Reminder - Holiday Gift Cards Are Available!

 

We have just received a new shipment of holiday cards!  We are offering these cards for a minimum donation of only $5 per pack of 5 cards.  A donation towards the education of our Nairobi Kids is the perfect way to honor a friend, family member, coworker, or service provider.  One of our sponsors shared that she plans to give a donation card to each of her coworkers with a square of Ghirardelli chocolate tucked inside – what a perfect combination of naughty and nice! 

Please order holiday cards by December 18 to ensure delivery before Christmas.  We will get your cards to the post office and on their way to you within 24 hours of receiving your order.  Keep in mind that our cards are not holiday-specific, and can be used throughout the winter season. 

Also, remember that our Online Shop is open if you would like to buy a specific item in honor of someone on your Christmas list.  Check out our original post for ideas on how to find the perfect gift for the special people in your life.  There is no deadline for purchases from the Online Shop.

How to Order:

For holiday cards, please send your donation to Plant-a-Book by using the Donate button on the right.  Then email info@plantabook.org to specify your address and how many cards you are requesting.  Please add $2/pack of 5 to cover international postage if you are ordering from outside the U.S.

If you are buying a specific gift, please follow the directions in our Online Shop.  You can order for your sponsored child or designate the gift for “any child in need.”  After sending your donation via Paypal, please send a list of your items to info@plantabook.org.  Please let us know in the email if you would like us to email you a small certificate acknowledging the honorary donation, to be printed on your home computer.  There will be a line on the certificate where you can write in the specific gift you purchased.

 Thank you for your donations!  

Plant-a-Book International is a registered 501(c)(3) organization and your donations are tax deductible in the United States as allowed by law.

 ~Submitted by Brooke

Nelson Mandela Remembered

This week the world mourns the death of Nelson Mandela, one of the great freedom fighters of the Twentieth Century.  After serving 27 years as a political prisoner for his campaign against the South African apartheid government, Mandela put aside thoughts of revenge and instead entered into negotiations with President F.W. de Klerk (then President of South Africa) to end apartheid and establish multiracial elections.  In 1993, Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in peacefully dismantling the apartheid system and bringing democracy to South Africa.

In 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected the first black president of South Africa.  After serving one term as president, Mandela retired from public office.  He devoted the rest of his life to raising awareness of social issues, and in particular combating poverty and HIV/AIDS.  He died on December 5, 2013, at the age of 95.  This week he will be memorialized before more than 90 world leaders and a watching world.

Although his life and work were not without controversy, Nelson Mandela impressed and inspired people all over the world as he struggled to bring freedom to South Africa while emphasizing peace and reconciliation.  He is remembered for his tenacious spirit and willingness to cast personal bitterness aside for the greater good.

Nelson Mandela is revered across Africa, and is likely a source of inspiration for our Nairobi Kids.  In your next letter to your sponsored child, you may consider including a newspaper clipping of your local newspaper’s coverage of Nelson Mandela’s death and funeral.  The children will be interested to see how an African leader is viewed across the globe.  You may also want to include a few quotes of Nelson Mandela that may inspire your sponsored child to achieve his or her own personal best.  Here are some of our favorites:

“Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

“Do not judge me by my successes.  Judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”

“When people are determined they can overcome anything.”

“It always seems impossible until it is done.”

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.  The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

Photo by: South Africa The Good News / http://www.sagoodnews.co.za / CC BY

~ Submitted by Brooke 

Child of the Week - Yvonne!

Meet Yvonne - GPS656

Birthday - Unknown

 

Yvonne is nine years old and will be advancing to Standard 4 at the Galilee Primary School in January.  Yvonne lives with her widowed mother and older brother in the Kayole-Soweto slums of Nairobi.  She loves skipping rope and dreams of being an engineer when she grows up.  Can you make Yvonne’s dreams come true this Christmas by giving her the gift of sponsorship?

You can sponsor Yvonne for only $12.50 a month. 

For more information, please visit www.plantabook.org or email info@plantabook.org.

Please make a difference in the life of a child today.

~submitted by Brooke 

Letters From Our Kids Are On Their Way!

The third term letters from our sponsored children have arrived at Plant-a-Book International headquarters! Brenda is already busy sorting the letters and preparing them to be sent off to sponsors, so look for yours in the mail soon!

Children write their sponsors at least three times per year (once per term).  Sponsors may write to their children as often as they like.  The children love receiving letters, pictures, and postcards from their sponsors.  The encouragement and love you convey in those letters means more than you can ever know.

Are you are interested in sponsoring a needy child in Kenya and realizing the great personal rewards of the sponsorship relationship?  If so, please select a child in need from our website at www.plantabook.org or email info@plantabook.org for more information.  Make a difference in the life of a child today!

~submitted by Brooke

Holiday Giving!

 

The Christmas shopping season is now in full swing, but most of us still have a few people left on our list that are hard to buy for.  This year, why not honor those special people by making a donation to help the needy children at Galilee Primary School, Waddington High School, and the Holly House orphanages?

We will once again have holiday cards available to let the recipient know of your donation.  Because the cost of the holiday cards was donated, we are able to offer a pack of five cards for a minimum donation of only $5.  These cards are the perfect way to honor family, friends, service providers (mail carriers, hairdressers, baristas, trashmen, etc.), coworkers, and neighbors.  They are also great to have on hand to bring as hostess gifts (much better than another scented candle!) and those awkward situations where someone unexpectedly gives you a gift and you would like to reciprocate.  You may even want to consider using these as your Christmas cards this year and spread the word about Plant-a-Book International to your entire address book (you can sign your name on the front with a permanent marker or write a message on the back)!  Unless otherwise specified, donations for holiday cards will go to our Buy-a-Brick Campaign.

We know that there may be people in your life that you want to honor with a gift that is a little more specific than a general donation.  You can find an honorary gift perfectly tailored to that special person’s interests in our Online Shop.  For example, you can honor your child’s teacher by donating a textbook in the subject they teach for $5-$7 (depending on the subject).  You can donate a Bible in honor of your pastor, priest, or church office staff for $9.50.  The sports enthusiast, coach, or personal trainer in your life would be honored by a gift of jump ropes ($5.50), tennis balls ($7.00) or a football (soccer to Americans, $20.50).  We have something for everyone, so please browse our Online Shop and find the perfect honorary gifts for everyone on your list!

How to Order:

For holiday cards, please send your donation to Plant-a-Book International by using the Donate button on the right.  Then email info@plantabook.org to specify your address and how many cards you are requesting.  Please add $2/pack of 5 to cover international postage if you are ordering from outside the USA.

If you are buying a specific gift, please follow the directions in our online shop.  You can order for your sponsored child or designate the gift for “any child in need.”  After sending your donation via PayPal, please send a list of your items to info@plantabook.org.  Please let us know in the email if you would like us to send you one of the holiday gift cards pictured above or if you would like us to email you a small certificate acknowledging the honorary donation, to be printed on your home computer.  There will be a line on the certificate where you can write in the specific gift you purchased.

Thank you for your donation! 

Plant-a-Book International is a registered 501(c)(3) organization and your donations are tax deductible in the United States as allowed by law.

~ submitted by Brooke

Update on the Buy-a-Brick Campaign

Thanks to our generous donors we continue to make progress in our fundraising efforts to replace the temporary Galilee Primary School classrooms with safe, permanent structures.  Our current goal is to build six ground-floor classrooms for the primary students.  To date, our Buy-a-Brick Campaign has raised enough money to fund our first classroom, and we are working on funding a second classroom.

 

One of the temporary Galilee Primary School classrooms needing replacement.

Our campaign recently received a significant boost from a contribution by the students at Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in Sydney, Australia.  The children there held a Busking Day to collect money for charity, and were able to raise $515 toward the construction of our second classroom.  Thank you, Our Lady of Lourdes, for helping to build safe, dry classrooms for the primary students at Galilee!

We need only $1396 more to fund the second classroom.  Please consider making a donation to the Build-a-Brick Campaign as part of your Christmas or end-of-the-year giving.  We would love to have the second classroom paid for before we close out 2013!

For more information on the Buy-a-Brick Campaign, please visit www.plantabook.org or email info@plantabook.org.

~submitted by Brooke