Nuevo Cases Grandes Brazos Abiertos Orphanage
The Fire Department in Nuevo Casas Grandes will organize a special celebration on April 30th, for Children's Day or "El Dia del Nino" in the Orphanage called "Brazos Abiertos" (Open Arms). Brazos Abiertos is home to about 200 kids.
El Dia del Nino is an important celebration in Mexico. Kids attend school as usual but instead of classes they enjoy a party all day; there are games, special guests like magicians, face painting, or balloon art, a special lunch with cake and ice-cream and plenty of time to play. However, the celebration depends on each school’s budget, so this year the Fire Department will bring a special celebration to the orphanage. Since these kids may have not received gifts in Christmas, we would like to include gifts to make this Dia del Nino a very special one for them.
Our Rotarians will be joining with other groups in Colorado Springs to provide:
Personal hygiene products such as shampoo, soap, body lotion, etc.
Clothes and shoes for boys and girls from 5 to 15 years old
School Supplies (backpacks, notebooks, pencils, etc)
Gifts for boys and girls from 5 to 15
We will collect the donations at each Friday meeting in March.
"Jared Boxes" for Children in Penrose-St. Francis
The Jared Box project was started in 2001 by the children at Our Lady of Victory School in State College, Pennsylvania to honor their classmate and friend, Jared, a brave little boy who battled cancer with courage and faith. Jared maintained his sense of humor and the joys of childhood through play. He carried a backpack full of toys and games to all appointments, and questioned why the other children didn't bring toys to their exam rooms. Jared shared his toys and invited the other children to join him in a game of UNO. Jared's battle ended on November 12, 2000.
The goal of the Jared Box Project is to lift the spirits of children in the hospital. Boxes filled with the "gift of play" are given to young patients in emergency rooms, hospital rooms, surgical centers, and clinics. The boxes symbolize the importance of play and are filled with well wishes, hope, and love. Over 750,000 Jared Boxes have been delivered across the United States.
Our Club will be collecting small gifts, toys, games, crayons, coloring books, and fun activities to create as many of these boxes as we can. You can bring your "Jared Box" contents to meetings in March or (preferably) to our Social on April 7 at the Gold Room.