I found three constant themes among the charities listed:

1. Too much money spent on fundraising and administrative costs.
2. Too little money spent on their programs.
3. Nepotism at the top of the organization.

This holiday season, a lot of organizations are going to be competing for your donations.  Make sure you do your research.  Organizations like Charity Navigator and Guide Star are great resources.

-Casey

Hi Christine,

I stumbled across your website while just browsing around online by accident and just thought I’d drop by an email to say that you’re doing a great job..! What you’re doing is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now.. I’m actually in Sydney, Australia.. My mother was born in the Philippines and my father was born here in Australia.. Every time I go back to the Philippines all I wanna do is help out the children there.. I’ve been looking around for places that I can help out at over there, like orphanages and relief organizations.. Even thought of starting up something just like you have..

Your website is great! Congrats on your team for making such a great site.. Love your phrase; Be a world changer.. And love all the work you’re doing for the kids.. Keep it up.. Wish I could help you guys out..

I know you’re based out over in Seattle, how often to you go to the Philippines? Looks like you’ve come a long way in a short amount of time which is pretty cool and inspiring..

Anyways, hopefully I’ll talk to you sometime..

Jason

Awesome!

Anyways, in the meeting someone had said that I needed to get out there and really tell the genuine side of me because it’s what keeps Child United running.  I said that it wasn’t about me but it’s about the kids.  They say… I’m wrong.  I took a couple of days to think about this.  So here I am writing… I am wrong so here’s my story:

Have you ever seen something so profound it has changed your life forever?

This happened to me… this is why Child United started.  I remember being in the Philippines and seeing children walk up to cars begging.  They lived on the streets and they knew no better than to survive that day.  But this is NOT what started it for me… these images are just one of the many things that woke me up.

Three girls and two boys.  That’s what did it.

I went to my mom’s hometown in a rural farming area of the Philippines in January 2006.  You would literally miss the turn into the street which took you to the rice farms if you didn’t know where to go.  This small town consists of thousands of families.  I remember when I was a kid, the street was made out of big rocks… they upgraded to concrete a few years ago.  It was here at this very place where life turned around for me.

I remember sitting in front of my aunt’s home and seeing the children’s heads popping out behind the home next door.  They were laughing, just curious about their new visitor.  In their native language, their father told them to come meet their ‘American’ auntie.

So the kids came out and said hi… They were laughing because they tried saying it in English.  I couldn’t speak their language and they couldn’t speak mine fluently but we had a connection from that moment on… They were happy when my mom and I brought them new clothes and toys.  They played and laughed, having a great time.  You know what was sad?  They were happy for something that I had bought and it only cost me a few dollars.  It was then I realized how little they had but how happy they were.

Their father is my first cousin.  His family lives in a bamboo hut with no running water.  They didn’t even have a stove.  Every day, they would light a fire and cook their food outside.  Their toilets don’t even work.  They have to get a pail of water and dump it into the toilet for it to flush.  This is where those kids live…

As I played with them, I saw myself in their eyes.  This could have been me.

If my parents stayed in the Philippines and never immigrated to America, this would have been my life…. living in the bamboo hut with no running water, toilet or stove… in poverty.   Many children who live in this town don’t have dreams or goals to be anything because it’s so out of reach for them.  They don’t know anything more then what’s in front of them, in poverty.

I live my life with goals and dreams… it’s what keeps me going through my day.  But imagine a life where your only dream is to survive.  What a distinction!

Three girls and two boys.  Seeing myself in their eyes.  What could have been… This reality changed my life and now through Child United, it’s changing the life of thousands of children around the world.

What if we provided these kids with inspiration?  What if we showed them they could have more than what’s in front of them?  What if LIFE were possible?

On my last visit to the town, one of the girls told me what she wanted to be when she grows up.  You know what she said?  Joy, a 13 year old girl, told me she wanted to be ME, she wanted to change the world.  This brings tears to my eyes as I write.  Through my every day life of meetings and work, THIS is why I do it.  I do it to change children’s lives and it started with three girls and two boys.

-Casey

The children live in Calsib, Aguilar, Pangasinan, Philippines.  They go to a nearby high school, most of them are at Buer High just a few miles down from the small village. 

Every month, we provide them with sponsorship money to help them with every day costs of going to school.  Every month, Child United is updated with their progress. 

The children are doing amazing!  You see, these kids WANT to be in school.  They WANT to learn. 

From left to right:

Marilyn comes from a family of nine children.  She is the youngest and most of her brothers and sisters are still living in the small town tending to rice fields.

Bernadette is from one of the poorest families I’ve seen in the village.  Her and her family live in a bahay kubo, literally a home on stilts made out of bamboo.  I’ve written about Bernadette before because when I first went to see her home and her family I was devastated.  I couldn’t beleive children and their families live like this. 

I saw Sean last December after speaking to his mom and dad.  He has a little brother.  They live in a small rented home in the village.  This boy is extremely smart and intelligent.  His letters to Child United are articulate for a boy his age.  This kid has goals and dreams to be an engineer. I’m hoping to provide him a path to get there.

Diana Rose hopes to accomplish her dream to be a nurse.  Her family lives with another one of her relatives.  Ususually you will find Diana Rose helping her older sister babysit the younger siblings and cousins. 

Claudine has stood out to me since I first met her two years ago.  I spoke to her mother first who cried when talking about their story.  You see, Claudine’s father has a heart problem and has been bed-ridden since a car accident he was involved in a few years back.  Claudine’s mother has kept a few jobs so she can feed her family.  She worked two of them to help pay for Claudine’s school.  When I last visited Claudine, her mom was no where in sight.  Claudine was tearful when she told us her mother moved to Manila to take on a nanny job.  She sends money from the city and at the time, Claudine hadn’t seen her mother in months.  I hope through your help and her sponsor, Claudine’s mother wouldn’t make such a huge sacrafice to feed her family.

Awareness is the key to promoting EDUCATION to all children in the third world.  This recognition gets us one step closer to solving poverty and many lingering problems such as child trafficking, homelessness and starvation.

Check it out:

http://www.socializeyourcause.org/child-united/news/

Know The Facts.

-Casey