BearCares: Marriage Ministry and Child Advocacy May 28, 2012
Posted by jimintriglia in Community Service, Compassion, Personal Interest, Relationships, Volunteer Opportunities.add a comment
Over the Christmas 2011 holiday break, my family and I launched a new website, BearCares, at http://www.BearCares.co. BearCares is dedicated to supporting our community service work as marriage and child advocates.
The mission of BearCares is twofold: 1) To help married couples improve their marriage relationship, and 2) To improve the health and welfare of children living here in the U.S. and abroad.
Future posts concerning marriage, child advocacy and other community service activities that we engage in, will appear exclusively on the BearCares website. Much going on in business and technology– more posts to follow soon.
The Importance of Letter-Writing to a Sponsored Child June 18, 2011
Posted by jimintriglia in Community Service, Compassion, Personal Interest.10 comments
As a child sponsor and advocate for children living in poverty, I invest a significant amount of time each week speaking with prospective child sponsors about the benefits of child sponsorship. While most people easily grasp how important their financial contribution will be toward freeing a child from a life of poverty, many discount the importance of the letter-writing aspect of child sponsorship.
When I became a Compassion Sponsor, I was fortunate to be introduced to the writings and wisdom of Michelle, an experienced child sponsor and advocate for children living in poverty. One of Michelle’s first articles that I read discussed the importance of letter-writing to a sponsored child. This one article provided a good foundation for me to begin my first letter-writing for my first sponsored child Sabadhi, who lives in East India.
Is letter writing really an important part of sponsoring a child? Absolutely. Let’s explore a few of the many benefits of the letter-writing aspect of child sponsorship.
One of the most basic human needs is to be loved. When a child receives a personal letter in the mail from their Sponsor, they feel loved. This feeling of love grows with each letter that arrives in the mail for them. This feeling of love and caring is amplified with each letter they receive, as their friends and family are drawn to the fact that the child obviously has somebody in their life who cares deeply about them and their well-being.
You probably recall reading about studies where abandoned newborn infants cared for in well-equipped and staffed hospitals were failing to thrive. What was missing was the caring, loving and nurturing touch and embrace of their mothers. When hospital staff began taking time to actually hold infants and talk to them, an amazing thing happened– the infants began to thrive and develop, both physically and emotionally. Letters to a sponsored child can serve as a virtual embrace for a child, helping a child to grow emotionally as well as develop good communication skills. Nothing can replace the caring and love expressed to a child through a personal relationship with that child.
Letters to a sponsored child can be a great source of encouragement. I recall recently reading a story about Esther, a sponsored child, who became pregnant. Children that find themselves in this position can often make poor decisions that worsen their plight. In Esther’s case. she shared her situation with her sponsor, who chose the right words to support her in making good decisions for herself and her unborn child.
Miss Lilian Awino
In the past year, I’ve watched one of my teenage sponsored children, Lilian, flourish in school and in her community. I’ve made it a point to write her a letter of encouragement each month. These letters, combined with the efforts of her teachers and others in her community who support her, have contributed to enabling her to realize that she is important in this world. Even more exciting is that she now truly believes that can achieve her dream to become a journalist.
Through letters to Lilian, I have discussed the power of the written word. In sharing the impact of some of my own writings with her, she had the opportunity to see that there is truly power-in-the-pen; that this is not just another tired cliche. My writings encouraged Lilian to take her own pen in hand, and begin to write about things in her community that needed to be addressed. It’s been a wonderful blessing to watch this child transform herself into a young adult, taking action to improve herself and the conditions for those in her community.
Money alone cannot buy a personal caring and loving relationship. Financially supporting a sponsored child is an important part of freeing a child from poverty. Money, however, cannot buy the personal relationship that develops between a sponsor and their sponsored child.
People that know me see the relationship that has developed between me and my sponsored children. They see the bond that has formed when they read some of the letters from my sponsored kiddos that I have posted on my wall at work. When they drop by the house for a visit on a Sunday afternoon, and find me cutting-out paper toys to send to my younger sponsored children, they see the love and caring that I has grown through exchanging letters with my sponsored children. Indeed, money cannot buy the love and caring given as a gift to a sponsored child, through letters sent to them through the mail.
Letters and small gifts are treasured by sponsored children. This is one of the facts that prospective sponsors have a little 
trouble believing. Letters from sponsors are treasured by children. Remember that children in poverty all too often hear the words “You are not important. You don’t matter.” I’ve seen pictures of sponsored children who have wallpapered their rooms with letters and pictures sent to them by their sponsor. These letters help the child communicate to all that enter their room: “I do matter; I am important; and I am loved!”.
I often ask people, when they were a child, if they had a pen pal or favorite aunt that used to write to them often. How did receiving a letter in the mail make them feel? Did they keep the letter and even hang letters received on a wall in their room?
Another childhood memory that is often forgotten, are the hours of time spent as a child playing 
with simple paper toys. Do you remember playing with paper airplanes in school? How about those hand-made paper “fortune tellers” that were all the rage among middle-schoolers? How often as a child, did you pick a breakfast cereal based on the prize in the cereal box, or the cut-out cardboard toy that was printed on the back of the box?
If you sponsor a child, or have a child in your life, please take time from your busy life to send an expression of love and caring to that child in the form of a letter. Do not be surprised if you find that this activity changes your life; it certainly will have a significant impact in the life of the child that you are writing.
If you have a story of how writing to a child has made a difference in their life, or your own life, I’d love to hear about it. What are some of the other benefits of writing to sponsored children that you have experienced?
(All photos courtesy of Compassion International and Compassion Bloggers.)
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Speaking of writing to children and sending them simple, cool gifts through the mail, Jill of Compassion Family will soon announce the winner of a cool collection of writing paper, stickers and some other goodies. Maybe she will have another drawing sometime soon that you can participate in?
The GMC: The Place that Love Built June 5, 2011
Posted by jimintriglia in Compassion.add a comment
In reflecting on our visit to Compassion’s Global Ministry Center (GMC) in Colorado Springs, it occurred to me that this place was built by Love. Out of the caring and compassion of one man who felt compelled to care for 35 orphaned children in South Korea in 1952, has grown an organization of loving people that now cares for over 1 million children in 25 countries. God is good, always.
While it was a treat to tour the GMC facility, the real gift of the tour was meeting the people within the walls of the GMC. For it 
was these people that projected the feeling of love and compassion that was so palpable during our visit.
it was impossible to tour the facility and not feel the love and caring that permeates the GMC.
Becky, a supervisor in Sponsor Donor Relations department, was the first smiling face that my wife and I encountered during our walk-through of the back-office area. She provided us with an overview of the purpose of the Sponsor Donor Relations area.
Becky showed us pictures of the children she was sponsoring; she told us that many staff members are active sponsors of Compassion children and programs.
Next, Becky introduced us to Haley and Shaina. Haley manages what I referred to as the sponsor call center– the area of Sponsor Donor Relations (SDR) that responds to calls and emails from 
Sponsors.
Walking us through the SDR area, Haley explained that some of the call center staff works from 
home, so the large area dedicated to answering phone call inquiries did not quite represent the total staff dedicated to resolving Sponsor inquiries and issues.
Shaina explained that she was one of the staff responsible for monitoring the Our Compassion website. Part of her job was to ensure the integrity of the information communicated by the site.
Randy, another SDR team member, answered more of my questions relating to how supervisors monitor Sponsor telephone call volumes, using the large LED call traffic displays that were mounted around the call center.
As I walked through the Sponsor Donor Relations area, my eye caught a personal workspace that appeared to have 
the portraits of a dozen children posted to the wall.
I soon met Mary, who explained that the pictures of the children on her wall were all children that she was sponsoring.
I explained to Mary how Karen and I were new to both Compassion and child sponsorship. Mary told me of all of the blessings that our new Compassion journey would be delivering, as we progressed as a child sponsors and advocate network hopefuls. After telling me a little about each of her sponsored children, I let Mary get back to her important work, and made a note to “friend” her on the Our Compassion website.
Becky, who was now serving as our back office tour guide, next introduced us to Carline, Tony and John, three ITS 
Technical Specialists responsible for resolving Sponsor issues associated with Compassion’s information system technology, including the websites.
A key role that ITS Technical Specialists fulfill is communicating and following-up Sponsor issues with Compassion’s information technology development team leaders and staff.
ITS support team members ensure that a reported technical problem with a web site gets logged and resolved. The ITS staff manages reported issues via an incident management system, that enables them to track and report on the status of reported technical incidents and issues.
With Tony now serving as our ITS tour guide, he led Karen and I through the work areas occupied by the teams of system and software managers, developers, and technicians.
Automation is heavily relied on and critical to supporting 
Compassion’s worldwide ministry.
This was evident by the dozens of staff members charged with managing, developing and maintaining all of the information systems, communications and network technology that is based in the GMC and interconnected to other distributed sites worldwide.
Tony introduced us to one of his colleagues, Kim. Kim showed us a poster board photo of the first group of Korean children that found sponsorship back in the 1950′s, through the work of Compassion’s founder, Everett Swanson.
She 
explained that this was one of the pictures that was treasured by many members of Compassions’ staff.
We met Tony, a Business Technology Director, eating lunch in his office during lunch break. He graciously took some time to tell us about his and his staff’s work at Compassion. Like other staff members, Tony was very enthusiastic about Compassion, it’s mission and vision for the future.
With our back-office tour concluded, Tony led us to the lunch room, so we could catch a bite to eat, before making our two-hour drive back home to Conifer, Colorado.
Grabbing a couple of hamburgers and drinks for lunch, Angie, Wes Stafford’s administrative assistant, spotted us in line paying for our lunch. “Still here? We’ve got plenty of work in the President’s Office that could use a volunteer or two, if you both are going to be around for the rest of the day!”, she joked.
We sat down at one of the tables, and began to chomp away at our hamburgers. We had developed quit an appetite touring the GMC campus during the course of the morning.
Looking up 
from my lunch, I glanced over at the cash register area, and spotted what appeared to be Dr. Wess Stafford, as he prepared a hamburger with all of the necessary trimmings to make it fit for lunch.
“Umm, Hon, you’re not going to believe this, but I think that’s Dr. Stafford over there at the condiments counter”, I quipped to my wife. “Really?”, she said. While I was new to Compassion, I had viewed several video presentations featuring Dr. Stafford, so I had a pretty good idea of what he looked like. “Would you like to meet him?”, I asked my bride. “Sure!”, she said, half believing that I was mistaking someone else for Dr. Stafford.
Walking over to the condiments counter, I approached a man with his back to me, who was still busy completing the trimmings for his burger, for the feast that would soon follow.
“Dr. Stafford?”, I asked. Turning around, I was greeted by a warm smiling face, the same one that that had delivered the message of Compassion’s mission and ministry to me through several YouTube.com presentations. “Well, hello there!”, Wess responded. “My wife and I have just completed our tour of the GMC. We are both Compassion Sponsors, and would be honored if you would join us for lunch.” I explained. Wess smiled warmly and replied “Sure! Where are you and your wife sitting?”
Walking back to out table, Karen looked up and was greeted by a warm smile from Wess and an extended hand. “I’m Wess Stafford, pleased to meet you.”
If there was one picture I missed taking that day, it was the look of surprise on my bride’s face, when she glanced up and was greeted by Wess smiling down at her.
Words alone cannot described the expression on her face when she realized that she was now meeting the man who was leading the Compassion ministry.
For over an hour, we shared our hopes, dreams and ambitions for our new Compassion Child Advocate ministry with Wess. He told us stories about his childhood and the events leading-up to his current role as President and CEO of Compassion.
Wess spoke of the dedication of the staff, church partners, and Donor Sponsors around the world. We discussed the LDP and child intervention programs. We talked about living in Colorado, and traveling to places in the World where Compassion serves children.
Speaking the mission and 
vision of Compassion was close to Wess’s heart, so conversation about the ministry came easy and was filled with a great sense of passion.
Needing to keep an appointment to meet newly-hired Compassion staff, Wess asked us to stand and form a prayer circle with him, as he wanted to say a prayer for our success in the ministry.
I wish I could recall the prayer he said for us that day. It was exactly the words that Karen and I needed to hear as we began our journey as Sponsors and Child Advocates. We now have a better understanding of why this humble man is so beloved by staff and sponsors alike.
What a blessing our anniversary tour of Compassion was for us. We had no idea of the treat that the good Lord had planned for us, as we continue our ministry journey together as husband and wife.
Making a Difference in the Life of a Child March 13, 2011
Posted by jimintriglia in Community Service, Compassion.add a comment
A Child Living in Poverty
One of the television programs that I catch occasionally is Extreme Home Makeover, where Ty Pennington and his crew team up with local home building contractors to provide new homes for needy families. The premiere of a new show, Secret Millionaire, features Dani Johnson, a rags-to-riches millionaire entrepreneur who works “undercover” helping poor people and the organizations that help them find a better life. Throughout the episode, Dani shares a portion of her wealth to help poor people and disadvantaged kids find their way out of poverty.
I wonder how many people watching either of these shows realize that they can make a significant difference in the life of someone suffering from the affects of poverty? While many of you reading this blog post would not consider yourself wealthy, compared to people living in poverty in many parts of the world, you are indeed wealthy. For the price of a cup of coffee at the local Starbucks, you can begin to make a difference in the life of a child.
Like Dani Johnson, you and I do have the ability and means to make a difference in the lives of people suffering from poverty. The experience of helping someone transition from a day-to-day existence toward fulfilling their goals and ambitions is life-changing. The joy and zest for life that comes with helping people in need is one of life’s true pleasures. The blessings that are returned are many; often beyond our wildest dreams and imagination.
Children, Our Future
It’s been said that the future of the World lies in the lives of its children. Millions of children throughout the world live a day-to-day existence in abject poverty. They suffer from malnutrition, lack of education, and even hard labor, as they struggle to survive in what they perceive to be a cruel world. Wouldn’t it be great if like Dani Johnson, we could step-in and change the course of a child’s life for the better?
The call for my wife and I to sponsor a child came out of the blue a few weeks ago. Through Compassion International, we now sponsor Luz, our precious 9-year old sponsor child who lives in Boliva, and Sabadhi, who lives in East India.
You, too, can significantly change the course of a poverty-stricken child’s life. You don’t have to be a movie star, a home building contractor, or even a millionaire to make a difference in a needy child’s life. Tonight, instead of tuning-in to the next episode of Extreme Home Makeover, why not set that time aside and join in the fight against poverty, by sponsoring a child through Compassion International.
I dare you to make a move today and make a difference in a child’s life. God bless.
