Dylan’s mom, Julie, said the family was sitting around one evening before Christmas when he announced his intentions to give money to Reach the Children. “We almost fell off the couch,” she laughed. “We’re extremely proud of Dylan and are glad that he was able to think outside himself, especially at Christmas which can be such a commercialized time of year.” Dylan said he hopes to have another opportunity to give in the future.

Dylan will be glad to learn that his donation will provide not just one meal for a child, but many meals as Reach the Children implements programs that focus on long-term solutions and self-sufficiency. Thank you, Dylan, for helping to affect a change for the people of Africa.

Faryn Borella

In the Borella family, of Londonberry, VT, it is traditional for young ladies to donate a portion of the money received at their Bat Mitzvahs to charity. When Faryn neared her 13th birthday, she started searching online for charities that helped children. Just last year, her school had completed a project to help children in Africa, and Faryn thought she would like to donate to an organization that helped the underprivileged children of that continent.  When she found the Reach the Children website, it met her criterion. It was just a few weeks later that Reach the Children received a portion of Faryn’s Bat Mitzvah money.

 “We have tried to make charitable giving a way of thinking,” said Faryn’s mother Jackie. She is pleased with her daughter’s desire to improve the quality of life for others. Reach the Children applauds the Borella family for teaching their children compassion and generosity and thanks Faryn for recognizing the needs of others and responding.

Many family members (including Molly’s) joined the children in support. And together they raised over $9,000 for their sister school in Kenya.

It all began in 2005 with a book drive for the Esivalu Primary School located in a village outside Maseno, Kenya. One year later, The Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School in Leesburg, Virginia raised enough money for a new classroom for the Esivalu Primary School and they officially became sister schools. In 2007, students at the Reid school decided they wanted to do even more. They set out to raise $10,000 for two new classrooms. 

A walk-a-thon seemed like a fitting way to raise the money since children at their sister school in Kenya value the chance for an education so much that they often walk up to three miles a day to attend school. 

Students at The Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School gathered pledges and walked as many miles as they could for two weeks. The school track was open each day before school and during PE and recess with physical education teachers and PTA volunteers coming in early each morning to supervise.  The students kept track of how many laps they walked by using sticks – one stick for each lap and kept personal logs where they tracked their mileage each day. Students were also encouraged to walk with their families on the various trails around the area and the PTA sponsored a Family Fun Walk. 

The Walk a Mile in Their Shoes Walk-a-Thon ended with approximately 230 children submitting pledges and 2,079 miles logged. It was a huge success, raising $9,425.18.  

In conjunction with the walk-a-thon, the PTA also ran a change drive. Children were asked to bring in their loose change and put it into a special change jar. On one day alone, the students brought in $1,735.25. The overall total for the change drive was $2,843.81 bringing the total amount raised by FHR’s Walk a Mile in Their Shoes campaign to $12,422.24. 

This two-month project funded not only the construction of two new classrooms, but also desks, bookshelves, and books for those classrooms. The students at Frances Hazel Reid were overwhelmed by their accomplishment and so excited to give the students at Esivalu the gift of education. However, they say they benefited just as much from the program by learning the valuable lessons of compassion and hard work and by becoming more connected to their own small community and to the greater world around them.