Nurture 15 At-Risk Atlanta Preschoolers for a Year

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.”