How You Can Help

“Gifts and Bequests to Charity Increase.”

December 15, 2008

Dear Friend,

That was a New York Times headline – no, not in 2005, when our economy was booming, but in 1937, right in the midst of The Great Depression.

If we are not in a depression now, it sure feels like it. When was the last day you haven’t heard of another major corporation cutting 10, 12, 20 thousand jobs? What will tomorrow bring?

Charities are also suffering, most recently when some had to turn away thousands of people because there was not enough food for everyone in need during the Thanksgiving season. Charities face the undesirable task of now having to serve more people while faced with shrinking resources.

We at INMED Partnerships for Children also feel the pain and are challenged to do more with less. Clearly, we recognize these are indeed difficult if not frightening times for us all. Sadly, for far too many children, every day is frightening whether the world is in good or bad economic times.

What will tomorrow bring? Far too many children will die from causes that we can prevent: starvation, disease, violence. Every day, 29,000 children under the age of five die from these and other preventable causes. Add in those older than five, and the yearly death toll is staggering: in the millions.

Many of those who do survive still face the same struggles, often falling beyond our reach and left to fend for themselves as will their children and then their children, from one generation to the next – unless we intervene, unless we do more.

While there are many organizations dedicated to the welfare of our children, few are focusing on an entire generation of children to end the cycle of poverty and violence now and in the future.

We are.

Our mission at INMED Partnerships for Children is to not only address the multitude of issues threatening children’s lives, but to also influence a generation of children and leave a legacy of positive and sustainable change so that future generations no longer suffer from the same issues that threatened those before.

As a result, we are on a trajectory to rescue tens of thousands more children and put them on the path to self-sufficiency in 2009: Training more teachers in Brazil, providing more medicine and education on immunizations and AIDS prevention in South Africa and mentoring more children of prisoners in South Los Angeles, for starters.

We will also advocate for stronger, healthier lunch programs in our schools while also influencing other policy changes in our children’s interest. And we will begin to expand our network of supporters in the next year through new councils designed to utilize their expertise and resources to build our individual and organizational partnerships across the globe.

Knowing how important it is to keep you well informed about how your partnership with INMED is making a difference in children’s lives, I am very pleased to announce our new monthly e-newsletter beginning in February. In addition to providing you information on how we can help more children, the newsletter will also provide a forum for you to share with us your thoughts and suggestions for building a new tomorrow.

I also hope you will join INMED in building a new tomorrow by giving a tax-deductible donation by visiting www.inmed.org. Check this issue of the newsletter for ways to give online.
 
Indeed, it does take a village to raise a child, but it takes all of us to raise a generation, especially during these times of economic turmoil.

What will tomorrow bring? It is through our children that we build a new tomorrow. It is through them that we recover from our own struggles. And it is to them that we leave our legacy. 

Thank you in advance for your generous commitment to our children and best wishes to you and your family for a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

Warmest regards,

Linda Pfeiffer, Ph.D.
President and CEO