Parent Night Out offerred 9/22 and 10/6

Greetings Parents!

Welcome to the new school year!

My name is Jamie, and I’ve been the assistant teacher in the Butterfly class for over a year. For the past several years I have traveled overseas to volunteer with children in need from developing nations. This year I am headed to Ecuador to help with the overwhelming population of homeless children, and I need your help!

I, along with other volunteers, will teach, play, offer emotional support, and help with providing food and trips to the doctor. The children need everything from school supplies and toys, to food, clothing, vitamins, and medicine. To raise money for the project I would like to offer TWO (2) separate PARENT NIGHTS OUT!

On each night we (CCOA) will offer babysitting from 6:30-9:30pm for the nominal fee of $25. All of the money raised will go directly to funding the project. If you cannot participate in either of the dates, please consider making a donation to help provide items for children who desperately need them (receipts for donation available).

The dates for the Parent Nights Out will be Sept 22nd and Oct 6^th.   

What to Expect Here

I have created this blog for several reasons, the first being transparency.  I want anyone who has donated time or money to this project to be able to see where their generosity has gone. I will be posting pictures, video, and text posts about the day to day with the children in Quito.  I would also like to introduce the children individually, and offer them a chance to communicate with those back in Austin cheering them on! I would love to set up a way for communication to go back and forth between the kids in Quito and my friends at CCOA and in Austin. Lastly, I am hoping that beyond chronicling my time there, this blog will help shed light on the circumstances in which many children find themselves. I hope that by building a bridge between here and there, we can bring them hope, help, and opportunity. 

Introduction

This all began for me as a solution to the problem of how to travel cheaply. After graduating college I wanted to spend some time abroad, but school debt left me with little money for such a splurge.  Having taken several years of Arabic, I decided to travel to the Middle East to continue studying the language and volunteer.  The volunteering would change my life.

The connection I made with the children in Syrian orphanages and refugees in Lebanon gave me the gift of discovering what I wanted to do in life. I wanted to teach, and I wanted to help.

I've now traveled to over a dozen countries, the most recent being my trip last summer to Peru. I spent my time there working with young girls living in a very modest orphanage in Cuzco. Despite their situation they are some of the most bright and optimistic children I have ever met. Being able to offer them love, support, and encouragement was an indescribable experience to me, one I hope to replicate in my upcoming journey to Ecuador.

After I returned from Peru I began my time at Children's Center of Austin. This past year has afforded me the opportunity to build relationships with my students beyond what I had ever expected. I had no idea how much I would come to love each and every one of them, or how difficult it would be to watch them move up to the next class. But I know this experience will make me better in my future career; counseling children like those in Ecuador who are victims of trauma.

I'm excited by the prospect of being able to build a bridge between the family I have known here at CCOA and the children in Ecuador who need our help. I hope that this project brings better circumstances to those who need them.  I can't wait to show them that even thousands of miles away, there are people who care about them.