Monday, November 26, 2007

Thanksgiving Mission Trip to Mexico


Greetings to all of you... I've just returned from another amazing trip from Mexico over the long weekend.

I'm exhausted and don't have the energy to give you all the details of one of THEE most amazing weekends, but wanted to share a few of these pics - sorry they are so big!

The greatest news is that we have 2 new little girls for our Valerie Project!

I'd like to introduce to you:
Lucelly is 7 years old and lives in a small Mayan community. Her mother is taking great care of her with the resources she has, but as you can see she is severely malnourished. (She is the one in the little red and blue short set.)

Perla Ruby is 5 years old and lives in Carillo Puerto. Perla's nutrition is good, but she is having seizures and is not on meds.

We will be working with these families to make sure they have everything they need to care for these beautiful little girls!

By the way, Valerie weighs 32 lbs now! Makes me want to cry just thinking about how far she's come. She is doing great, looks amazing and seems really happy!

Off to bed...

Love, Paige



Check out our little Val!


Valerie is doing well & now weighs 32 lbs!!!



Meet Lucelly & Perla Rubi

Lucelly


Perla Rubi

Meet our newest children who will be sponsored by the Valerie Project. These little girls were brought to meet us by David's mother.

Lucelly's mother travelled two hours by bus from her small Mayan village to seek help for her daughter. Lucelly has cerebral palsy & a seizure disorder. She is 7 years old and currenly weighs only 20 lbs. We immediately made sure that Lucelly has nutritional supplement to last until we can see her again in December.
Perla Rubi suffered tramautic brain injury from a fall when whe was an infant. She has a seizure disorder that is currently uncontrolled by medication. In the short period that we visited with her she had numerous small seizures. Her mother is a single parent of both Perla Rubi and her infant sister.

We will update you on the progress of the girls. If you would like to sponsor one of these beautiful little girls please contact us at carrie@carriesheart.org








Saturday, November 17, 2007

Fall Updates

In this Update:
Mark Your Calendars!
Fall Yucatan Mission Trip Updates
Valerie Project Updates
After God's Heart Grant
Fall Local Events Updates
Coffee Talk News
Be An Angel Park Project
Carrie's Heart Christmas 2007
Presentations: Help spread the word!
Carrie's Heart Partners
Traveling to the Yucatan?
Volunteer Opportunities
Needs List


MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Pizza for Presents - Carrie's Heart will be hosting a kick off party for Carrie's Heart Christmas 2007 on Wednesday, November 28th from 5 to 8 p.m. at Bollis Bros. Pizza in Katy. See the attached flyer for details. Come see the letters to Santa from our kids in the Yucatan!

Pennies for Presents- School groups in Katy ISD including the Best Buddies (Cinco Ranch High School) and Teen Leadership (Beckendorff JH and McMeans JH) will be participating in our annual "Pennies for Presents" spare change drive during the month of December. All types of groups and organizations are welcome to participate. Spare change will also be collected at our Pizza for Presents kick off party...so clean out those drawers, jars & piggy banks!

Carrie's Heart Open House- Mark your calendars for December 8th from 6:00 to 10:00 pm for the annual Carrie's Heart Open House. Invitations will be coming by mail and email next week. Join us for this special celebration of lives touched and promises for JOY, HOPE & LOVE for our children in the Yucatan this holiday season.

Coffee Talk - This Saturday at 9:00...see flyer for details.
Dunn Brother's Coffee, 6825 S. Fry Rd. #100
http://www.dunnbroshouston.com/

FALL MISSION TRIP UPDATES
August Mission Trip
During the month of August we had the opportunity to celebrate all of our summer birthdays in the Yucatan. All of the boys had their birthdays during August & September so we were able to celebrate with each child! Thank you to all who donated for their birthday gifts. Each boy received a birthday gift and some clothing. All the clothes were purchased new at some awesome clearance sales of summer clothes ($2 t-shirts & shorts at Walmart...wow!) The boys were thrilled with their new duds. Carrie's Heart board member Nora Nasr made her first trip to the Yucatan in August and really enjoyed getting to meet the children & families for the first time. In Nora's own words:

What touched me the most about our visit to Mexico this summer is the network of support you are creating for our families. From doctors to drivers to compassionate friends and sponsors, the circle of support for “our children” has grown quickly in the short time they have been part of the Carrie’s Heart family.

It is obvious that the relationships you’ve formed with our families are based on trust; the families know you do not judge them, you understand their circumstances, and that you have their best interest at heart. You were truly meant to find each of these families. I think they all know you will be involved in their lives for as long as they need you.

The parents in these families are inspirational. Look at how Juan Diego’s mom cares for, speaks to and dotes on her son, and you see the depth of a mother’s love.

Visiting these families in their modest homes was a humbling experience. I cannot imagine the difficulties they face daily, but despite their meager surroundings and trying circumstances, these families are proud and are doing the very best they can for their children.

October Mission Trip
The first weekend of October I made a quick trip down to the Yucatan to deliver tons of schools supplies to the special education schools that had been donated during our annual School Supplies Drive. The CAM schools in Playa del Carmen and Cozumel both received big tubs filled with construction paper, markers, glue, scissors and more! The teachers and students will be busy using the supplies to make their annual letters to Santa over the next two weeks. The letters will be brought back to Houston after Thanksgiving for everyone to see!

Our mission teams are growing! Carrie's Heart is joining with other professionals & organizations to work with schools & families in the Yucatan! Doctors, therapists, educators and volunteers from Mexico, the U.S. & Canada are beginning to pull our knowledge & resources together to better meet the needs of the kids! If you are interested in becoming a part of a mission team email Carrie.

VALERIE PROJECT UPDATES
All six children in the Yucatan who are sponsored through the Valerie Project are doing well. We had some health scares with both David & Jose in the late summer but both appear to be doing better. David's family was able to secure local assistance in getting materials to fix their roof that was damaged in the recent hurricane. Juan Diego is currently in Merida getting neurological evaluations. He went to Merida two weeks ago for his six month follow up & the doctor felt it was neccessary to do some additional studies because Juan Diego's seizures have become more intense and more frequent. If you would like to contribute to cover his medical costs we would welcome the assistance. Carlitos started first grade...and we got to visit him at school for the first time. We donated school supplies for he and his classmates. What an experience! Carlitos was a star for the day with all 35 of his classmates so excited to have visitors! Attached is our most recent Valerie Project newsletter...check it out!

GRANT AWARDED TO CARRIE'S HEART
At the beginning of October we received some exciting news! For the second year in a row Carrie's Heart was given a grant to go towards the work that we are doing through the Valerie Project in the Yucatan! The grant is from a private family foundation that contacted Carrie's Heart in the summer of 2006. The mission of the foundation is to seek out organizations to support that they feel are doing God's work. A foundation board member contacted Carrie's Heart because she was seeking an organization that was working with children with disabilities in the Yucatan! An internet search led her to Carrie's Heart. We are grateful that we have again been awarded the funds that will help to provide for our sponsored children in the Yucatan into the New Year!

FALL LOCAL EVENTS UPDATES
We have had a whirl wind of activity this fall with the start up of a new school year for our local children and lots of fun events!

Burgers for Books / School Supplies Drive
At the end of September we hosted our annual Burgers for Books event at Fuddruckers. During the event school supplies were collected for the School Supplies Drive. Funds raised during the event went towards the purchase of additional supplies and books for the special education schools in the Yucatan.

Trick or Treat Party
On Halloween over 50 ghosts & goblins of all ages enjoyed themselves at the second annual Trick or Treat Party co-hosted by Carrie's Heart and the Parikh family. It was a great party. All of the kids enjoyed refreshments and trick or treating. The parents all enjoyed getting the chance to meet one another for socializing & networking. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this party a great success!

COFFEE TALK NEWS
Coffee Talk resumed this fall for the new school year. Coffee Talk is an informal social and networking group for mothers of children with special needs. New moms are welcome at any time. The last Coffee Talk for the fall will be this Saturday at 9:00 at Dunn Bros. coffee in Katy. See the attached flyer for details. We hope to see you this Saturday. Coffee Talk will resume again in January after the holiday season. Moms who are interested in learning more about Coffee Talk or who want to introduce themselves can contact Paige Whitten at paige@carriesheart.org

BE AN ANGEL PARK PROJECT
Carrie's Heart was invited to serve on the committee of a very exciting new project for our children in our local Katy community. Houston based nonprofit Be An Angel and the City of Katy have joined together to build a new park for all children for the city of Katy. Community leaders, business leaders and local nonprofit organizations serving children with disabilities have been invited to be a part of the project. We will keep you informed about the project and how you can join in on making the Be An Angel park come to fruition!

CARRIE'S HEART CHRISTMAS 2007
The letters to Santa are being written...and Carrie's Heart is getting ready to help play Santa to over 150 children with special needs in the Yucatan again this year! Santa can not make the wishes of all our children come true without all his helpers! Please consider making Carrie's Heart your charity of choice this holiday season....individually or along with your coworkers, church, school groups, sports teams, social groups & family. Please see the mark your calendar section below & watch your mail and email for details to come in the next weeks!

Check out last year's Christmas pics on Flick:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/carriesheart/collections/72157600865859049/

CARRIE'S HEART PARTNERS
Check out our new partners tab on the website! Carrie's Heart community & corporate sponsorships are vital to our success in our local and international projects. We are continually looking to build relationships with businesses & community organizations. For more information please contact Paige Whitten at paige@carriesheart.org

PRESENTATIONS
Help Carrie's Heart spread the word about our organization and the work we are doing locally & in the Yucatan! We have developed presentations about Carrie's Heart for use at any type of group meeting in the community. If you belong to a group, class, organization or work place that you think would like to support Carrie's Heart please contact Paige Whitten at paige@carriesheart.org


TRAVELING TO THE YUCATAN?
Consider taking down supplies for the Carrie's Heart kids!
Will you or someone you know be traveling to the Yucatan? If so...please consider taking down needed supplies for the Carrie's Heart kids in the Yucatan. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Carrie for more details!

VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers are needed for the following events. Please contact Carrie if you are interested in volunteering. Adults, students & groups (school, scouts etc.) are all welcome to volunteer!

Professional Volunteers:
Carrie's Heart is in need of professionals that can lend their expertise to the growth of our organization in the following areas:
Accounting
Non-Profit Law
Marketing / Public Relations
Grant Writing / Fund Development
Medical Professionals
Individuals interested should contact Carrie Conn at carrie@carriesheart.org

Pizza for Presents / Pennies for Presents!
Student volunteers are needed to help out at our Pizza for Presents event and to collect spare change for our Pennies for Present drive. Contact Carrie Conn at carrie@carriesheart.org or 281-856-6251 for details.

NEEDS
For a complete list of needs see the Carrie's Heart website at http://www.carriesheart.org/needs.html

New or Used Van: Carrie's Heart is in need of a new or used van (cargo, passenger or minivan). If you can help out with this need or have a contact that might be able to help us out please contact Paige Whitten at paige@carriesheart.org

Carrie's Heart Sponsored Children: When you are out grocery shopping each week please consider throwing a few extra items in the basket for the Carrie's Heart kids. This is a really easy...and important way that you can help out!
Nutritional Supplement: Ensure & Pediasure or equivalent, Duo Cal
Diapers: Sizes 4 & 5 & 6 (Jumbo)
Adult Diapers: Medium
Equipment: Used wheelchairs, walkers, adaptive equipment & PT equipment for children of all ages.

Specific Needs for the Carrie's Heart Kids in the Yucatan:
A bathing chair & a wheelchair for David.
Educational DVD's and computer programs in Spanish for Jose.
Kangaroo Pump Bags & BARD 18 F extension sets.
Lightweight winter clothing for Gladys(Size 5) & Valerie(Size 4) and all 4 boys (Boys Medium - Sizes 8 or 10)
Monthly sponsorship for Carlitos to attend school & purchase his educational materials / school supplies.
Suction machine for Juan Diego
Diapers - Size 4, 5 & 6 (Jumbo) and Adult M
Nutritional Supplement - Adult & Pediatric (all brands, liquid or powder), Duo Cal


Thank you for your continued support of Carrie's Heart!
Carrie

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