Red Bank woman aids impoverished Ugandan kids
LONG BRANCH — AnnMarie Gray, a registered nurse who finds per diem work at Monmouth Medical Center, often splits her time caring for patients in either the Emergency Department or on the pediatrics floor.
So it is no surprise that away from work, Gray, 33, who lives in Red Bank with her husband, Brian, also balances a variety of care-taking assignments. She and her husband now foster service dogs for a foundation that distributes the puppies to the visually impaired. Then the Grays — who hope to become parents themselves one day — began to open their home each summer to children from war-ravaged areas seeking the relative peace of the Jersey Shore.
At first, Gray was merely going to drop off some medical supplies donated by her brother to a Holmdel-based charity known as Sylvia's Children, run by public-relations maven Sylvia Allen, 72. Gray began to learn about Allen's work with the Mbiriizi Primary School in Masaka, Uganda, where about 300 of the 1,000 pupils, age 4 to 14, have been orphaned because of the AIDS crisis. For years, Allen has been making two trips a year to the school where in 2003 she was asked to serve as "grandmother." She created and registered the nonprofit Sylvia's Children, where 100 percent of every donation goes to the school.
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Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Make A Difference: One Child At A Time
“Make a difference, one child at a time.” This is the mantra that Sylvia Allen, of Holmdel, N. J., lives by and believes down to her core.
Six years ago, the savvy businesswoman, published author and president of Allen Consulting, her own award-winning PR and Integrated Marketing Communications firm, started up the charitable organization following a life changing journey to Masaka, a small village in the African country of Uganda, where she met hundreds of children left to fend for themselves after losing one or both of their parents to the horrific AIDS pandemic ravaging their community.
Read More at Make A Difference: One Child At A Time
Six years ago, the savvy businesswoman, published author and president of Allen Consulting, her own award-winning PR and Integrated Marketing Communications firm, started up the charitable organization following a life changing journey to Masaka, a small village in the African country of Uganda, where she met hundreds of children left to fend for themselves after losing one or both of their parents to the horrific AIDS pandemic ravaging their community.
Read More at Make A Difference: One Child At A Time
March 2009 Newsletter
How time flies and so much is happening!
Since our last issue here is the news (some good, some not so good) … read on!
1. First and foremost, we have a new nurse at the school. Special thanks to Bridget Daley who is just, in my opinion, a saint!
2. We currently have 13 people going on the June trip and still could take two more. I had reserved 15 rooms in case we get more and can cancel them if need be. In addition, the air fare has held steady. If you want to go the dates are June 24 to July 7 and, based on our conference call this week with everyone going, it should be wonderful.
3. Good news on this trip is we have a nurse coming with us again.
4. Thanks to the efforts of Jeannie MacDonald we are doing a shoe drive at the Village School in Holmdel and will be able to provide every child with a new pair of shoes. (The young girls at Ranney cut out 1,000 little feet so people can just pick them from a shoe “tree”).
5. And, thanks to Carmine and Phyllis Visone of Home Away From Home Academy we will be able to give every child a new pair of socks to go with the shoes! In addition they are providing all the new students with the wonderful Home Away From Home shirts that we took over two years ago. When we visit, Wednesday is Home Away From Home day.
6. I was the featured speaker at Glassboro Middle School’s Black History Month celebration on February 27. What a wonderful experience … 600+ fourth, fifth and sixth graders and you could have heard a pin drop. They are undertaking a fund raising effort with book plates ($5.00 per plate) so we can begin to accrue money for textbooks.
7. And, speaking of textbooks, Doug Brown has been interning with Sylvia’s Children and has written a grant application to the Weyerhauser Foundation in Minnesota for $43,000+ for textbooks. Keep your fingers crossed that the combination of his writing talent and my Minnesota roots will help us get this! While we are at it, he has done a tremendous job at finding grants, writing them and unearthing volunteers. Thanks, Doug.
8. Ryan Dolan, a sophomore at Red Bank Catholic, is producing 14 Battles of the Bands through Monmouth County with a final battle to be held some time late summer. His goal is to raise enough money to buy the sewing machines and build the building to house them. He is an amazing young man and we are so lucky to have him helping us.
9. Michelle Drappi and some of her friends at Ranney School (15 also!) are organizing a five mile walk for October to raise money for Sylvia’s Children.
10. Don Pope and Howard Kradjel, who are members of my church choir, are organizing a Century of Hope bike ride for September 19 to raise money for Sylvia’s Children. We will have a four mile route (for families), a 25 mile route for people a little more experienced and then a 100 mile route (that’s where the Century comes in) for the real pros. Our goal is to have 100 riders … let us know if you want to participate!
11. The Gates Foundation turned us down; however, we may go back in with a revised approach based on some of their criteria. Stay tuned!
12. We currently have 1,002 children in the school and 18 more new orphans. We need orphan sponsors since some people have dropped out. It’s only $1.00 a day.
13. Finally have an entrée into Starbucks for the coffee … keep your fingers crossed!
June will be the culmination of six years of work and wonderful progress. Thanks to all of you for your interest and support.
Since our last issue here is the news (some good, some not so good) … read on!
1. First and foremost, we have a new nurse at the school. Special thanks to Bridget Daley who is just, in my opinion, a saint!
2. We currently have 13 people going on the June trip and still could take two more. I had reserved 15 rooms in case we get more and can cancel them if need be. In addition, the air fare has held steady. If you want to go the dates are June 24 to July 7 and, based on our conference call this week with everyone going, it should be wonderful.
3. Good news on this trip is we have a nurse coming with us again.
4. Thanks to the efforts of Jeannie MacDonald we are doing a shoe drive at the Village School in Holmdel and will be able to provide every child with a new pair of shoes. (The young girls at Ranney cut out 1,000 little feet so people can just pick them from a shoe “tree”).
5. And, thanks to Carmine and Phyllis Visone of Home Away From Home Academy we will be able to give every child a new pair of socks to go with the shoes! In addition they are providing all the new students with the wonderful Home Away From Home shirts that we took over two years ago. When we visit, Wednesday is Home Away From Home day.
6. I was the featured speaker at Glassboro Middle School’s Black History Month celebration on February 27. What a wonderful experience … 600+ fourth, fifth and sixth graders and you could have heard a pin drop. They are undertaking a fund raising effort with book plates ($5.00 per plate) so we can begin to accrue money for textbooks.
7. And, speaking of textbooks, Doug Brown has been interning with Sylvia’s Children and has written a grant application to the Weyerhauser Foundation in Minnesota for $43,000+ for textbooks. Keep your fingers crossed that the combination of his writing talent and my Minnesota roots will help us get this! While we are at it, he has done a tremendous job at finding grants, writing them and unearthing volunteers. Thanks, Doug.
8. Ryan Dolan, a sophomore at Red Bank Catholic, is producing 14 Battles of the Bands through Monmouth County with a final battle to be held some time late summer. His goal is to raise enough money to buy the sewing machines and build the building to house them. He is an amazing young man and we are so lucky to have him helping us.
9. Michelle Drappi and some of her friends at Ranney School (15 also!) are organizing a five mile walk for October to raise money for Sylvia’s Children.
10. Don Pope and Howard Kradjel, who are members of my church choir, are organizing a Century of Hope bike ride for September 19 to raise money for Sylvia’s Children. We will have a four mile route (for families), a 25 mile route for people a little more experienced and then a 100 mile route (that’s where the Century comes in) for the real pros. Our goal is to have 100 riders … let us know if you want to participate!
11. The Gates Foundation turned us down; however, we may go back in with a revised approach based on some of their criteria. Stay tuned!
12. We currently have 1,002 children in the school and 18 more new orphans. We need orphan sponsors since some people have dropped out. It’s only $1.00 a day.
13. Finally have an entrée into Starbucks for the coffee … keep your fingers crossed!
June will be the culmination of six years of work and wonderful progress. Thanks to all of you for your interest and support.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
IF I CAN DO IT, SO CAN YOU
Posted by Michael Duffield on March 14th 2009 in Organizations
A trip to Uganda six years ago put Sylvia Allen face to face with people in desperate need. She saw households headed by children as young as 12 years old, and schools filled with orphans; all of this the tragic effects of the AIDS epidemic. She describes herself as having been “emotionally drained” by what she saw. Allen, by nature, is not one who thinks problems will solve themselves or that they are someone else’s to fix. And while she never, ever thought she would start a non-profit, if that was what was needed, she was going to do it.
“We have an obligation, those of us who are living comfortably… to help other people,” she said. So when the head of Mbiriizi Primary School in the village of Masaka asked her to be the school grandmother, she said, “Yes!” She accepted this new responsibility with her characteristic enthusiasm and determination.
Grandmotherly letters to students and an occasional gift would not be enough. No, Allen returned home and formed Sylvia’s Children, then set about improving the lives of her new grandchildren.
Read on....
A trip to Uganda six years ago put Sylvia Allen face to face with people in desperate need. She saw households headed by children as young as 12 years old, and schools filled with orphans; all of this the tragic effects of the AIDS epidemic. She describes herself as having been “emotionally drained” by what she saw. Allen, by nature, is not one who thinks problems will solve themselves or that they are someone else’s to fix. And while she never, ever thought she would start a non-profit, if that was what was needed, she was going to do it.
“We have an obligation, those of us who are living comfortably… to help other people,” she said. So when the head of Mbiriizi Primary School in the village of Masaka asked her to be the school grandmother, she said, “Yes!” She accepted this new responsibility with her characteristic enthusiasm and determination.
Grandmotherly letters to students and an occasional gift would not be enough. No, Allen returned home and formed Sylvia’s Children, then set about improving the lives of her new grandchildren.
Read on....
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