
According to Rotarian Nitin Shah, over 5,000 children have been given sleeping kits in the last 10 years in Mulshi, Wagholi, Malavli, Markal, Phursungi, Katraj and Pune city areas. Shah said preference was always accorded to the needy, school going children in the age group of 6 to 10. We are confident that the sleeping and school kits will encourage children to stay within the school system and keep them away from work, says Shah.
On Sunday morning, 232 sleeping kits were first distributed by SCAW and Rotary teams to the children of stone quarry workers at the Pashan Shala, run by the Santulan group in Wagholi.
This was followed by distribution of kits to 25 Kashmiri orphans from the Kamshet English school and 129 children of the Ashram Shala, a school for orphans and destitutes at Wagholi.
Four students and two teachers of the same Kamshet school had perished last year in a fire caused by an LPG tanker, which had run into the school premises.
After receiving the kits, the children of Ashram Shala could not hold back their joy. They sat in neat rows and cheered their benefactors.
Geetanjali Thakre (12), a class V student of Ashram Shala, said, I am very happy to get the sleeping kit. Im sure I will be comfortable tonight. When I grow up, I want to become a doctor and serve the poor people of the world.
Her classmate, Renuka Pujari (12), said, I love school very much. English is my favorite subject. I want to become a teacher and take care of orphans like me when I grow up.
It was obvious that the days events had touched a chord in the hearts of the SCAW team. Ted Swanston, a resident of Toronto, on his fourth visit to India, said, Its a privilege to help the needy children of India. The children at the stone quarry were so poor. We hope our kits will make their lives a little more comfortable.
According to Ted, every SCAW volunteer incurs his/her own traveling and lodging-boarding expenses. Every single dollar is put into the sleeping kit. We do not take anything from the organization, Ted said.
After distributing another 214 kits to children from the villages near Mulshi on Sunday afternoon, the SCAW team was traveling to Belgaum, Hubli, Ranebennur and Kundgol in Karnataka for more distributions.
Rahul Chandawarkar/TNN
Members of the Canadian charitable organization, Sleeping Children Around the World, and volunteers of the Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment distribute sleeping and school kits to children in Wagholi on Sunday.Pune, India: The Canadian charitable organization, Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW), joined hands with the Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment to distribute 600 sleeping and school kits to needy children in Wagholi and Mulshi, on the outskirts of the city, on Sunday.Members of the Canadian charitable organization, Sleeping Children Around the World, and volunteers of the Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment distribute sleeping and school kits to children in Wagholi on Sunday.
SCAW was founded by Canadians Murray and Margaret Dryden in 1970 and till February 2002, has collected over $15 million to provide sleeping kits to over 600,000 children in 31 countries world-wide. Typically, SCAW donations provide sleeping kits to children of any race/religion in underdeveloped and developing countries. Each $30 donation (Rs 1,130) provides for a sleeping kit that consists of a mat or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net (if applicable), school uniforms, undergarments, shoes, school supplies and a towel.
Veteran Mumbai-based Rotarian Shamaldas Parekh (82), who is traveling in Maharashtra and Karnataka with the Canadian team and has collaborated with SCAW for the last 25 years, said the first-ever Indian distribution was done at the St. Crispins home in Pune in 1971. SCAW joined hands with the Rotary Club of Pune Cantonment in 1995 and has been carrying out distributions in Pune for the last 10 years.
According to Rotarian Nitin Shah, over 5,000 children have been given sleeping kits in the last 10 years in Mulshi, Wagholi, Malavli, Markal, Phursungi, Katraj and Pune city areas. Shah said preference was always accorded to the needy, school going children in the age group of 6 to 10. We are confident that the sleeping and school kits will encourage children to stay within the school system and keep them away from work, says Shah.
On Sunday morning, 232 sleeping kits were first distributed by SCAW and Rotary teams to the children of stone quarry workers at the Pashan Shala, run by the Santulan group in Wagholi.
This was followed by distribution of kits to 25 Kashmiri orphans from the Kamshet English school and 129 children of the Ashram Shala, a school for orphans and destitutes at Wagholi.
Four students and two teachers of the same Kamshet school had perished last year in a fire caused by an LPG tanker, which had run into the school premises.
After receiving the kits, the children of Ashram Shala could not hold back their joy. They sat in neat rows and cheered their benefactors.
Geetanjali Thakre (12), a class V student of Ashram Shala, said, I am very happy to get the sleeping kit. Im sure I will be comfortable tonight. When I grow up, I want to become a doctor and serve the poor people of the world.
Her classmate, Renuka Pujari (12), said, I love school very much. English is my favorite subject. I want to become a teacher and take care of orphans like me when I grow up.
It was obvious that the days events had touched a chord in the hearts of the SCAW team. Ted Swanston, a resident of Toronto, on his fourth visit to India, said, Its a privilege to help the needy children of India. The children at the stone quarry were so poor. We hope our kits will make their lives a little more comfortable.
According to Ted, every SCAW volunteer incurs his/her own traveling and lodging-boarding expenses. Every single dollar is put into the sleeping kit. We do not take anything from the organization, Ted said.
After distributing another 214 kits to children from the villages near Mulshi on Sunday afternoon, the SCAW team was traveling to Belgaum, Hubli, Ranebennur and Kundgol in Karnataka for more distributions.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Etobicoke-based charity faces its first Christmas in 34 years without founder Murray Dryden
From the Toronto Star, December 26, 2004
Kevin Donovan, Staff Reporter
One of Canada's top charities is facing its first Christmas without founder and leader Murray Dryden. But his death last February has not slowed the pace of the 34-year-old charity that devotes every nickel of public donations to bedding and clothing for children in the developing world.
"All the money goes to the children. That's the amazing thing," says Eileen Rademacher, 87, one of a host of volunteers powering Sleeping Children Around the World. "If one charity can do it, why can't others?"
The charity spends an average of $1.5 million per year on innovative "bedkits" that volunteers assemble and deliver overseas at their own expense. All administration costs are covered by an investment fund created by the late businessman.
The charity has achieved all of this without fundraising, making it virtually unique in the philanthropy world.
Sleeping Children was born of an elegant concept: "The comfort of a bed is a basic right of every child," Dryden, father of former Leafs goalie Ken Dryden, often said. To detractors who asked why he did not donate food, Dryden countered that if children could get eight hours of decent sleep they would have a better chance of getting an education, growing up and thriving.
The Manitoba native struggled along dusty roads as a salesman in the Great Depression before finding success in the construction materials trade. Later, he travelled the world and saw great poverty among children.
A flash of inspiration came in 1970 as Dryden, who had moved to Etobicoke with his wife Margaret in 1948, was about to retire. In what would become a second, albeit unpaid, career he devised a charity that would deliver to children an environment-appropriate "bedkit." The kit changes from country to country but is always made by local labour and consists of the best items $30 can buy in that area.
Each kit begins with a mattress. Added to that are items such as a pillow, sheet, raincoat, towel, shirt and pants (school uniforms are often included because in some countries children cannot attend school without a uniform). Kits also include shoes or flip-flops, possibly a school bag or water flask and, in malaria zones, a specially treated mosquito net.
Dryden died on Feb. 1, aged 92. The charity's office is actually the Dryden home in Etobicoke, bequeathed to the charity by the philanthropist.
It's the home where Dryden paved over the backyard so that sons Ken and Dave could hone the goalie skills they would later use in the National Hockey League. Both sons and daughter Judy are supporters of Sleeping Children and Dave is secretary-treasurer of the board of directors. (Margaret Dryden was a co-founder of the charity and Dryden's second wife was also involved. Both women died before him.)
The home is filled with volunteers on any given day.
On a recent visit, retired school principal Grant Clark dropped by. He's a "travel volunteer." Clark and his wife Leslie have taken numerous trips to distribute the bedkits. It's not cheap; each volunteer pays about $4,000 or $5,000 for their airfare and accommodations. While bedkit donors get an income tax receipt, travel volunteers do not get a tax credit for their costs. Dryden felt volunteers should benefit from the experience alone.
Trips are usually three weeks long. They're done on a shoestring budget and accommodations are spartan. In 2004, Sleeping Children distributed kits in India, the Philippines, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Honduras.
Before the Canadian volunteers arrive, local service clubs (Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions groups are active overseas) have organized the production of the bedkits and identified where they are needed.
Once the kits are ready, volunteers like Clark arrive and travel with the supplies to remote villages. It is not unusual for 7,000 kits to be distributed on a trip.
The volunteers, many of whom are in their 60s and 70s, travel by jeep, bus and often on foot over rugged terrain.
Dryden insisted on documenting each donation. So, as the kits are distributed, the volunteers photograph the children. Later, the donors receive a letter with the photograph showing what their $30 (or more) purchased. They also receive a tax receipt from the federally licensed charity.
"It's the most amazing experience you could imagine," says Clark, who travelled to Uganda this year. "I've been to villages of 2,500 with only 500 bedkits. What you see is not only the 500 recipients celebrating but also a celebration by the other 2,000 in the village."
Travel volunteers are encouraged to file field reports which are published on the charity's website.
One recent report describes the joy and astonishment of two boys (the target age is 6-12) as they unrolled the brightly coloured mattress and examined the clothes and supplies inside.
Sleeping Children has distributed approximately 750,000 bedkits so far in 31 countries. The charity does its best to ensure the bedkits are not sold or taken by an adult.
Upstairs in the Dryden home is a large room filled with volunteers, many of them old friends of the family. They have lists upon lists of donors, stacks of envelopes and a mound of pictures to go through. The photo finishing and other items are donated.
Volunteers, all women, jokingly call themselves the "upstairs maids." They range in age from 56 to 87. Among them on this visit are Sally Gibb, Lynda Huff, Pat Cater, Margaret Helliker and Jean Cullen.
Murray Dryden, who went on many of the distribution trips, also worked with these volunteers. Today, they are mailing out photos from the Uganda trip. Many people "buy" a bedkit donation as a Christmas present. One 6-year-old girl recently decided to ask for donations instead of presents at her birthday party. She raised $320.
It's chilly in the Dryden home, especially upstairs. The old furnace is on its last legs. But a charity that saves elastic bands, stamps and makes its volunteers pay travel costs won't be buying a new furnace any time soon.
"We're just incredibly frugal," says Linda Webb, the office manager and only paid employee (interest from the investment fund covers her salary). Even Webb pays her own way on overseas trips.
So how does the charity get donations? First, it doesn't fundraise because Dryden did not like the idea of bothering people at their homes. But volunteers are encouraged to give talks to schools and service clubs upon returning to Canada, which spreads news of the charity.
An ongoing investigation by the Toronto Star into Canada's 80,000 charities has devised a "good works" ratio to rate charities.
It states that good charities devote 60 per cent or more of their annual expenditure to charitable activity, with the rest going to fundraising and administration. The Star has found that four out of five charities meet or exceed this target.
However, only a handful do what Sleeping Children does by devoting 100 per cent of donations to good works. (The Star's Fresh Air Fund and Santa Fund charities are other examples). The actual number is estimated to be in the low hundreds. An exact number is not available.
On the other end of the spectrum, one in five charities — a whopping 15,000 agencies — fall below the 60 per cent mark. Some of these are poorly managed; a minority are outright scams.
Sleeping Children's Webb said Murray Dryden was offended by charities that wasted money on fundraising. "Murray believed that people would give if they understood the integrity of the organization," Webb said.
Kevin Donovan, Staff Reporter
One of Canada's top charities is facing its first Christmas without founder and leader Murray Dryden. But his death last February has not slowed the pace of the 34-year-old charity that devotes every nickel of public donations to bedding and clothing for children in the developing world.
"All the money goes to the children. That's the amazing thing," says Eileen Rademacher, 87, one of a host of volunteers powering Sleeping Children Around the World. "If one charity can do it, why can't others?"
The charity spends an average of $1.5 million per year on innovative "bedkits" that volunteers assemble and deliver overseas at their own expense. All administration costs are covered by an investment fund created by the late businessman.
The charity has achieved all of this without fundraising, making it virtually unique in the philanthropy world.
Sleeping Children was born of an elegant concept: "The comfort of a bed is a basic right of every child," Dryden, father of former Leafs goalie Ken Dryden, often said. To detractors who asked why he did not donate food, Dryden countered that if children could get eight hours of decent sleep they would have a better chance of getting an education, growing up and thriving.
The Manitoba native struggled along dusty roads as a salesman in the Great Depression before finding success in the construction materials trade. Later, he travelled the world and saw great poverty among children.
A flash of inspiration came in 1970 as Dryden, who had moved to Etobicoke with his wife Margaret in 1948, was about to retire. In what would become a second, albeit unpaid, career he devised a charity that would deliver to children an environment-appropriate "bedkit." The kit changes from country to country but is always made by local labour and consists of the best items $30 can buy in that area.
Each kit begins with a mattress. Added to that are items such as a pillow, sheet, raincoat, towel, shirt and pants (school uniforms are often included because in some countries children cannot attend school without a uniform). Kits also include shoes or flip-flops, possibly a school bag or water flask and, in malaria zones, a specially treated mosquito net.
Dryden died on Feb. 1, aged 92. The charity's office is actually the Dryden home in Etobicoke, bequeathed to the charity by the philanthropist.
It's the home where Dryden paved over the backyard so that sons Ken and Dave could hone the goalie skills they would later use in the National Hockey League. Both sons and daughter Judy are supporters of Sleeping Children and Dave is secretary-treasurer of the board of directors. (Margaret Dryden was a co-founder of the charity and Dryden's second wife was also involved. Both women died before him.)
The home is filled with volunteers on any given day.
On a recent visit, retired school principal Grant Clark dropped by. He's a "travel volunteer." Clark and his wife Leslie have taken numerous trips to distribute the bedkits. It's not cheap; each volunteer pays about $4,000 or $5,000 for their airfare and accommodations. While bedkit donors get an income tax receipt, travel volunteers do not get a tax credit for their costs. Dryden felt volunteers should benefit from the experience alone.
Trips are usually three weeks long. They're done on a shoestring budget and accommodations are spartan. In 2004, Sleeping Children distributed kits in India, the Philippines, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Honduras.
Before the Canadian volunteers arrive, local service clubs (Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions groups are active overseas) have organized the production of the bedkits and identified where they are needed.
Once the kits are ready, volunteers like Clark arrive and travel with the supplies to remote villages. It is not unusual for 7,000 kits to be distributed on a trip.
The volunteers, many of whom are in their 60s and 70s, travel by jeep, bus and often on foot over rugged terrain.
Dryden insisted on documenting each donation. So, as the kits are distributed, the volunteers photograph the children. Later, the donors receive a letter with the photograph showing what their $30 (or more) purchased. They also receive a tax receipt from the federally licensed charity.
"It's the most amazing experience you could imagine," says Clark, who travelled to Uganda this year. "I've been to villages of 2,500 with only 500 bedkits. What you see is not only the 500 recipients celebrating but also a celebration by the other 2,000 in the village."
Travel volunteers are encouraged to file field reports which are published on the charity's website.
One recent report describes the joy and astonishment of two boys (the target age is 6-12) as they unrolled the brightly coloured mattress and examined the clothes and supplies inside.
Sleeping Children has distributed approximately 750,000 bedkits so far in 31 countries. The charity does its best to ensure the bedkits are not sold or taken by an adult.
Upstairs in the Dryden home is a large room filled with volunteers, many of them old friends of the family. They have lists upon lists of donors, stacks of envelopes and a mound of pictures to go through. The photo finishing and other items are donated.
Volunteers, all women, jokingly call themselves the "upstairs maids." They range in age from 56 to 87. Among them on this visit are Sally Gibb, Lynda Huff, Pat Cater, Margaret Helliker and Jean Cullen.
Murray Dryden, who went on many of the distribution trips, also worked with these volunteers. Today, they are mailing out photos from the Uganda trip. Many people "buy" a bedkit donation as a Christmas present. One 6-year-old girl recently decided to ask for donations instead of presents at her birthday party. She raised $320.
It's chilly in the Dryden home, especially upstairs. The old furnace is on its last legs. But a charity that saves elastic bands, stamps and makes its volunteers pay travel costs won't be buying a new furnace any time soon.
"We're just incredibly frugal," says Linda Webb, the office manager and only paid employee (interest from the investment fund covers her salary). Even Webb pays her own way on overseas trips.
So how does the charity get donations? First, it doesn't fundraise because Dryden did not like the idea of bothering people at their homes. But volunteers are encouraged to give talks to schools and service clubs upon returning to Canada, which spreads news of the charity.
An ongoing investigation by the Toronto Star into Canada's 80,000 charities has devised a "good works" ratio to rate charities.
It states that good charities devote 60 per cent or more of their annual expenditure to charitable activity, with the rest going to fundraising and administration. The Star has found that four out of five charities meet or exceed this target.
However, only a handful do what Sleeping Children does by devoting 100 per cent of donations to good works. (The Star's Fresh Air Fund and Santa Fund charities are other examples). The actual number is estimated to be in the low hundreds. An exact number is not available.
On the other end of the spectrum, one in five charities — a whopping 15,000 agencies — fall below the 60 per cent mark. Some of these are poorly managed; a minority are outright scams.
Sleeping Children's Webb said Murray Dryden was offended by charities that wasted money on fundraising. "Murray believed that people would give if they understood the integrity of the organization," Webb said.
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