Free to Live Tour - Helping Children Living in Poverty

Desperation Band, Meredith Andrews, and Tom Davis are the headliners on the Free to Live Tour, sponsored by Children's HopeChest, a ministry dedicated to helping children living in poverty escape sexual slavery and exploitation.  Find dates, cities, and ticket information here.

South Africa, the World Cup, and Orphaned Children

Children's HopeChest will be sponsoring a Vision Trip to South Africa for pastors and community leaders who are interested in sponsoring a care point there.  Follow this link for more information about this opportunity-  http://www.hopechest.org/join-our-south-africa-ministry/.

Also, Tom Davis, president of Children's HopeChest is currently in South Africa for the World Cup and is blogging about social justice issues impacting orphans.  He has developed a "Beyond the Game" Devotional that can be downloaded.  This devotional explores unreported facets of the World Cup that impacts children and orphans. 
http://blog.beliefnet.com/redletters/

Opportunity to Work with Orphans in India

Children's HopeChest is looking for 9 people who are interested in their FIRST vision trip to INDIA June 20 - July 3. The will be an amazing trip to Delhi to work with a school called the The Good Samaritan. On the trip you will work with Dalit children and orphans.

Here are the details: http://www.hopechest.org/india-trip-june-2010/
or email - vince@hopechest.org

How to Help Stop Sex Trafficking

Children's HopeChest has a program in Russia to "stop sex trafficking before it begins."
Tom Davis explains on his blog: http://networkedblogs.com/2TS3Y

Further, CHC is selling these necklaces in which the proceeds go to help the victims of sex trafficking. 

"There are a limited number, so buy now to help support victims of sex trafficking in Moldova and the Young Mother’s Program in Russia- give the gift of LOVE to many!

A nice 18″ inch Sterling Cable Chain with a lobster clasp holds a 1″ inch Handmade Sterling circle that is hand stamped with “Love” and it is paired with a sterling flower Charm and a Beautiful Black Onyx Gem that is hand wrapped in Sterling silver."

To purchase:  http://www.adoptionfathers.com/2010/04/11/supportyoungmothers/

Children's HopeChest "Young Mother's Program"

For Mother's Day 2010, Children's HopeChest is selling beautiful, handmade, one-of-a-kind necklaces to raise funds for girls in their Young Mothers Program. Keep an eye out for the "Love Goes Around" necklace and their Breaking the Chain Mother's Day gift campaign.

About the Young Mothers Program: When orphans are released from the orphanage in their early teen years, they enter a critically vulnerable time. In the case of these women, they found themselves pregnant and alone. Still children themselves, they had nowhere to go. That's where HopeChest comes into the picture.

Learn more:  http://tomdavis.typepad.com/HopeChest-YoungMothers.pdf

Opportunity for You to Go On a Mission Trip to Ethiopia

HopeChest is planning a mission trip to Ethiopia this April 18th-28th. Cost will be around $1,000 (PLUS airfare) depending on size of the group.

Ginia Hairston, HopeChest's program services director, will lead this trip to visit several of our orphanages in and around Addis Ababa. (You'll get to meet many of the children helped in our Shirts for Shoes campaign too!) The deadline for application and first deposit: February 21st.
Email nicole@hopechest.org  to reserve your spot.
http://www.hopechest.org/

Adventures in Missions Haiti Response

Please stay connected to http://haiti.adventures.org/ for the latest information about how one of Children's HopeChest partners, Adventures In Missions, is responding to the Haiti earthquake.

Children's HopeChest Ministry's Plan to help Haitian Children

Haiti's devastating earthquake may triple the number of orphans (http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/16/haiti.earthquake.carrefour.orphanage/index.html)
living on this small impoverished island. Already one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti's new orphan crisis will bring incredible strain upon the country's resources to care for children.

Our ministry team has developed a two-stage plan to assist organizations in caring for an expected 300% increase in orphaned children in Haiti.

EMERGENCY FOOD RELIEF

Through our "5 for 50 (http://www.5for50.com/)" program, we have already contributed $3,000 to Kids Against Hunger. In 2009, they shipped over 500,000 meals to our carepoints in Africa. From Jan 1 - Feb 28, HopeChest will donate 100% of all 5 for 50 (http://www.5for50.com/) contributions to Kids Against Hunger to feed Haiti's orphans. To join us, please go to http://www.5for50.org (http://www.5for50.com/) to make a gift. 100% of all contributions made before Feb 28 will support emergency food relief for orphans in Haiti.

LONG-TERM CARE
Organizations are rushing into Haiti--just as we watched them pour into the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Today, less than 10 percent are still ministering in Russia. Right now, HopeChest is conducting extensive due diligence on several orphan ministry partners in Haiti. Our COO, Bob Mudd, has been on the phone every day with new potential long-term partners.
We are looking for ministries with a pre-earthquake track record of caring for orphans, and who will experience a substantial increase in the number of children they are serving. Through a ministry partnership with Children's HopeChest, we will explore providing long-term care through our CONNECT COMMUNITIES outreach, as well as our TRANSFORM church sponsorship programs.

Above all, please pray for everyone affected by the earthquake, especially David Hames and his family. David attends Vanguard Church, one of our Swaziland carepoint sponsors. David was in Haiti to film stories of children for Compassion International and was in the Hotel Montana when it collapsed during the earthquake. Search and rescue teams are working to locate David, and we ask you to join us in asking for God's miraculous hand to work in Haiti today.
Thank you for your support and prayers.
Sincerely,
The HopeChest Ministry Team
P.S. If you haven't contributed to disaster relief in Haiti, we would encourage you make a financial contribution to one of the following organizations:

- The Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org/)

- Compassion International (http://www.compassion.com/)

- Samaritan's Purse (http://www.samaritanspurse.org/)

Shirts for Shoes: Be an Orphan's Valentine

HopeChest's new campaign is, Shirts for Shoes. In partnership with Kari Gibson's Simply Love project, they have created exclusive and limited edition T-shirts for you to buy as a Valentines Day gift for your loved ones. 100% of proceeds will provide a new shirt and new shoes to 400 children in Ethiopia in their programs. 
To purchase or for more information:
http://networkedblogs.com/p24378963

Today is Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Every 2 minutes, a child is forced into slavery somewhere in the world, robbing them of their childhood forever.
One of the girls we were able to help, Sveta, has grown up to become a veterinarian. But her life started with an unthinkable choice...her parents decided that they had enough girls already and abandoned her to the orphanage.
Read more about Sveta: http://tomdavis.typepad.com/tom_daviss_blog/2010/01/htad2010.html
Please encourage others to take action against trafficking, and let others know that you are doing something to fight for the millions of children who have lost their childhoods to human trafficking.

For the Fatherless,
Tom
CEO, HopeChest

Stop Sex Trafficking Now!

From Childrens'HopeChest:

As you read this letter there are over 2 million children forced into prostitution and sex slavery.
This can be prevented and we can do something about it. These girls need our help and there isn’t time to waste.
Right now, pimps and prostitution rings are targeting our precious, young girls. They wait for them to leave the protection of the orphanage, and then offer them a "job."
Many of the girls simply disappear: never heard from again by their friends. But sometimes you glimpse this horror.
Like the girl who was flung from the cab of a truck once her "client" was finished with her. She was paralyzed, never to walk again.

Or the young woman the police found in a ditch on the side of a busy road. Killed at the truck stop where she worked as a prostitute.

These were kids that could have been helped by our programs.

One of these stories is too many...2 million children is unfathomable. This is a direct result of evil having its way on the earth.
As Peter tells us, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” I Peter 5:8
We can’t let him continue to destroy lives. You can stop this, and help reclaim a child's future.
HopeChest stops sex trafficking before it starts. In Russia, we are taking girls into residential living centers and community centers to actively protect them from the commercial sex trade. We identify girls early, while still in the orphanage.

Our staff form meaningful relationships to role model what successful living looks like. And when that girl leaves the orphanage, she knows exactly where to go for help--to HopeChest. She is not alone.
Amongst our girls, there is no sex trafficking. In fact, our transitional living homes have a 90%+ rate of helping girls find true independent life. This is the reality of God’s Kingdom in action.
Right now these girls need you. Please go to http://www.hopechestpartners.org/
 and click the GIVE button to make a gift today.

You can make a gift in honor of a special person this Christmas. Perhaps you will honor someone who mentored you as we are helping these young women?

Help us stop sex trafficking now by reaching more girls in Russia today and into 2010.
 

http://tomdavis.typepad.com/tom_daviss_blog/2009/12/urgent-stop-sex-trafficking-now.html

Famine Crisis in Ethiopia - You can help!

From Tom Davis' blog:

URGENT: Millions Starving in Ethiopia
Today's news out of Ethiopia is not new. Millions starving. Millions without food or water. Millions trapped in extreme poverty. Millions is a concept we've accepted in our news reporting. If everyone in Colorado Springs was starving, we wouldn't quite get to "millions."

Hard to comprehend. Here's what I know. CHC's (Children's Hope Chest) kids don't starve. They don't drink dirty water. They are protected from abuse. They are sheltered from child labor. They are put through school to help develop their potential. Our kids are numbered in the thousands. And guess what? I've got 5,000 more who are waiting for a home.
This Christmas, CHC is going to launch a dynamic campaign to bring 5,000 new children into our CarePoint's throughout Africa. But with today's news of "millions" starving in Ethiopia, we've got to step up our plans a bit. I need to get the feeding centers up and running as soon as possible.

To read more and to find how you can help: http://tomdavis.typepad.com/tom_daviss_blog/2009/10/urgent-millions-starving-in-ethiopia.html

For more on the Ethiopian famine from the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8321043.stm

Spots are Available for HopeChest's September Vision Trip to Uganda

If you think your Church / Business / Organization might be interested in partnering with an orphan community in Uganda, why don't you invite them!

The purpose: Vision trips are designed for pastors, church or community leaders who are interested in the prospect of having their community sponsor an orphan community. This is a great way to get to know Uganda, HopeChest and the children / orphan communities available for sponsorship. We will be traveling from community to community to allow you to choose the community that best fits yours!

Details: September 8 (Tuesday) - September 17 (Thursday). They are in Uganda from Wednesday to Wednesday
Cost: $750 for ground fees, airfare is $1200-$1500
*Ground fees cover all food, transportation and lodging

If you think your pastor might be interested, this is a great way for him to catch the vision! We even have partial scholarships available on a need by need limited basis! Feel free to email me for more details. I'd love to talk to you about it.

brandi @ kidslake .org (remove spaces)

Caring For Orphans - Tom Davis (Preview)

Tom Davis interviewed by Jim Cantelon


http://100huntley.com/video.php?id=lfdv4tvQ21Q

Scared: A Novel on the Edge of the World

Tom Davis' first novel, Scared, was released this month.

"Released by Cook Communications June, 2009 under “Novels with a Conscience,” Scared: A Novel on the Edge of the World, follows the story of U.S. photojournalist Stuart Daniels and a young Swazi girl, Adanna. Like many in her country, she finds herself as the head of her household in a land with little to offer anyone in need. Termed “Nation of Orphans,” Swaziland has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in Africa.
The themes of the story are not easy – disease, hunger, death, and man’s basest evil toward his fellow man, even children. Reality in Swaziland isn’t easy for anyone. In fiction, as in life, the characters show a resilience of spirit in the face of unthinkable adversity. In the same way, their stories display the power of relationship, human and divine, to heal and restore. "

http://www.scaredthebook.com/

trailer for the book: http://vimeo.com/4151141

Note: for some historical and cultural background on Swaziland, watch the documentary, Without the King.

URGENT NEED: Forumla Needed for Malnourished Babies in Ethiopia

UPDATE: YOU DID IT! We raised all $12,500 as of this morning. Thanks to everyone who made this happen. We'll keep this post up for now and send you additional details on this project. Thank you Thank you! We can now provide 400 cans of Nutramigen to malnourished babies in Ethiopia.


From Tom Davis' blog -
http://tomdavis.typepad.com/

Famine and poverty are increasing the rates of malnourished infant babies in Ethiopia. Children's HopeChest has worked with the America World Adoption Agency (AWAA) on projects in Ethiopia and Russia over the past five years. This request came to us from their transition home where they are receiving severely malnourished babies into their care. This month, in honor of mother's day, I want to raise $12,500 to provide specialized baby formula to this transition home for these malnourished babies. (Please put "Ethiopia Formula" in the note section of the donate page.]
To kick this off, a friend of Children's HopeChest has offered a matching gift for the first $500 we receive toward this project.