Children's Packages
As most of you know, Demetri and I recently traveled to Jordan to help aid in the refugee response for Syrians displaced by the war. Together, with over 120 of you, we raised almost $10,000 and invested our donations into items like clothing, powdered milk and sanitary supplies (diapers and pads). The last thing we did, before leaving, was work with Mercy Corps to fund ‘welcome packages’ for children. We used $2,000 to purchase crayons, coloring books, and the like that could be distributed to children who had just arrived in Jordan.
As you can imagine, war is really hard on children. Kids have been out of school for over two years and have seen unimaginable suffering. Many of their homes have been completely destroyed, friends and family have been killed, and now they are living in a different country as refugees. The most basic things help. While we were in Jordan, we handed out little bags of paper and crayons and the joy on children’s faces was truly beautiful (see picture below). This was an important cause to us and when Catherine (our friend at Mercy Corps) told us that she was organizing a larger effort like this, we immediately got on board.
The packages have now been completed and through our donations, the team, with help from the boy and girl scouts of Jordan, has put together over 1,000 bags. These include:
- 1x coloring book with many pages and activities
- 1x white page book for drawing – comes with sticky backing so they can be put up on walls!
- Stickers
- Crayons (10 colors, good quality)
- Candy 4-5 small pieces
- 2-3 Toys – various, small and some cuddly
- 1-2 sock puppets
- All the above is in a bright bag with stars, some are decorated more by children.
- All bags are tied with ribbon
Each package is enough for at least three children meaning that over 3,000 children will benefit from this effort! It is so fantastic and we can’t wait to share pictures with you as we receive them.
Everyone is so pleased with this project and the feedback has been really positive. Helping bring joy to 3,000 suffering children is incredible but still there is a need. The team is asking for donations to further fund this cause and we want to help. As it was while we were in Jordan, 100% of donations will go towards providing writing utensils, art supplies, and small toys to the thousands of Syrian children living in Jordan.
We know that many of you have already donated generously. But if each of you takes the time to send this to 3-5 friends (letting them know that you’ve already donated), we can grow this effort and make a serious impact.