A busy end to 2009!!!

Right now the kids are on Christmas break, and we have had a very busy week! We had two more volunteers from Canada arrive this week, as well as three of our board members. We have been with the kids every day, since it is their Christmas vacation.

On Saturday, Jenny and Jencen, our volunteers taught the kids Michael Jackson dances. The kids LOVE MJ, and Jenny and Jencen are awesome dance teachers. It was so funny, and a lot of fun. Some of the kids that I would have never expected to get up and dance actually did.

On Monday, we held our very first computer class. It was only the first one, so we took away a few things for next time. One of them being, maximum two kids to a computer...it was a little hectic! But the kids loved it, and were really trying hard.

In the afternoon we did a camera class, with a fun activity to follow. We gave the kids 10 things that they needed to take pictures of, i.e. a preganant lady, a black dog, and they had to go out in the neighbourhood and take the best pictures of these things.
On Tuesday, we had the girls for an hour in the morning, preparing letters to send to their sponsors. Then we had the kids that had participated in the camera activity in to view all of their pictures...we actually had some pretty amazing pictures. And then at noon, as always on Tuesday's, we had boys club. We did sponsor letters with them, and then took a break for lunch. After lunch, we had all the boys back for a sports activity. We took them to the huge baseball field around the corner from the club, and they had a blast playing baseball.

We have had a very busy week so far, and the kids are really having an awesome Christmas break!

Christmas Party

Yesterday was Dove Mission's Christmas party, and it could not possibly have gone better! We had a live DJ come to the party and all the kids had fun dancing and taking part in the contests to win prizes (merengue contest, hoola hoop, etc.) There was a delicious dinner of chicken, rice, potato salad, cole slaw, and cupcakes; everyone had a blast. We then took the kids back to the Club where we met the Moms and shared cake and spent some time together. When it was time to leave, we handed out a huge gift bag to each child, which they (and the Moms) were so excited about and gracious for. This will most definitely be a Christmas that they will never forget. Sonia, one of the Moms, told us that her son Yoandi didn't sleep the following night because he was too excited looking through his Christmas bag. Thank you to everyone who made this possible; we couldn't have done it without you!

Holiday Preparations

We are busy at the Club preparing for the Christmas party that will be held this Sunday for all of our children. We have a lot of volunteers coming to help out this Christmas, and the first of them arrived this week; Melissa Bazely (Dove's Volunteer Coordinator) and her Mom, Gail! So with their help, and two of the Mothers in the Club, we spread out little pieces of paper with the kids' names all across the Club to sort gifts for their Christmas baskets. Gifts were distributed according to age, gender, and size. Each child will be getting a basket full of toys, clothes, shoes, school supplies, and much more. One of the Mothers commented that this will be the best Christmas ever for her kids! The Christmas party is being held this Sunday, so you still have time to donate! We are going to need about $1000 total for everything. Thank you to everyone who has donated already, and to everyone who donated supplies to fill the baskets!

Christmas Preparations!

Christmas is just one month away and we are planning a big party for the kids. We are going to have a dinner for the 79 kids, currently planned for December 20th. For all the food we will be buying, we will need about $5 per person. If you are interested in sponsoring a Christmas dinner, you can use the paypal button to the right (just specify that it is for Christmas) and for every $5 you donate, we will have the funds for one more dinner. We will also be raising money for transportation to the location we are having the party at, Christmas baskets with gifts for each family, and supplies for our Christmas play (set design, costumes, makeup, etc.) Donating $5 or $10 is a great gift idea for teachers or coaches this Christmas, and something that most people would really value receiving!

The kids are already very excited. Most of the families that they come from do not do anything special for Christmas. If they can afford it, they will have a special dinner. We already have the Center covered in Christmas decorations, complete with a little Charlie Brown Christmas tree! This is going to be a really special time for the kids, and we need your help to make it happen! You can see Cathy and Liz on the picture to the left, and Eddie, Oliver, and Angel below. We would like to thank Todd and Cindy Evans for the donation of all the Christmas decorations!

Halloween Party

Saturday was a very special day at the Center. The original plan was to make Halloween masks and throw a party, as Halloween this year conveniently fell on Saturday, our busy day at the Center when we have all the kids come for Club. Just two days before Halloween, Cathy received a call from the Manager of First Choice/Signature. They had donations from one of their Kids Club programs that was ending. They made a generous donation to Dove, including backpacks, t-shirts, water bottles, hats, and.... 16 huge boxes of COSTUMES!! This was in perfect time for the Halloween party and the kids, most of whom had never worn a costume before, were ecstatic. A big thank you to First Choice/Signature from all our kids!




Raysa, the bear


Anamilka and Rosemary


Knights in shining armour


Tatiana, Sindi, and Rosi


The girls had a blast!


Two sets of princess sisters; Lorani and Alani, Loraina and Kathiana


Eddie the pirate