Give at-risk Colombian children a safe home

Dear Donors,

As the year comes to an end, we have been reflecting our blessings and obstacles that have made this year challenging yet promising for the future of our Colombian children. Many have wondered how we have managed and more importantly how our children have remained hopeful during these uncertain times, and the answer really is through love and care. The dedication that our staff has shown to keep bringing hope and love to our children 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, is what keeps our homes going.  With this in mind we’d like to take a moment and thank all of our staff that have worked non-stop with a smile on their face, despite the risks of going to work with our children every day. Moreover, we'd like to share our sincerest gratitude for the support of donors like you, as we have been able to relieve the daily operating costs which have increased due to the pandemic and it's subsequent quaratine situation.

Furthermore, we’d like to share a few of the activities that have taken place these past months, as well as a few things to look forward to this end of the year!

• First off, thanks to everyone's generous donations and participation in our September's Little by Little, we raised over $1,500! With this money we were able to buy all of our children's school materials for the remainder of this school and university academic year! They were very happy to receive new colors, pencils, pens, and notebooks!
• This past Halloween, we were lucky to have received a supervised and socially distanced visit from UPS Volunteers. They brought candy boxes, hot dogs, and recreationists for our children who had the best time! With costumes, face masks, and all the proper bio-safety protocols we were able to host a fun afternoon for our children at Nuevo Amanecer.
• Also, part of our Halloween surprises was a beautiful big Halloween themed cake paired with individual surprises baggies for each child! This was gifted on behalf of a generous donor who was eager to be able to bring some happiness to our children despite this year’s ‘cancelled’ Halloween.
• This past week we were selected to participate in the first phase for the Call for Strengthening Social Organizations of Compartamos Con Colombia. They launched a call, as an initiative to accompany various Non-Profit Entities at a time when they can play a crucial role in rebuilding the social fabric. The social organizations selected from this call will participate in a specialized learning process and development of strategic and organizational capacities for their integral strengthening. If we are selected this would be a great step forward in fulfilling our Board's 2020 strategy!
• Lastly, we are looking forward to participating in the most important fundraising event of the year: Giving Tuesday, which will be taking place December 1st. This year GlobalGiving will be offering a $1,000,000 matching fund! Soon you can hear more about this opportunity and how you can be a part of it, whether it's through a donation or by spreading the word with your family and friends. With this being said, we plan to use the donations raised to fund all of our childrens' endowment (like clothing and linens) for the first semester of this upcoming year. 

In the meantime, we will continue to work on finishing this year strong! Now more than ever, we are so thankful to have such caring donors like you that together form a close-knit community that will always be close to our heart. We will be sending out more information as the date of Giving Tuesday arrives! 

On behalf of our Board of Directors, staff and our children, we'd like to thank each and everyone of you!

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays!

With love, 

Angelica Vega

Dear Donors, 

We are more than halfway through 2020, and we are still in awe with how the world has changed. COVID-19 has definitely made this year a challenge for everyone, a challenge that has shown how lucky we are to not only be healthy and alive, but also to have unconditional support from special people like you. In Colombia, we have been in quarantine since March 26^th, and we still have many difficult months ahead of us, as our country has just overcome the first “peak” of this pandemic.

With only four months left this year we are excited to share some of our accomplishments and events that we are eagerly looking forward to, all thanks to the excellence and commitment of our staff, especially those who have been with our children this entire time:

• This past July, we participated in Bonus Day, and raised 10,000 dollars ranking our organization in 29^th. We are so grateful for this outcome as our donors were still willing to donate during these uncertain economic times, and for that we do not have enough words to thank each and every one who made this incredible outcome possible. With this money we were able to improve their connectivity, implement more work stations, access more workshops, courses and new spaces for learning.

• In compliance with the guidelines determined by the Ministry of Health and ICBF to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, especially in populations of high risk for conditions of vulnerability, our children in each of the programs, have advanced with various actions within our self-care policy. Luckily, we only had four positive cases in all of our homes, and thankfully, they were all asymptomatic.

• Our children's families have felt accompanied and oriented throughout this pandemic, through us they have learned about biosafety measures so they can take care of their own family environment. They have also maintained links through video calls following the required social distance, which has allowed spaces of reflection that have been succesful in changing their parenting behaviors. 

• As part of the project "My time through the Foundation.. An unforgettable Experience" funded by the UPS Foundation, with the aim of optimizing the formation process of our children from the dimensions of body, mind and spirit, three gymnasium apparatuses were installed in the Nuevo Amanecer home that will allow them to have a directed physical training and enjoy greater outdoor activities.

• This month we are excited to participate in Little by Little which will take place September 14^th until September 18^th For five full days all donations starting at $10 up $50 will be matched at 50%! The best part of all, the matching funds are unlimited. With these donations we hope to buy all the necessary school materials, like notebooks, colored pencils, folders, and pens, as their school semester has resumed this past week!

On behalf of Papa Jaime, our Board of Directors, staff and more importantly our children, there aren't enough words to thank you for your help to maximize our efforts in ensuring responsible management during COVID-19. We'd also like to take a moment to honor all the brave health workers, first responders and public force who continue to risk their lives for the safety of ours and our loved ones.

With love, 

Diana Zamudio

General Director