02 Sep Children of Hope Traditions: Our Annual Postcard Party!
Excitement and anticipation were filling the air. It had been more than 18 months since anyone from the USA had visited our two homes in Kenya, (no) thanks to COVID-19 which affected all international flights. As border restrictions eased up, all of our children and staff could not wait for their USA families to join them once again.
For some like Marcy, our beautiful US-based Director of Operations and her son Sam, this was their first time ever to visit! Marcy, in particular, was eager to finally be able to put the names to the faces of the children and staff she had been hearing and reading so much about – especially since she is the one who helps compile prayer needs for the staff and children and sends them out to our friends and sponsors.
During this trip, our team had the pleasure of hosting our annual Postcard Party. Simply put, the Postcard Party is the one and only time a year that a child’s sponsor or a volunteer is able to write a postcard with a note of encouragement, love, and prayers for their sponsored child. Along with the postcard and a photo of themselves, our children typically receive some sort of creative, reusable bag filled with age-appropriate toys, activities, stationery, and of course, candy!
The Postcard party is a Children of Hope tradition that takes place once a year, usually timed around our yearly mission trips to Kenya. In previous postcard party’s, our children have received pencil cases, drawstring backpacks, and canvas tote bags which they have the opportunity to decorate and personalize.
Not to leave any of our Uncles and Aunties out of the fun, our staff received similar goodie bags at the Staff Appreciation Party filled with a nice pen, journal, a handwritten note of appreciation from Elaine and Abraham for all their hard work and dedication as well as a fun pair of sunglasses which is a huge hit for both the staff and kids.
Prior to the event, our volunteers go above and beyond in terms of the preparation work involved to get personalized notes written to all of our children.
Unfortunately, not every child has a sponsor and this is where our wonderful volunteers come in. Our volunteers take their time to write unsponsored children postcards to ensure that each and every one of our children receive one and know that they are special.
Would you like to be part of our special postcard party tradition? Whether you’re ready to sponsor a child or would like to volunteer, we’d love to hear from you.
Email info@cohafrica.org to see how you can help make an impact on our children’s wellbeing and happiness.
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