FOCUS WEEK |
A FOCUS WEEK topic will be either a TO GIVE opportunity or a TO DO activity. TO GIVE involves a financial donation. TO DO involves the donation of time.
Summer Focus Week---We raised $579.00 to send diapers, underwear, feminine products, toiletries, and socks for Tsurupinsk October Focus Week--We raised over $700 for Myko so the children could have a small toy for Christmas, socks, hats, and scarves.
April 2015's Focus Week was very successful! We wanted to make sure each child at Tsurupinsk Children's Home had a birthday celebration with a cake and special treat. Before the week was over, we had a sponsor for each child!! Sponsorships were $10.50 per child, which was a great way to make a big difference in the life of a child!!
March 2015--We are collecting $500 to purchase 3 walkers and replacement parts for wheelchairs for the children at Tsurupinsk.
January 2015 --Our focus week project this month was to replenish the emergency fund. Due to the war in Ukraine, roads have been closed, leading to food shortages for the children in the orphanages. We wanted to be prepared for any unexpected needs the orphanages may have on an urgent basis.
November 2014--Our goal for this project was to raise $500 to purchase a generator to be used for cooking. Last year during the winter the electricity ran out, so the caregivers had to cook food over an open fire, which is not safe. Funds were also used to purchase storage containers for gasoline.
July 2014--Our focus week project this month was to replenish the emergency fund. There are so many unexpected needs in the orphanages, especially during the war, that this was necessary to be able to meet their needs in a quick manner.
May 2014--Our focus week project was to purchase Grad Packs for O12 and 10 Dorm Packs for the children at Myko who were aging out of the orphanage system and going to Vocational School. The packs contained essentials such as toothpaste, soap, slippers, flashlights, rugs, sheets, and blankets.
March/April 2014--Our focus week project was to make birthday cards for 120 children at the Tsurupinsk Children's Home so each child would have a birthday card.
FEBRUARY 2014 - Current Activity
An Orphan Smiles is asking for donations for a Birthday treat and gift for each of the 119 children who either attend school at Tsurupinsk Children's Home or reside in the Orphanage for severe physically disabled children Our goal is to collect $10 per Birthday so each child will get a little something on his or her special day. If you would like to select a specific Birthday, the dates are shown below. Please contact our Focus Week coordinator with your "date" by clicking here. Donations can be made on our Donations page. If paying via Paypal select Focus Week and insert the desired date or dates in the comments section, if applicable. Checks can be mailed to An Orphan Smiles, PO Box 175, Kimberton, PA 19442.
SEPTEMBER 2013 An Orphan Smiles is collecting luggage tags and flip flops or slip on shoes for the month of September. An Orphan Smiles received a very generous donation of a duffel bag for each child at Mykolaivka Orphanage from Mixed Bag Designs. The bags were a Christmas "wishlist" item from the caretakers as the children do not own anything to pack belongings in when they leave the orphanage for camp or a visit to a relative or an AOS sponsored outing. We want to add a personalized luggage tag to each bag and include a pair of flip flops. The children are ALWAYS in need of summer shoes at camp (OR shoes at any time.)
Please consider a small donation to help us purchase flip flops - CLICK HERE. Or if you would like to purchase a pair of flip flops or if you have extra luggage tags that you can send, here is the address: AN ORPHAN SMILES PO BOX 175
KIMBERTON, PA 19442
PAST ACTIVITY MARCH 2013
An Orphan Smiles asked for donations for a Birthday treat and gift for each of the 68 physically disabled children at the Tsurupinsk Children's Home. Our goal was to collect $10 per child so each child would get a little something special on his or her birthday. AOS collected $600 during Focus week.
OCTOBER 2012
An Orphan Smiles has a special shopping link from Amazon.com which allows our organization to earn a 6% - 7% rebate on all purchases made when a shoppers enters thru this link. Our October Focus week is a TO DO month and we will be sharing ways to spread the word about our link.
SEPTEMBER 2012 Our September Focus week highlighted the important role that ART plays for the disabled orphan at Tsurupinsk Children's Home. We collected art supplies through our Amazon Wishlist. Supporters who donated $25 or more received their choice of one of the prints painted by the children. Click here to view the prints. If you would like to make a donation of $25 or more and receive one of these beautiful prints, please click here. JULY 2012 It was CHRISTMAS in JULY. Our July Focus Week was to promote our Christmas program and raise funds for shipping treats to the kids and grads in our sponsored orphanages. Our goal for the week was $300. MAY 2012 The month of May usually marks a time of year when many young adults graduate or are getting ready to transition to a new chapter in their lives. This month's FOCUS WEEK is to create DORM PACKS for thirty-four Mykolaivka kids who are aging out of the orphanage system and are headed to vocational school in September. It is similiar to preparing to send a son or daughter away to college, except these teenagers do not have parents in their lives to help them in this way. DORM PACKS consist of items needed in preparation of living in a dormitory for two years. The list includes things like sheets, towels, toiletries, a backpack, socks and underwear. Our FOCUS WEEK goal is to get commitments for ten complete Dorm Packs and $300 in funding to help create additional DORM PACKS. An Orphan Smiles plans and collects for our DORM PACKS all year long. Often we are presented with orphanage graduates who are dire in need of supplies and household goods. Donations are needed on an ongoing basis. OR visit our Amazon wishlist to make purchase of individual items.
APRIL 2012 After two very successful "giving" projects, An Orphan Smiles will focus on a very simple TO DO project. This month we encourage people to share our brochure with friends and family OR to hang one of our flyers in your town or workplace. Click here to visit our PRINTABLE MATERIALS webpage to print out brochures and flyers and to find information on how to obtain larger quantities of printable materials.
MARCH 2012 March was a fun TO GIVE project. Bogdan, our contact at Orphanage 12, organized a Soccer Tournament at the end of March among teenagers from five different orphanages. Approximately 30 kids met in Kiev to play soccer and also to visit Ukraine's capital. Check out the PHOTO ALBUM. An Orphan Smiles loves to support activities that provide orphans an opportunity to have fun and to experience life outside the orphanage grounds. Bogdan had gained support for the travel expenses from an Italian organization. An Orphan Smiles collected funds to provide soccer shoes to the kids who do not have footwear to play soccer. We also provided each participant with their own soccer ball and funds to treat all the participants to a lunch at McDonald's while they were visiting the city. The three day tournament was a HUGE success. Besides the opportunity to play soccer against other teams complete with uniforms and awards, the players were invited to a Dynamol Soccer practice and met many of the professional players. In addition, the group was featured on National TV in Ukraine. Click here to watch the coverage of this special occasion. FEBRUARY 2012 February's Focus Week was a To GIVE Month. Our Focus was dictated by extremely cold weather throughout Eastern Europe. Early in February An Orphan Smiles depleted our Emergency Fund to help our supported orphanages deal with dangerously cold temperatures. We sent funding to provide a replacement water heater and for much needed medicines. In response, our Focus Week goal was to replenish our Emergency Fund so we would be prepared for future needs. We exceeded our Goal and presently have $540 in our Emergency Fund. JANUARY 2012 January's Focus Week was a To Do Month. Our objective for January was to solicit ideas from our supporters for ideas for FUTURE Focus Weeks in the upcoming year. The responses were both TO DO activities and TO GIVE opportunities. Here are a few of the suggestions that were posted:
DECEMBER 2011
December is a TO DO month. As the year comes to a close An Orphan Smiles is looking ahead to 2012. Our Focus Week "project" is to have donors make a commitment to An Orphan Smiles for 2012. We are asking for supporters to commit $5 a month in 2012 to the program of their choice. Five dollars is a few cups of coffee or a fast food lunch. You can drive your car about 35 miles on $5 worth of gas or buy an appetizer or a dessert when you go to a restaurant. What we are asking is to forego "something" and set up a subscription payment for $5 a month in Paypal now. (It's actually cheaper than mailing a check.) Just add in the Notes what you would like to designate for 2012!
Here is a list of some programs that would certainly benefit from $5 a month:
Our Goal for December Focus Week is to have 20 Supporters sign on for $5 a month. That would be $100 a month or $1200 for the year "extra" to help the orphans in Ukraine
NOVEMBER 2011
November's Focus Week was a TO GIVE month. We held a sock and underwear drive! We far exceeded our goal of 100 pairs of socks and 100 pairs of underwear. Supporters donated money, purchased on our Amazon wishlist, and sent socks and underwear to our Essentials Coordinator. Thank you! OCTOBER 2011 October's Focus Week was a To Do Month. Erica is our birthday card coordinator, and she ensures that every child at Tsurupinsk orphanage has a birthday card to open on their birthday!! Sadly, many of the children do not receive anything for their birthdays. AOS members got out their scrap-booking supplies and made colorful, personal birthday cards so each child will have something of their own to open on their special day!!! SEPTEMBER 2011 September's Focus Week was a To Give month. An Orphan Smiles collected funds so 5th and 6th graders at Myko could take a once in a lifetime trip to Kiev. Mykolaivka Internat is a boarding school that houses approximately 170 children from the ages of 7 years old to 17 years old. All the children who live at Mykolaivka Internat are labeled as learning disabled. They also all have some type of handicap such as cross eyes, cleft palate, epilepsy, speech delay, or attention disorder.
Mykolaivka Internat is in a very rural area. There are no restaurants, movie theaters, bowling alleys or any other recreational facilities nearby. Basically the children have their school building, cafeteria and dormitory. There is a small open market within walking distance. If the children are fortunate to have any spending money, they can go here to buy what they need or want. Since December 2008, An Orphan Smiles has sponsored trips for the children of Mykolaivka Internat to visit Ukraine's Capital city of Kiev. The children travel by train to Kiev for a very full three days of activities. These activities usually include a movie, an arcade visit, a trip to McDonald's, pizza, a amusement park or dolphin show. Believe it or not, a real highlight of the trip is riding the escalators up and down many times! Most of these children have never ventured too far from their orphanage which is located in a rural part of Ukraine. AUGUST 2011 August is a busy vacation month and we tried to keep our Focus Week simple. An Orphan Smiles reviewed some of our TO DO activities which help our cause.
1) Shop thru our special Amazon Link and AOS earns a 4-6% rebate on purchases. Our TO DO activity was to load a shortcut to our LINK on your desktop as follows: For PC users: 3) Enroll and use igive.com for all your online shopping and searching! 4) Support An Orphan Smiles thru our eBay Auctions.
JULY 2011 It was CHRISTMAS in JULY. Our July Focus Week was to promote our Christmas program and raise funds for shipping treats to the kids and grads in our sponsored orphanages. Our goal for the week was $300. We came up a little short raising $282, but look forward to sharing gifts with the children in December. If you would like to help us reach our goal with a small donation, please click here. JUNE 2011 JUNE FOCUS WEEK was a TO DO month. We promoted An Orphan Smiles ROLL CALL and we asked everyone to post a message to introduce oneself to the group. We enjoyed a great response. Supporters can join in at any time. Just send an email to An_Orphan_Smiles@yahoogroups.com with your introduction. MAY 2011 Our May Focus Week was aimed at finding sponsors for seven available young men in our GAP program. These teenagers aged out of the orphanage in June 2010 and started their Vocational Training in September 2010. Of the thirty+ orphans who aged out last year, these were the only ones who were still waiting for someone to take an interest in their life. During the May Focus Week An Orphan Smiles successfully matched sponsors with four of the seven young men waiting. We featured a different GRAD each day for seven days for the May Focus Week. To read about the three remaining young men, please click here. To learn more about our GAP sponsorship program at Mykolaivka, please visit our GAP program page. Sponsorship is $30/month. For additional information or questions, please contact Rachael, our program coordinator.
APRIL 2011 April 2011 was a TO DO month and we asked supporters to complete a short survey about An Orphan Smiles. The objective of the survey was to provide feedback to the Board in such areas as planning, programs, and volunteerism. The results of the Survey are being tabulated and will be posted soon.
MARCH 2011 FOCUS WEEK for March was an effort to create DORM PACKS for thirty Mykolaivka kids who are aging out of the orphanage system and are headed to vocational school in September. It is similiar to preparing to send a son or daughter away to college, except these teenagers do not have parents in their lives to help them in this way. DORM PACKS consist of items needed in preparation of living in a dormitory for two years. The list includes things like sheets, towels, toiletries, a backpack, socks and underwear. During MARCH 2011 An Orphan Smiles collected $685 in donations and $250 in store gift cards to help purchase items to assemble Dorm Packs. We also received commitment from donors who volunteered to assemble a complete DORM PACK for a specific child. We have individuals creating 18 DORM PACK in total and An Orphan Smiles will create and ship twelve DORM PACKS with the funds that were raised. An Orphan Smiles plans and collects for our DORM PACKS all year long. Often we are presented with orphanage graduates who are dire in need of supplies and household goods. Donations are needed on an ongoing basis. OR visit our Amazon wishlist to make purchase of individual items.
FEBRUARY 2011 Focus Week for Februrary 2011 was a TO DO month. An Orphan Smiles is always looking for individuals who are interested in helping our organization with a donation of their time and talent. During the month of February we highlighted several Voluteer positions seeking supporters who might have interest. We appreciate that several people did volunteer to take on four of our posted positions. If you have interest in helping An Orphan Smiles as a volunteer, please visit our Volunteer Opportunities page.
JANUARY 2011 An Orphan Smiles kicked off the new year with a change to our monthly effort. We replaced our TEN DAY PROJECT with a slightly shorter versioncalled FOCUS WEEK. Our first FOCUS WEEK of 2011 was a very successful TO GIVE project. We collected $600 in donations to purchase books for the Tsurupinsk Children's Home Library. Books were purchased and delivered to the Tsurupinsk in March. This library book project is ongoing at both Tsurupinsk and Mykolaivka. Please consider helping either orphanage with a donation to purchase books.
TEN DAY PROJECT - 2010 Prior to introducing FOCUS WEEK in 2011, An Orphan Smiles promoted a TEN DAY PROJECT each month. Same purpose over a slightly longer time period. Here is a brief summary of our monthly topics and accomplishments in 2010.
DECEMBER 2010 Given that December is a very busy time, An Orphan Smiles chose to recap the years' worth of projects with a Twelve Days of Christmas theme in lieu of asking for a donation of time or money: The Twelve Months of An Orphan Smiles...
12 Months to Review
11 Amazon rebates
10 Orphans to Kiev
9 Newsletter Subscribers
8 Grads-to-sponsor
7 Dollars-for-Shipping
6 KIDS-to-Sponsor
5 Did nothing
4 Brochures
3 Grad Packs
2 Dollars for Emergency
And a Flyer hung on a Tree
NOVEMBER 2010 For our November Ten Day Project was a TO DO month and we reviewed all the fundraisers we promote that are free and easy!
and we devoted the November newsletter to these as well: http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1410612484
OCTOBER 2010 In October our focus was to raise money to send children to Kiev for a special three day trip over the Christmas holidays. Our goal was $1000 and we were able to excede that! We raised $1200 during this TO GIVE project. These trips are so much fun for the kids!
SEPTEMBER 2010 In September our TEN DAYS PROJECT was to spread the word about our online
AUGUST 2010 An Orphan Smiles featured teenagers who aged out of the orphanages in June and were headed to vocational training in September. An Orphan Smiles matches a caring individual, a family, or a couple individuals with a child through our GAP Sponsorship program.
JULY 2010 In July our TEN DAY PROJECT was a TO GIVE project. We celebrated Christmas in July and collected funds to ship our Christmas boxes to the orphanages. Our Goal was $400 and we collected $597.86. Our Christmas program is a very large undertaking with many people helping to assure that each child receives something. Our goal is for each of the children to receive a personalized gift bag with goodies and toiletries. Please visit our Christmas page for more information.
JUNE 2010 In June of 2010 An Orphan Smiles highlighted our KIDS sponsorship program. A different child was featured each day.
MAY 2010 No Ten Day Project scheduled.
APRIL 2010 In April we promoted a TO DO opportunity. Our ten day project asked supporters to print out our Brochure and to distribute it when given an opportunity.
MARCH 2010 An Orpan Smiles with the help of many people were able to send twenty-eight Grad Packs to vocational students at Mykolaivka Internat and Orphanage No. 12 in Ukraine. GRAD PACKS consist of items needed for the children aging out of the orphanage to set up housekeeping and prepare for living on their own.
FEBRUARY 2010 An Orpan Smiles introduced our first TO GIVE Project. The goal was to The Emergency Fund is a reserve for medical and other emergencies that require
JANUARY 2010 An Orpan Smiles kicked off our first ever Ten Day Project in 2010 with a TO DO project. We asked supporters to print out this flyer and place on community bulletin boards. It was suggested to keep a few of these flyers in your car and always be prepared to hang one if the opportunity presented itself.
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