Learn How to Become a Child Sponsor With Orphans International - Embrace Family Care For Orphans

Image of July 24 Sponsor A Child Today Event Announcement from Orphans International

Received the following invitation for Roosevelt Islanders from Jim Luce, Roosevelt Island resident and founder of Orphans International.

Hello OI America supporters!

On July 24th, we are hosting a party for our Child Sponsors – hopefully you! -- on the beautiful rooftop at 455 Main Street, overlooking Manhattan. Located adjacent to both tram and “F” line, this new Roosevelt Island building features a party penthouse which holds 80 people. The party will last from 6 to 9pm, but you can stay until 11pm and watch the stars come out!

Please check your schedule and RSVP today (door security requires us to have guests listed). We want to acknowledge our local CHILD SPONSORS, who form the backbone of our charitable work. Invite your friends to join us by sponsoring a child at www.oiww.org. It's easy! Donors can now receive regular e-mail updates about their child and our children can respond to messages from their sponsors.

On July 24th we will be sharing stories about the children and our intrepid staff “in country.” Please join us and become better acquainted with our beautiful kids and dedicated staff. Invite your friends to join us. We’ll have picnic food prepared by our volunteers, and you can Bring Your Own Bottle (B.Y.O.B.).

Board members, summer interns and other volunteers will also be there. Chat with Don Hoskins, President of our Board of Directors, Linda Stanley, our Executive Director, and all the other unpaid people who make Orphans International possible.

Please RSVP as soon as possible to reserve your spot! Thanks to you, we are Raising Global Citizens!

Giulia, an Orphans International America student intern, describes her summer experience working with the Roosevelt Island based organization.

Unlike other summer jobs before (and I have had quite a few, believe me!) this has not been your regular buying-coffee-for-your-superiors sort of internship, far from it. The focus of the organization are the children under its care in Haiti, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and as of this year, Tanzania. Hence my first assignment: a full blown project to research the building of a self-sustainable, and energy sufficient community centre for our orphans in Jacmel, Haiti. What does that entail? Getting in touch with multiple architects, sponsors, the media; but also: figuring out the logistics behind the process, the time constrictions, the budget. One has to map out a focus, a plan of attack. I would be lying if I said that it has been an easy ride: between the overwhelming sense attached to the task, the obstacles have been many, varying from the hostility to the complete indifference of those to whom we have been trying to reach out to. It has been a daily reminder of the difficulties faced by a non-for-profit and one of the many reasons why people think twice before choosing the job as their life career.

Learn more about Orphans International work in Haiti, Sri Lanka and Indonesia as well as their guiding principle of embracing family care for orphans. Here's Jim Luce writing in the Huffington Post:

Ten years ago I envisioned helping orphans in the developing world by building small homes and hiring houseparents. It seemed obvious that the key to proper care for orphaned children was a strong substitute family. So I put my money where my mouth was and founded Orphans International (OI). I've learned since then that building the small homes of my original dreams--with four children to a house--is very expensive, often too expensive. Yet, I realize, in every country and in every village I have visited sufficient housing usually exists.

With OI Family Care--placing children with their aunts, uncles, or grandparents who want to help--I now grasp that we can provide for 48 children at the same cost as housing 12 in our own small homes. This plan delivers a big bang for my buck--and more importantly, our donor's buck: a 75% reduction in costs, and a 400% increase in capacity.

And Orphans International on You Tube.