5/23/2012

 

In any given year there are over 300,000 children in the United States that are living in the foster care system. These children are being taken from homes were they suffer abuse, neglect and malnutrition only to enter into another broken system.  A system set up to protect children and give them a chance, is doing just the opposite. With so many children in foster care, there are not enough places to put all the children and most foster homes can house up to 6 children at one time. As a result of the overcrowding children are frequently moved from home to home.

 

Children often suffer the burden of being processed through the system. They are taken away from the only family they know, usually with just the clothes on their back. They have nothing of their own when they are shuttered from one home to the next. They are scared, disoriented and desperate for comfort. Not only do these children suffer the immediately impact of being placed in a facility or a stranger’s home, but there are also long terms consequences as well:

·         Over 50% of all foster care children have chronic medical problems

·         50% of all foster children under the age of five have developmental delays

·         80% of foster children have emotional problems

o   Facts from www.childrensrights.org

 

One of the most alarming statistics is children who “age out” of the system. In 2011, over 26,000 children had to leave foster care due to their age. These children were sent out in the world with no support system and no help. Research has shown that these children will mostly likely suffer homelessness, poor health, unemployment, incarceration and other poor outcomes. (Information from www.childrensrights.org).

 

We as a society have failed our children. We have failed to provide a safe and secure environment, failed to let them dream big dreams and failed to provide them with the love they so deeply deserve. Instead we create a system were the children have no real hope, no real life and no real chance.

 

 Every year we are losing 26,000 children and we can no longer let this continue. Join The Dollar Affect in trying to make a difference in the lives of children who are currently in foster care. Through June 30^th, all donations we received will go to impact the lives of children who are in the system. All it takes is $1 to impact lives and make a difference!

 

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world – James 1:27 (NIV)

 

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 3/11/2013

 Life without Parents

About a couple of weeks ago I received an offer I couldn’t refuse. I was invited to do a weekend mission trip to Mexico were I will have the privilege of helping Casa Hogar Pequenos Hermonis, an orphanage in Ensenada. One of my visions I had had since I started The Dollar Affect was to have opportunities to serve in the communities and with organizations that The Dollar Affect supports. Our goal for this trip is to bring much needed food, clothing and toys to the children living in the orphanage. We will also have the opportunity to spend time with the kids and to be of service to whatever needs to be done.

In anticipation of this trip I decided to look into what it is like to be child without parents in Mexico. Currently there are over 1.5 million orphans in Mexico and little to no help from the government. Most orphanages are relying on the generosity of strangers to provided shelter, food, clothing and education.

Many children have become orphans as a result of the drug violence that is going on in Mexico. Not only are children being left fatherless and motherless but they are left with horrific scares from witnessing their parent(s) being executed right in front of them. Without proper help and attention these children can grow up to be victims and perpetrators of the violence that took their own parents lives.

Children who are orphans can suffer from lack of basic human needs. These children, at a very young age, must learn to fend for themselves. Many will live in the streets, suffer from malnutrition and receive no education. Without proper help, these children have no hope of changing the course of their lives. They are doomed to a life of sickness, crime, victims of human trafficking and pass on poverty to their own children.

YOU can make a difference! Partner with us and www.sinkingships.org to help impact the lives of children in Hogar Pequenos Hermonis orphanage. All it takes is $1 to change the course of life and to provide hope to the hopeless. Over the next two weeks all donations The Dollar Affect receives will be used to provide clothes, food and toys to these children. Together we can help provide for the needs of the children and ensure a brighter future for Mexico.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world – James 1:27 (NIV)

 

 

Until few years ago I had no idea people were being sold into slavery. I, as an American, figured that once the Civil War ended so did slavery. To find out that people can be treated with such little disregard shocked and appalled me. These past few years I have decided to be a part of the solution. While I may not be able to do everything, I can do something. That something would be donating to organizations that are trying to put a stop to the Human Trafficking industry and to giving new life to victims.

Lately, I began to think about the faces behind this crime. While most everything I have supported or read about has always talked about women and children being bought and sold, I started to wonder if men are victims too. As I begin my research I found out some startling facts.

A report release by the USAID, makes it clear that the trafficking of men is more common than one would expect. Men are usually trafficked for forced labor, where they are paid little to no wages and often suffer severe abuse. Because men are not usually used for the sex trafficking industry, they are most often not identified as victims of human trafficking. Authorities just treat them as illegal immigrants and deport them without any investigation. Because government officials see human trafficking as a woman or child crime, there is little being done to stop men from being swept into slavery.

Men who are able to escape or are rescued from slavery usually have very little resources at their disposal. Most programs that are out there are tailored towards women and children, and men are unable to get the help needed to get healed and start a new life.

The Dollar Affect believes that all it takes is $1 a month to impact the world and change the course of a life. This quarter, The Dollar Affect will be supporting organizations who not only help rescue men, women, and children, but provide a home and place to get healed after they are freed. Partner with us and together we can make a difference.

 

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Education Fail

I have been blessed to have a quality education throughout my life. Whether it was elementary school, middle school, high school or college, I was given the resources and tools necessary for me to be successful and without my education I would not be where I am today.

I believe we are facing an education crisis in the US. We are hurting our children by failing to provide a quality education that will equip our children to be successful every step of the way.   Over 2/3 of the nation’s public schools are in dire need of repairs, renovations or modernization in order to be effective in teaching this generation.  Not only are the buildings crumbling, but classrooms are not being stocked with books, resources, technology and most importantly quality teachers.

It should come as no surprise that the children most affected by these failures come from high poverty areas. Today, as federal and state educational funding decreases, schools are relying more and more on property taxes, which will translate to an educational funding gap in districts with any sort of poverty issues.  Here are a few alarming statistics:

·         Most schools in bad condition are in cities where at least 70% of students are below the poverty line.

·         High school graduation rates are 15% lower in the nation’s urban schools when compared with those located in the suburbs.

·         In 2008, 17 of the nation's 50 largest cities had high school graduation rates lower than 50%, with the lowest rates reported in Detroit (24.9%), Indianapolis (30.5%) and Cleveland (34.1%).

·         Children of poor families are up to six times more likely to drop out than wealthy children.

 What will it take for this country to believe that all children deserve a quality education and a chance to leave poverty behind? We can sit back and let politicians debate endlessly and do nothing, or we can take control of this issue. We, you and I, have the ability and opportunity to provide the resources necessary for this generation to graduate high school and continue on to higher education. It does not take much, but it requires all of us to do something.  Let us stand together and refuse to leave another child behind.

 The Dollar Affect believes that all it takes is $1/month to impact the world and change the course of a life. This quarter, The Dollar Affect will be supporting organizations whose purpose is to help children affected by the education funding gap. Partner with us today and see how $1 can help a child get the education they deserve.

 Shawna Wood

 

 

The Lost Generation

Since 1990 we have lost over 270 million people (most of them children) due to poverty related causes. Let that statistic sink in for a moment. In a little over 20 years we have lost close to 270 million children.  That’s 270 million less world leaders, 270 million less inventors, and 270 million less difference makers. We are slowly losing a generation and it is going unnoticed.

The World Health organization says that children who live in poverty suffer from lower life expectancy due to starvation and malnutrition. The raise in food prices are hurting the poor who are already spending close to half their income on food.  Other threats to the food supply to the poor are drought, the water crisis, and intensive farming. The WHO warns that due to these conditions over 100 million people are at risk to sinking deeper into poverty.

Death is not the only way we are losing children. We are losing them to hopelessness. The hopeless feeling of not seeing a way out of poverty, but a generation mindset that has children in its clutches and is refusing to let go.

Research shows an educational gap with children living in poverty. Most poor children enter school developmentally behind advantaged students, and it is near impossible for these children to catch up. The world educational systems are set up to benefit the advantage students and schools in high poverty areas have less resources and opportunity for student improvement. The results are higher dropout rates, higher levels of teen pregnancy and higher juvenile delinquency rates. Without an education, these children are doomed to repeat the cycle of poverty that has ensnared their parents.

We are losing a generation to preventable deaths and generational hopelessness. It’s time that we put our foot down and refuse to lose another child. Every child on this earth has a plan and purpose and I believe it is our responsibility to make sure that each child has a chance.

The Dollar Affect believes that all it takes is $1/month to impact the world and change the course of a life. This quarter, The Dollar Affect will be supporting organizations whose purpose is to combat the effects of poverty by providing food, water, medical care and educational material to those at risk. Partner with us today and see how far $1 can go to rescuing a lost generation! 

 

 

 Working for What?

 

 The $90 Truth

 

What is your daughter worth? Your Mother? Your Son? Would you sell them for $90? Most of you might be disturbed by this question, but in the world of human trafficking, $90 is the average value put on a human life. 

      ·         There are an estimated 27 million salves in the world today 

      ·         Human Trafficking is a 32 billion dollar industry 

      ·         80% of trafficking involves the sex trade and 19% involves forced labor 

      ·         Around half of all trafficking victims are under the age of 18 

      ·         2 children are sold every minute 

 

Statistics can sometimes keep a problem nameless, but we need to be reminded that each number represent a human being. Each victim is a daughter, mother, son, father, co-worker, friend, or neighbor. This epidemic is not just found in other countries or big cities, but it is at all our door steps.    

 

I grew up in Toledo, Ohio, which is a small, working class town that has a population of just over 400,000. I have recently found out that Toledo is: 

 

      ·         the #3 largest city for child sex trafficking 

      ·         the #1 gateway city for teen prostitution 

      ·         home to more than 1,000 victims of sex trafficking between the ages of 12 – 17

      ·         a place where sex trafficking is a generation bondage. Grandfathers are pimps. Grandmother are

            prostitutes. They forced their children into the sex industry and are now grooming their 

            grandchildren to do the same. 

 

This wanton disregard for human life can no longer continue and I strongly believe we all have an obligation to do our part to put an end to human trafficking.

 

The Dollar Affect believes that all it takes is $1/month to impact the world, and change the course of a life. January is anti-human trafficking month and all donations The Dollar Affect receives in January will go to support the anti-trafficking efforts of Second Chance, Transitions, Made by Survivors. Partner with us today and see how far $1 can go! 

 

Shawna Wood