Tag: Non Profit

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Charity for Child Sponsorship

In a world where countless charities vie for your attention and support, it’s crucial to make informed decisions, especially when it comes to sponsoring a child. Your choice can significantly impact a child’s life, and you want to ensure that your contribution is making the most substantial difference possible. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you navigate this decision.

Key Considerations for Selecting a Charity

  1. Research and Reputation:
    • Dive deep into the charity’s history, mission, and values.
    • Look for testimonials, reviews, and feedback from past and current sponsors.
    • Check for any awards, recognitions, or affiliations that validate their credibility.
  2. Program Effectiveness:
    • Understand their methodology and strategy for child development.
    • Look for evidence of long-term impact and success stories.
    • Consider how they involve the local community in their initiatives.
  3. Financial Accountability:
    • Scrutinize their annual reports and financial statements.
    • Check for third-party audits or certifications that vouch for their financial integrity.
    • Ensure a significant portion of your sponsorship goes directly to the child and their community rather than administrative costs.

Spotlight on Amigos Internacionales, Inc.

Amigos Internacionales, Inc. stands out as a beacon of hope for children across the globe. Here’s a closer look at their commendable work:

  1. Education as a Priority:
    • Beyond just schooling, they focus on holistic educational experiences, including extracurricular activities and skill development programs.
    • They collaborate with local educators to ensure culturally relevant education.
  2. Holistic Well-being:
    • They believe in nourishing the mind, body, and soul. Their programs ensure children receive balanced meals, regular health check-ups, and emotional support.
    • Safety is paramount, with initiatives to protect children from harm and exploitation.
  3. Sustainability at its Core:
    • Their water projects provide immediate access to clean water and educate communities on water conservation.
    • They collaborate with local leaders to ensure the sustainability of their initiatives.
  4. A Safe Haven:
    • Beyond just a roof over their heads, they provide children with a nurturing environment, complete with counseling and support services.

Why Partner with Amigos Internacionales, Inc.?

  • Holistic Impact: Their programs are designed to cater to every aspect of a child’s life, ensuring they grow up healthy, educated, and empowered.
  • Transparency in Action: Regular updates, detailed reports, and open channels of communication mean you’re always in the loop about the impact of your sponsorship.
  • A Global Family: Join a community of sponsors from around the world, all united by a shared vision and commitment to children’s well-being.

In conclusion, when you choose to sponsor a child through Amigos Internacionales, Inc., you’re not just making a donation; you’re investing in a brighter future for a child and their community. Your support, combined with their expertise and dedication, can create ripples of positive change that last a lifetime.

All the Things to Know Before You Sponsor a Child

Are you looking to sponsor a child? This article will give you an overview of supporting a child, its benefits, and what to expect throughout its process.

Sponsoring a child can be a deeply fulfilling experience that allows you to impact a young life in need positively. It’s a commitment beyond financial support, which involves forming a meaningful connection and providing crucial resources for a child’s growth and development.
Are you looking to sponsor a child? This article will give you an overview of supporting a child, its benefits, and what to expect throughout its process.

Sponsoring a child can be a deeply fulfilling experience that allows you to impact a young life in need positively. It’s a commitment beyond financial support, which involves forming a meaningful connectio and providing crucial resources for a child’s growth and development.

Sponsoring a child can be a deeply fulfilling experience that allows you to impact a young life in need. It’s a commitment beyond financial support, that involves forming a meaningful connection and providing crucial resources for a child’s growth and development.

What is Child Sponsorship?

Child sponsorship is a powerful and impactful form of philanthropy that involves a long-term commitment to support and improve the life of a needy child.

It goes beyond financial contributions, establishing a personal connection between the sponsor and the sponsored child. Typically facilitated through reputable organizations, child sponsorship programs ensure that the child’s basic needs are met.

Sponsors contribute a set amount of money regularly, which is then utilized to provide essential resources and services to the child, their family, and their community.

The primary goal of child sponsorship is to empower children, break the cycle of poverty, and provide them with opportunities for a better future. Individuals can directly and meaningfully impact a child’s life by becoming a sponsor, fostering hope, and creating positive change.

How Does Child Sponsorship Work?

Child sponsorship operates through a structured process that ensures effective utilization of funds and meaningful engagement between sponsors and sponsored children. Here’s an overview of how how to sponsor a child in need:

  • Selecting a child: Sponsors are provided with profiles or information about needy children. They can choose a child based on age, location, and personal connection.
  • Financial contribution: Sponsors commit to regular financial assistance, usually through monthly or annual payments. This supports the child’s education, healthcare, nutrition, and overall well-being.
  • Establishing a relationship: Sponsors can communicate with the sponsored child through letters, emails, or even in-person visits when possible. This relationship-building aspect helps create a bond and offers encouragement and emotional support.
  • Program implementation: Reputable organizations implement the child sponsorship program on the ground, ensuring the effective distribution of funds to provide for the child’s needs. They monitor the child’s progress and well-being, providing updates to sponsors.
  • Impact on the child and community: The financial support from sponsors benefits the sponsored child, their family, and the community. Child sponsorship benefits help improve access to education, healthcare services, clean water, and other essential resources, ultimately creating a positive and sustainable impact.
  • Ongoing communication and updates: Sponsors receive regular updates on the child’s progress, including educational achievements, health updates, and any changes in circumstances. This allows sponsors to witness the transformation and growth of the child they support.
  • Long-term commitment: Child sponsorship is typically long-term, often spanning several years or until the child reaches adulthood. This ensures stability and continuity in the child’s life, enabling them to overcome obstacles and achieve their full potential.

How Much Does It Cost to Join Sponsorship?

The cost of joining a child sponsorship program can vary depending on the organization and the specific program you choose to participate in. Here are two common types of child sponsorship programs and their associated costs:

  • Individual child sponsorship: In this program, sponsors typically commit to providing financial support for one specific child. The contribution covers the child’s basic needs, including education, healthcare, nutrition, and other essential services.
  • Community-based sponsorship: In community-based sponsorship programs, sponsors contribute to a pool of funds that benefit not just one child but an entire community. The cost can range from around $30 to $100 per month. This broader support helps improve the community’s overall well-being, including access to education, healthcare, clean water, and livelihood opportunities.

Does Sponsoring a Child Really Help?

You might wonder whether child sponsorship truly brings about significant change. Let’s explore the effectiveness of child sponsorship programs and how they make a difference.

  • Education and Empowerment: Child sponsorship programs prioritize education, ensuring that sponsored children have access to quality schooling, supplies, and support. Education equips them with essential skills, knowledge, and opportunities for a better future, breaking the cycle of poverty and empowering them to reach their full potential.
  • Healthcare and Nutrition: Child sponsorship addresses the critical health needs of sponsored children by providing access to healthcare services, vaccinations, and nutritious meals. This support improves their physical well-being and enhances their overall development, enabling them to grow healthy and strong.
  • Community Development: Child sponsorship programs often extend their impact beyond individual children, benefiting their families and communities. By investing in community infrastructure, healthcare centers, schools, and vocational training programs, child sponsorship initiatives contribute to community development, creating sustainable change and improving the overall quality of life.

What Can I Expect As A Sponsor?

Understanding what you can expect from child sponsorship will help you embark on this rewarding journey with clarity and confidence.

Here are some key aspects you can expect as a sponsor:

  • Personal Connection: You can establish a meaningful and personal connection with the child you sponsor through letters, emails, or even in-person visits when possible, fostering a sense of companionship, support, and encouragement.
  • Progress Updates: You will receive regular updates on the progress of the child you sponsor, including their educational achievements, health updates, and any changes in circumstances, allowing you to witness the positive impact of your support.
  • Impactful Change: As a sponsor, you can expect to witness the transformative power of your contributions as the sponsored child’s life improves through access to education, healthcare, nutrition, and other vital resources, empowering them to break the cycle of poverty.
  • Opportunities for Engagement: Child sponsorship programs often provide opportunities for sponsors to engage further through events, sponsor gatherings, or volunteer opportunities, allowing you to connect with other sponsors, learn more about the organization’s work, and contribute beyond financial support.
  • Fulfillment and Joy: Being a sponsor brings a deep sense of fulfillment and joy as you witness the positive changes in the life of the child you support, knowing that you are making a lasting difference and providing them with opportunities for a better future.

How Long Will My Sponsorship Last?

The duration of your sponsorship can vary depending on the specific child sponsorship program and organization you choose to support. In most cases, child sponsorship programs aim for a long-term commitment to ensure the continuity of support and maximize the impact on the sponsored child’s life.

Sponsorship can last for several years, often until the child reaches adulthood or achieves self-sufficiency. This long-term commitment enables stability and provides the child with consistent support throughout their crucial developmental stages.

However, it’s important to note that the duration of sponsorship is ultimately up to the sponsor’s discretion.

Some sponsors continue supporting the child even after reaching a certain age or milestone, extending their commitment beyond the initial period. It is recommended to clarify the expected duration and any options for renewal or continuation with the specific child sponsorship program you choose to ensure clarity and alignment of expectations.

When you choose to join sponsorship with Amigos Internacionales, Inc., you join a reputable non-profit organization dedicated to supporting children in need worldwide.

Through their impactful programs, transparent operations, and global reach, Amigos Internacionales, Inc. offers you the opportunity to make a tangible and lasting impact on the lives of vulnerable children.

Part 1: Why Child Sex Trafficking is a Growing Problem and What Amigos Internacionales is Doing to Fight It

Poverty is a main contributing factor to child sex trafficking, as it creates vulnerability and desperation that traffickers exploit for their own gain. This connection between poverty and trafficking highlights the need for comprehensive solutions addressing poverty’s root causes and associated risks.

Continue reading “Part 1: Why Child Sex Trafficking is a Growing Problem and What Amigos Internacionales is Doing to Fight It”

The embroidery of God’s handiwork

God’s hand, when it is shown to you, no matter how many times you see it ALWAYS blows you away.   This is a recap of a couple of days a week ago when God began to show His handiwork to us.

It started Sunday morning, October 9th, when Larry and Karol Smith (Karol’s kitchen) from Belize, came to visit in our Worship Service.  Karol gave a gripping testimony that morning and many were touched by God’s Word through her.   It just so happened that a family that is a member of our church is friends with them and their parents actually live and serve in Belize were in the service also.   They spoke and shared with Larry and Karol for some time after church which made us late for lunch!  But this conversation gave meaning to the next few days in a special way.  On Monday, I received a call from the Father in law of our members and he shared that he many times brought vehicles back and forth from the US to Belize.  We wanted to take our bus to Belize… but call me a person of little faith, but I really didn’t want our newly outfitted Commercial Kitchen Bus, “THE MANA BUS” as we will christen it… broken down in the heart of Mexico just “ripe for the pickin'”.  So I graciously declined his offer (although his discounted price would have saved us some much needed dollars).

Then came Tuesday… it started out as usual as most Tuesday’s begin… a cup of coffee and a “five minute huddle” with the administrative assistants and back to work.  Then the phone began to ring and emails began to show up… First, a note from Dr. John La Noue that stated the State WMU office Executive Committee met on Monday and approved $3500 to ship the bus to Belize… PRAISE GOD!  There the money we need to get it there… by ship!  And a few minutes later an email popped up from Carolyn Porterfield, the head of the WMU, stating as fact what Dr. John shared with me!

The phone rings and a gentleman I didn’t know, Michael Helton, wanted to visit with me.  It seems that the bus driver was speaking to him about our kitchen and Michael was interested in our project.  We visited awhile and he shared with me that he has been visiting Belize and working there two or three weeks a month for the past year and a half! An open country for the gospel, but with little or no Southern Baptist Work there now has an organization registered with the Belizian Government called “The Southern Baptists of Belize” because Michael set that up.  An answered prayer!  He shared that he is in the process of establishing up 7 churches in Central and Southern Belize.  An Answered Prayer for sure! He was very interested in the kitchen as he had 5 containers of food going to Belize next year… but no kitchen to cook it in… and we have a kitchen that can cook more food than we had food for… Wonder what God is up to… Then… we began to speak about Guatemala and the Food Security Issues there… but that can be saved for another post…

I do know this, the future is before us and it is ripe with opportunities.  Join us as we seek to follow God’s lead!

Amigos Purpose….

I’ve always believed that as God leads, he feeds…

One of the most important and inspiring statements I have ever heard came from my mentor and friend, our former President, Dr. John La Noue.  He told me one day,

“When God brings something to you, hold it in your hand loosely, NEVER hold it in your heart, just in case God wants to give it to someone else to be used in His Kingdom.”

Wow! In a world today that seems to believe that “He who dies with the most toys…WINS!”  how can you weigh the two completely opposite viewpoints?   I found the following verses and believe it now to be my calling with Amigos.  It’s found in my “new-est” favorite book, Deuteronomy 15…

Image result for deuteronomy 15 8

7  “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.  10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.

Deuteronomy 15:7,8, 10

I particularly like verse 8, “open your hand and lend him sufficient for his need…”  a beautiful depiction of God’s call to Amigos Internacionales…open our hand and allow the God who filled it to empty in out to those that need it more…

Exciting news to begin our new Amigos… our next generation… Amigos, which ultimately is the same Amigos that began in 1979… doing what God has asked us to do which is 1) Do what Jesus did, 2) Meet needs where they are, 3) Share Jesus wherever we go to whoever we meet.

So… Join us as we seek to follow God’s lead!

Our History….

The following is an excerpt from the book, “Walking with God in Broken Places”, by Dr. John L La Noue, former President and one of the founders of Amigos Internacionales.   I encourage you to get the book and read it…It’s an amazing journey of following God…  You can find it here….
by John La Noue….
>>>I had been asked by the pastor of The First Baptist Church of Athens, Texas, to preach in his absence on Sunday May 21. I spoke about how Jesus used common men in His ministry as disciples.
After the services were over, I was approached by Jim Wren; he was a corporate pilot for an oil company and the owner of a real estate and insurance company. Jim said, “Brother John, I appreciate your message, but I have a problem with it. I am a layman with no church work skills. I cannot sing or preach, I cannot teach in Sunday school.
There is not a handle in God’s kingdom that fits my hand. What can I do?” I told him that I would be at the HCJC Baptist Student Building on Wednesday and would be happy to meet with him and discuss the possibilities. He asked if he could bring a friend, Ed Nusko, who was a banker and had been experiencing the same problem. I told him to
bring anyone who wanted to seek ways to serve God. I sensed God was up to something
special, so I spent a lot of time praying for wisdom and guidance. There was no way I
could have dreamed what was about to happen to the three of us as God put our lives
together in ministry.
Monday brought disturbing news. I called Dr. McLaughlin and asked him to send
the information I needed to title the clinic bus to the Baptist General Convention of
Texas. He said that the BGCT was not set up to own that type of property. Their
attorney would not let them accept the liability of a mobile clinic. Since it was in my
name, I thought, “Well it is in my name, so I guess the liability will be on me. Lord
Jesus, this is your project give me wisdom and protection.”
I met Jim and Ed on Wednesday. We had prayer together, talked about our
professions, and discussed ministry opportunities for laymen. The meeting ended about
midmorning and as I left Jim’s office, I told him about my clinic liability problem. I
thought his work in insurance might hold an answer. He said that I needed to form a
nonprofit corporation to hold the title. I asked how to do that. Jim said, “Wait a minute,
let me call the city attorney and see if he will help us.”
He called the city attorney immediately, hung up, and said, “He is waiting for us,
let’s hurry over. He asked what to name the corporation. Do you have any ideas?” As
we crossed the street to the courthouse, I told him it would need to be a Spanish name
that sounded friendly. “We could name it AMIGOS. No, that is already in use by a
mission group from Houston. I had written a literacy curriculum for that group. Let me
think. It will work on both sides of the border, internationally. Hey, Jim, that is it! We
will call it AMIGOS INTERNACIONALES.” The corporation quickly received its
nonprofit status and its 501 (c) 3 tax exempt designation as well.
We were in business! But, as I said earlier, this is one of those things that I did
not have the knowledge to pray for specifically. God just took over and did His stuff. So
often I prayed for one thing and God did another that made things so much better than
that for which I had prayed. It was like stumbling and falling, but landing upstairs!<<<<
So now you know sort of how we began…As stated in an earlier blog, we are here to meet needs where those needs exist.   Out of this one simple meeting where a person said,  “What can I do for God?”….God opened up heaven and used this tiny little Non Profit to touch the world.   By the way, Jim Wren’s son is now on the Board of Directors and is continuing the work of his Father!
I encourage you to respond, to ask, to question in your own life how God can use you…and then join us on this journey to follow God lead…one step at a time!

What is Amigos?

Amigos Internacionales is a Non Profit, NGO that is committed to do what Jesus did, meet people’s needs where they are and share the love of Jesus as we go.

That’s a pretty simple mission statement, however it’s taken it’s members around the globe on many trips of mercy, providing assistance and meeting needs for almost 50 years.  I’ll give a brief history of our organization in a future blog, but today I want to share my vision for the future of Amigos.

Amigos began in 1967 when someone said, “We need…”, a group of men got together and said “God provides” and they incorporated the Non profit, Amigos Internacionales, Inc. In the beginning, they helped provided mobile medical and dental vehicles that have provided service in the Rio Grande Valley between Texas and Mexico for years.

We find ourselves in a peculiar situation as we begin our 50th year.  At the Board meeting in which the Corporation asked me to be President and CEO, I shared an interesting fact I hear several years ago.  It states that 75% of the Fortune 1000 companies are led and controlled by 1st generation/founders.  Of those companies, 75% of those companies will never make it in to the 2nd generation.”   This is where we find ourselves today.  Of the founders of Amigos, only John L. La Noue is still with us and he sits on the board.   We have the privilege of developing a new vision based on the history of our founders.  We realize we are surrounded by a great crowd of witnesses that have gone on before us, and they are cheering us on to continue the great traditions of meeting people where they are, taking care of needs and sharing the love of Jesus with them.

We are also fortunate enough to have Michael Mirau, a nationally renowned business coach and member of the Gazelles coaching on our Board of Directors.  He is also Chairman of the Board of Amore Ministries, a Non Profit organization providing shelter in Mexico, south of California.  Michael will be guiding us in the journey of discovering God’s path for Amigos’ future.

I do know this, the future is before us and it is ripe with opportunities.  Join us as we seek to follow God’s lead!