GlobalGiving.org: Nurture 15 At-Risk Atlanta Preschoolers for a Year

5 Questions to Ask Before Donating

Paige McKay Kubik — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:26:50 GMT

Time with Mr. & Mrs. Claus at Sheltering Arms

Dear Friend of Sheltering Arms,

Every December, we are overwhelmed with the generosity of friends who share with our children during this season of giving. Thousands of toys and books are collected by school groups, businesses, and at special holiday parties. Financial contributions made in honor of loved ones will help provide child care tuition scholarships for our children in the new year. Volunteers share their time to play the part of Santa's elves in our classrooms, or donate household items to families who are struggling after tragedies like housefires and illness. These gifts from the community give our children holiday memories to cherish. We are so grateful.

There are so many deserving requests for help at this time of year. We recently ran across a Money Magazine article that gave five questions to help donors decide where their gifts can make the biggest difference. As a friend and supporter of Sheltering Arms through Global Giving, we thought you'd like to know how we measure up on these questions.

Does the IRS recognize Sheltering Arms as a charity? Yes. Donations to Sheltering Arms are tax-deductible.
How long have you been around? Sheltering Arms was founded in 1888 and has been in operation continuously for the past 123 years.
What percent of my donation will go to charitable works? 92 cents of every dollar donated to Sheltering Arms goes directly to serve children and families.
Do you have a year's worth of working capital? Even during the recession, Sheltering Arms has ended every fiscal year with a balanced budget and a slight surplus which is reinvested into our program. With an annual budget of more than $25 million, we have approximately five months of working capital on hand. Our diverse funding base includes a healthy mix of private contributions (individuals, foundations, special events), government grants, and earned income from more than 67 different sources. This gives us the flexibility and resiliency to continue providing quality services even in a tough economy. At present, we have raised more than 40% of the goal of $10 million in our Teach Today>Reach Tomorrow campaign, which will provide additional capital and reserve funding to strengthen our financial position. Sheltering Arms owns or has rent-free long-term lease agreements for 15 of our 16 centers.
Are you slashing services this year? No; we're actually serving more children than ever. While the recession has affected some of our funding sources and required some creative problem solving and belt tightening measures, we actually are serving more children in 2011 than in the previous year. Changing demographics and demand and decreases in funding necessitated the closing of our Rockdale county center. That was offset, however, by the relocation and expansion of one of our Gwinnett county centers and small increases in Pre-K class sizes. Many of the children and staff affected by the Rockdale closure relocated to other Sheltering Arms centers.

Because of supporters like you, Sheltering Arms is stable and growing during this tough economy when more families than ever need our services. Thank you so much for what you have done in 2011 to make this possible. We hope your new year is full of the same joy and hope you have shared with the thousands of children and families served by Sheltering Arms.

Peace on Earth,

Paige

Holiday Program for Our Parents

Links:

Attachments:

New Sheltering Arms Brochure (PDF)

Early Literacy Breaks Cycle of Poverty

Paige McKay Kubik — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:35:45 GMT

R&B Artist Tyra B Shares Storytime

Dear Friend of Sheltering Arms,

Census data this month showed that Georgia ranks third in child poverty in the United States, up two slots from last year. Research has proven that early education and literacy can help children in poverty break that cycle as adults. Economists have tied early education to a better educated workforce, increased economic development, lower crime rates, and higher property values for our communities. Programs like Sheltering Arms have been shown to provide a return of as much as $17 for every $1 invested, due in part to reduced costs of incarceration, remediation, and public assistance.

Each year, Sheltering Arms' Operation StoryBook gets the community involved in setting our youngest citizens on the path to a promising future. Operation StoryBook builds strong readers and a strong future workforce from the cradle by providing over 2500 children—most from low-income working families--with 12 new books for their home libraries over the next year. Early learning and parent education programs bring these books alive for Sheltering Arms’ children and their families.

On September 15 & 16, more than 800 community and corporate volunteers and VIPs helped Sheltering Arms kick off our sixth year of Operation StoryBook with a two-day Read-A-Thon in our 16 centers. Georgia's First Lady Sandra Deal, Grammy winning artists J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League and Cassius D. Kalb, Billboard Top 40 performer Tyra B, elected and corporate leaders, philanthropists, and many others shared their favorite books and stories with our young children. Our Corporate Reading Challenge winner, AT&T, provided more than 200 volunteers and joined Target and other local businesses as a sponsor of the event, raising $100,000 to provide early learning and child care tuition scholarships to children from low-income working families. The children spent the week exploring music and other cultures through the Indian folktale, "The Drum," and received their own personal copy of the book to take home on Friday, after hearing and seeing it performed by August House storytellers, the great gig DANCE Ensemble, and drummers from The Children's School and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Marching Band.

Events like Operation StoryBook's Read-A-Thon create excitement about reading in our children, and use books as a window to a rich understanding of our world and their place in it. If you were not able to be with us this month for Operation StoryBook, there are still opportunities for you to participate. On October 6, Sheltering Arms centers will participate in JumpStart's Read for the Record, a national attempt to break a world's record for the most people reading "Llama, Llama Red Pajama" in one day. And in November and December, we host our annual community-wide Books & Bears Drive, providing a new stuffed animal and children's book to each of our 2500 children for the holidays. If you'd like to participate in either of these, just send an email to Jason at jlowery@shelteringarmsforkids.com.

The work we do each day, preparing 2500 young children for their best future, is only possible because you are part of the Sheltering Arms family of supporters. Thank you so much.

Yours Truly,

Paige

Links:

Take a Virtual Tour of Sheltering Arms!

Paige McKay Kubik — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:24:46 GMT

Friends at Sheltering Arms in Jonesboro, GA

Greetings!

There are so many great causes you could support, so we are grateful that you have chosen to invest your charitable dollars in Sheltering Arms. We often talk about the "heart" reasons for supporting our work: Adorable children who will succeed in life because you helped make a great beginning available to them. Hard-working parents who keep their jobs secure and their children safe because they can now afford child care. Neighborhoods that are turning around decades of hopelessness to become safe communities that offer residents opportunity and a promising future.

But there are "head" reasons to give, too. Over and over, research has proven that quality early education programs like Sheltering Arms bring economic benefits to communities. For every $1 a community spends on these programs, as much as $17 has been shown to be saved in reduced public spending on incarceration, public assistance, and remediation. At-risk children who had access to early education have been shown to earn more as adults than their counterparts who did not have that advantage.

Sheltering Arms works hard to be a good steward of your investment in us. For every dollar you've donated to Sheltering Arms, 92 cents has gone directly to serve children and families. Each year, our children meet and exceed research-based developmental milestones and school readiness standards. We are reviewed many times each year by outside funding and accrediting agencies and consistently receive the highest marks for outstanding management of our finances and our programs.

One of those annual reviews is done by investment volunteers of the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta. We just finished that review last week, and we shared the attached "virtual tour" with the review team. We thought you might like to see it, too. You'll see Sheltering Arms through a child's eyes, but in the fine print you'll see our educational and family support motives behind the "fun and games."

Thank you again for your loyal support of Sheltering Arms!

Sincerely,

Paige

P.S. A virtual tour is nice, but we'd love to have you come in person! Mark your calendar to join us for Operation StoryBook as one of our volunteer VIP Readers on September 15 & 16. There's more info at the link below.

StoryStroll 2011 at Sheltering Arms

Week of the Young Child 2011 at Sheltering Arms

Links:

Sheltering Arms Families Step Up for Children

Paige McKay Kubik — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 19:31:37 GMT

Little ones join the Sheltering Arms StoryStroll

It's been a challenging start to 2011. Economic recovery has still not reached many of the families who need the services Sheltering Arms provides, meaning our waiting lists for child care tuition scholarships continue to grow. At the same time, fundraising remains sluggish as many of our loyal supporters have had to scale back their donations until business picks up. Most recently, efforts to balance government budgets and cut deficits at the state and national level have put in jeopardy some of our most stable sources of support. The Georgia PreK program was slated to be cut to a half day program, a move that would have forced good teachers to leave the profession, and would have left low-income working families with hard choices that would impact their household budgets and their children's welfare. Sheltering Arms parents took a leadership role in speaking out to save PreK, writing letters and emails, making phone calls, attending townhall meetings with their elected officials, and speaking at legislative hearings. In response to the overwhelming grassroot support for PreK, the full-day program was restored. While Sheltering Arms still anticipates a loss of at least $1M in PreK funding, the current plan is much less detrimental to families and teachers. We are grateful to our wonderful families who represented us so passionately and professionally in front of our state's leaders.

One of the ways we're working hard and creatively to restore lost funding is through events like our upcoming StoryStroll: Walk a Mile for a Sheltering Arms Child. From April 9 - 23, all 17 Sheltering Arms centers will host family-friendly 1-mile walks to raise funds for child care tuition scholarships. Even babies who can't yet walk on their own will participate, and many little ones will opt to "trike" their mile rather than walk it. Funds are raised through pledged sponsorships of our walkers, and community groups---from high school bands to local Kiwanis clubs---volunteer their time to create a festive atmosphere for each event.

The StoryStrolls do more than just help us raise money, however. They also help to raise awareness about the link between early childhood education and long-term health benefits. New research from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found young children who participated in high quality early education programs have significantly better health as adults and are more likely to graduate from high school. High school graduates are not only healthier than those who dropout, but their children are healthier, too.

The StoryStrolls also help families get involved in the early prevention of childhood obesity. Sheltering Arms works with children during the crucial early years of development, and with young parents as they learn how to support and raise a family. The StoryStrolls get children and parents excited about physical fitness at a time when it can become a lifelong habit. Partnerships with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Morehouse School of Medicine, and Head Start’s “I Am Moving, I Am Learning” are helping Sheltering Arms teach families about healthy living.

We welcome all our Global Giving supporters in the Atlanta area to join one of our StoryStroll events. Just check out the schedule of events and local contact information at the link provided. Nothing like the outdoors on a beautiful spring day with adorable toddlers as your walking companions!

Thank you so much for your continued support of the precious children and strong families served by Sheltering Arms.

StoryStroll T-Shirt Art by Skye, age 4

Links:

Sheltering Arms StoryStroll 2011

Attachments:

Sheltering Arms Hugs & Hearts Newsletter (PDF)

Giving Thanks: A Sheltering Arms Alumna's Story

Paige McKay Kubik — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 14:51:50 GMT

Erika Sibbie - Then

Dear Friend,

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this week at Sheltering Arms, we are especially grateful for you and the support you have given the children and families we serve at Sheltering Arms. We recently reconnected with one of our alumna, Erika Sibbie, who attended Sheltering Arms Early Education and Family Centers in the mid 1980s. To let you know how you are changing lives, we wanted to share with you excerpts from two letters we received from Erika, one written when she was in high school, and the other received this fall. We hope reading Erika's story will be a gift to you during this season of gratitude.

Excerpt of a letter from Sheltering Arms Alumna Erika Sibbie, High School Junior, 1997

“My formal education began at Sheltering Arms. As my mom will tell you, it was the only affordable, well-managed facility where she felt comfortable leaving me. I remember the field trips, the caring staff, and, most importantly, the friends I made during my stay there. I attribute much of my success today to the diverse learning environment and discipline I experienced at Sheltering Arms. In high school, I maintain a 3.5 grade point average and am very active in both academic and extracurricular activities. Having recently traveled to Europe with members of my French class, I find travel very exciting, and I hope to go to Washington, DC, this summer to participate in a Presidential Classroom program. My ambition upon graduating from high school is to enter the field of medicine.

“I contribute all that I have learned to the good role models who surrounded me throughout my childhood, including my mother. Her drive and determination challenged me, and I think perhaps she saw a dream in the making. As a single parent, I know she remains thankful for the wonderful support system she began to build at Sheltering Arms. With all that I have learned and accomplished, I intend to be the very best that I can be!”

Excerpt of a letter from Sheltering Arms Alumna Dr. Erika Sibbie, 2010

“After graduating from high school, I attended Xavier University of Louisiana as a Biology Pre-Medicine major. During my junior year I was one of twenty students who were accepted into The Undergraduate Mentorship Program at the University of California-San Francisco, a program designed to introduce undergraduate students to the field of dentistry. After completing this program, I knew that dentistry was the profession for me. I interviewed at two schools, was accepted at both, and decided to attend the Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry. I graduated from MCG in 2008, and have since been working in LaGrange as a General Dentist. I one day hope to establish my own practice and to start a family in the Atlanta area.

“At Sheltering Arms, I always looked forward to recess when I would pick blades of grass and tie them together to make necklaces. I remember anticipating my mother’s arrival at the end of each day, because she would always have a honey bun waiting for me in the car. God forbid she didn’t….I would be an unhappy camper! My mother described Sheltering Arms as an extremely nurturing and family-oriented environment. She never once felt that I was being looked after by a ‘babysitter,’ but rather felt that I was being ‘reared’ by staff who truly cared and had my best interest at heart.

“Sheltering Arms had a major impact in both my academic success and in my career as a dentist. However, I think it had an even greater impact on my mother. I was raised in a single-parent household, and my mother struggled financially to provide for me and my sister. She described Sheltering Arms as a helping hand when she needed a hand. Imagine the sense of relief she felt when she discovered my childcare would cost only $3/week! In fact, my mother came to mind as I read of how Sheltering Arms was created by a group of Atlanta women who cared for children as their mothers worked in cotton mills.

“When I reflect on my time at Sheltering Arms, it serves as a reminder that I come from very humble beginnings. Growing up and seeing my mother struggle gave me that ‘drive’ I needed to succeed academically…to become the first doctor in my family…to make my mother proud…to make a difference in the world. I currently work as a dentist in a primarily Medicaid/Peach State practice and provide dental treatment to disadvantaged families. So, in a sense, I feel as if I’ve come full circle because I’m now able to give back to families who are in need, just as Sheltering Arms gave to my family in our time of need years ago. Wherever life leads me, I know that giving back to the community, whether it’s financially, through volunteering, or mentoring, is something that will always be near and dear to my heart.

“As an alumna of Sheltering Arms, I would tell supporters of Sheltering Arms that your contributions don’t simply pay salaries or bills; your gifts invest in the lives of children who have the potential to be successful in life, despite their circumstances. You’re investing in staff that will serve as positive role models for these children and provide them with a strong foundation, so that they can one day be successful and productive members of society. You’re investing in our future and you can’t put a price tag on that!”

Thank you for all you do to give the children we serve a future as full of promise as Erika's.

Paige

Dr. Erika Sibbie - Now

Links:

2 Shocking Statistics, 2 Ways You Help

Paige McKay Kubik — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:44:14 GMT

Storytime: Hanging on every word...

Dear Friend of Sheltering Arms,

Our partner, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, recently released a KidsCount 2010 special report entitled, "Early Warning: Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters." The report says 71% of Georgia's 4th graders score below proficient reading level, a leading indicator as to whether a child will successfully graduate from high school and escape poverty as an adult. That statistic seems to hold up when you consider that Georgia's high school dropout rate is around 22%.

Children from low-income families are six times more likely to drop out of high school and children who struggle academically are 20 times more likely to drop out of high school. Sheltering Arms makes a difference for these children. Every Sheltering Arms child, on average, meets or exceeds 97% of developmental milestones for their age. Our children are some of the most prepared students entering kindergarten. For nearly 90% of our students, however, tuition scholarships are critical to helping their families give them a Sheltering Arms' start in life.

That's why your support through GlobalGiving is so important. Your gift provides needs-based child care tuition scholarships to low-income working families. As a result, parents can keep jobs that put bread on the table without having to resort to low-cost, low-quality child care that puts their child at risk, today and in the future.

There's another way you can help, coming up this September 17. One of the biggest predictors of future reading success for children is book ownership, yet two-thirds of low-income children have no books in the home. Through Operation StoryBook, Sheltering Arms provides 2500 children with a new book every month for their home library. At our kick-off Operation StoryBook Read-A-Thon on September 17, volunteers and VIPs will share their favorite stories and children's books with our little ones. It's a fun day aimed at getting children excited about reading. We'd love for you to join us...just follow the link below to sign up.

Thank you so much for the difference you make possible in the lives of the children and families at Sheltering Arms.

Paige

Links:

Health & Diversity: Hot Topics at Sheltering Arms

Paige McKay Kubik — Thu, 06 May 2010 19:37:30 GMT

Infants enjoy a Week of the Young Child picnic

When you take care of 2500 children under the age of 5 every day, there's no such thing as a "dull moment." This spring has been no exception. During April, our 17 centers celebrated the National Week of the Young Child with pajama parties, spring carnivals, and our annual Walk-a-Mile-for-a-Child. At all of our centers, children and their families walked, rode trikes, or enjoyed stroller rides, collecting quarters and dollars from friends, family, and community supporters who sponsored them. The money they raised will go towards needs-based child care tuition scholarships that allow parents to work and provide a stable home and the resources children need to succeed. The Walk-a-Mile-for-a-Child also meets two other objectives of our program. It brings families together for fun and fellowship, and it encourages parents and children to adopt healthy habits like good nutrition and exercise. We still have t-shirts available from the Walk-a-Mile, featuring the artwork of Taylor, one of our four-year-olds. If you’d like one, send us a message or visit your local Sheltering Arms. They’re only $10, and proceeds benefit the scholarship program.

The National Week of the Young Child is sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the organization through which Sheltering Arms centers are accredited. Sheltering Arms just received word that it will be recognized at NAEYC’s upcoming national convention as one of 10 exemplary programs in the “Engaging Diverse Families” initiative. The best practices Sheltering Arms has developed to make sure that all families are active partners in their child’s learning and development will now be shared with other early childhood programs across the nation.

Good news like this is only possible because of supporters like you. During the tough economic times of recent months, we have been there for families struggling to provide for their children because generous people who could give, did. Thank you so much, and come visit us some time. Our annual Operation StoryBook Read-a-Thon is coming up September 17…we’d love to have you join us for storytime!

Trike-riding friends at the Walk-a-Mile

Babies enjoy the ride at the Walk-a-Mile

Links:

Groundbreaking Early Learning & Literacy Resource Center Opens

Paige McKay Kubik — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 16:56:09 GMT

ELLRC at Dunbar Elementary School

"People have been promising things to this community all my life. I never thought I'd live to see the day when those promises finally came true." That was one grandmother's reaction on the first day she stepped foot into the new Early Learning & Literacy Resource Center (ELLRC), managed by Sheltering Arms at Dunbar Elementary School in Atlanta. The ELLRC is one result of a long-term neighborhood redevelopment initiative in five south Atlanta communities that have long been plagued by unemployment, poverty, and crime. Facilitated by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, community residents and numerous public and private partners have come together to address everything from employment to housing to education, bringing about comprehensive, long-range change and investment. The ELLRC is providing a world-class early childhood education program in an elementary school, creating an "education ecosystem" that integrates children's education and parental support in a seamless continuum from prenatal care through 5th grade.

The link provided here will tell you more about the ELLRC, its groundbreaking innovations, and the partnership that has made it a reality. You can also see some of our young ELLRC students enjoying their new school.

Thank you so much for being a part of the work for families and children at Sheltering Arms.

Thanks again! Paige

Getting Acquainted in the Housekeeping Area

Learning the Alphabet

Links:

Early Learning & Literacy Resource Center

You're Invited!

Paige McKay Kubik — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:26:33 GMT

Freddie Falcon Visits Sheltering Arms

We've got a lot happening in the upcoming weeks at Sheltering Arms, and we'd love for you to join us. Here's what's happening:

July 19-31: Discount Falcons Tickets on Sale to Benefit Sheltering Arms. September 20 is Sheltering Arms Day at the Georgia Dome, when the Atlanta Falcons will take on the Carolina Panthers. You can purchase your ticket for $35, a discount of $20 off the regular price with $10 from every ticket going to the Sheltering Arms scholarship fund. Tickets are available at Sheltering Arms centers, or you can purchase online at the link below. (There's an additional $1.32 transaction fee for each ticket purchased online.)

July 20-26: Junior League of Atlanta and Belk Book Drive for Sheltering Arms. 21 metro Atlanta Belk stores will collect children's books and accept donations at the cash register to benefit Sheltering Arms Operation StoryBook. All donors July 20-22 will receive a special Belk discount coupon.

September 5-6: Sheltering Arms will be at the Decatur Book Festival. If you'd like to volunteer to help with the children's activities at our booth, please contact Jason at jlowery@shelteringarmsforkids.com or 404-523-9865.

If you need more information on these events or anything else happening at Sheltering Arms, you can visit the links below or email me at pkubik@shelteringarmsforkids.com.

By the way, we expect to receive the check this week for the money you raised through Global Giving. We'll also be receiving a list of our Global Giving donors, and will mail each of you a personalized thank you.

Hope to see you at the events coming up for Sheltering Arms!

Children Receive a Book Each Month Through Operation StoryBook

Links:

Attachments:

Sheltering Arms Falcons Day Flyer (PDF)

Thank You!

Paige McKay Kubik — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:10:01 GMT

Sheltering Arms Artist

We did it! $5,056 raised from 89 donors, with 7 hours to spare in the GlobalGiving competition! Thank you, thank you, thank you for making this first online fundraising event for Sheltering Arms so successful. The amount we’ve raised so far is enough to fund 6 weeks of needs-based child care scholarships for 15 children at Sheltering Arms.

So what’s next? First of all, Sheltering Arms now has a permanent place on the GlobalGiving website, linking us to caring people from around the world. So you can still spread the word to friends and family who can help us toward our next goal, an additional $44,444 to fully fund scholarships for each of those 15 children for an entire year.

Second, we’ll be sending a personal thank you to each of you soon. GlobalGiving will supply us with a complete list of our supporters who requested acknowledgement along with the check for the money you raised.

Third, stay in touch! Become a Sheltering Arms fan on Facebook…just link to our page at www.shelteringarmsforkids.com. Or meet the children you’re helping and sign up to be a guest reader at a Sheltering Arms center during our Operation StoryBook Read-A-Thon on September 10 & 11. You can email Jason at jlowery@shelteringarmsforkids.com for more info.

Again, thank you for caring so much and for the hope you’ve shared with families at Sheltering Arms. Here’s part of a letter we received from the mother of one of those families:

“It is hard for me to believe just how much my daughter has learned and grown. Her teacher Ms. Harper not only teaches the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, and sounds, but she also teaches her how to be a respectful, patient, polite, and honest little girl, while keeping me informed so we can work as a team. When my daughter’s great-grandmother passed away, Ms. Harper was so compassionate. Even with a classroom of students, she still found time to give Janae extra hugs, smiles, time, and a listening ear. When Janae came home, she told me how Ms. Harper had made her so happy. When I lost my job, the center’s family support coordinator, Ms. Moore, was patient and understanding. She listened, and helped me find job leads and help building my resume. ‘Thank you’ and ‘I appreciate you’ don’t come often enough for people like Ms. Harper and Ms. Moore.”

The Sky's the Limit for our Babies!

Thanks from Jenny and Charlie!

Paige McKay Kubik — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:39:13 GMT

Charlie's Classmates Cool Off in the Atlanta Heat

Thank you so much for supporting us in the GlobalGiving competition! We're feeling great about reaching our first goal...$4000 and 50 donors by June 30. We still have a little way to go, so spread the word!

We just received word last week that Sheltering Arms kids would lose almost half a million dollars in scholarship funding from United Way due to the recession. That's equivalent to about 165 full-year child care tuition scholarships, so your support is meeting a tremendous need.

One of our moms copied us on a letter she's sending to her friends, and she said we could share it with you, too. We wanted you to see what you are making possible. Here's Jenny's letter:

“Dear Friends,

My son Charlie was diagnosed with Type 1 (Juvenile Diabetes) about 1 ½ years ago. What a journey it has been. It took some time, tears and patience, but we finally feel like we are over the hump of understanding what to do, when. “How much insulin? How many finger pricks? How much exercise? How much sleep? How much money? How many other kids at his age deal with this (not many, thankfully)? WHO CAN WE LEAVE HIM WITH THAT WILL CARE FOR HIM ADEQUATELY?” It was scary.

After about 8 months into his diagnosis, I began to lose hope that I could stay employed and still give my son the daily care that he needs to stay healthy.

ENTER…Sheltering Arms.

This place has been a life-saver for us...and anyone that has ever loved us!! Ok, that is laying it on pretty thick, but this place is amazing. Sheltering Arms stepped up! After hearing all that would be involved with his daily care, they did not hesitate to say “We’ll do it!” And, praise God, they do it SO WELL! \They give him all the of the insulin and blood sugar checks that a worried mom could ask for!

They don’t have to do it. Most schools won’t. In fact, his endocrinologist was floored when we told her about all that they do.

To show my appreciation for all that Sheltering Arms does to make our life in Atlanta possible, I am running a half marathon this Fall, and I am asking everyone I know (and their friends) to donate $1 per mile to Sheltering Arms. This is a non-profit organization that can really use the extra money to keep their awesome program (and practice of helping families in need) prospering.

Thanks so much for helping. Jenny, Charlie’s Mom””

We're grateful for great parents like Jenny, great kids like Charlie, and great friends like you. Thanks so much!

Thanks from our kids!