Christmas Trip Alert and Update

Christmas Trip Alert 

LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING ON THE CHRISTMAS TRIP!
THIS TRIP IS ALWAYS SPECIAL AND MEMORABLE.

We leave on Thursday, November 14 in the evening.  We arrive in Entebbe, Uganda on Friday, November 15 in the evening.  The total cost of the trip is $2,500 excluding shots and Visa ... because air fares are, once again, rising dramatically, I will need to know by August 15 if you will be joining us.  

Basically we will travel to our major hotel on Saturday, visit Tekerah village so you can see a small village and school, and have dinner that night at the hotel.  Sunday we get up and drive approximately 40 miles to Mbiriizi where we go to church with the children.  It ends about noon at which time we go over to the school, have lunch and then start unpacking bags!  Sunday afternoon and into Monday we stuff 1,100 goody bags for the children with Mardi Gras beads, candy, pencils, crayons, sunglasses, stickers ...just fun stuff.  

On Tuesday we will probably hand out the dresses and shirts to the children and, maybe, the goody bags.  (If not Tuesday, the goody bags will be handed out on Wednesday.)  Wednesday we do Christmas cake, feed the children and then are entertained for the rest of the day.  If possible, we will go to 10 tables for dinner that night instead of at the hotel.  

Thursday we will go to the local Masaka market (if possible), do the ubiquitous picture at the Equator, shop at the Kampala market and then finish the day at Cassia Lodge where we have a delightful leisurely dinner.  Then, off to the airport for a flight that leaves at 11:30 pm, changing in Amsterdam the next morning and getting in Friday afternoon, the 22nd.

Speaking of trips ...

The summer trip was unbelievable!  Michele did a great job of planning Ugandapallooza which was held on Monday and Tuesday and EVERYONE joined in. Egg toss, three legged races, gunny sack races, sumo wresting and more.  Wish we could get the video of Tony and Vanessa doing Sumo Wrestling on YouTube ... it is hysterical!  And, what was great was that the children and ALL faculty joined in.  

We have a new headmaster ... Lule Adrian ... what a pleasure.  During his welcome speech he stated "It is our responsibility to guide the learners in order to develop that learner in body, mind, soul, character and personality."  He went on to say "we are a child-centered school ... it is the children that are important."  I couldn't say it better!  (Thanks to all who made this a wonderful trip!)

Wednesday was environmental awareness day and 400 of us went out into the village and cleaned up 20 blocks.  The kids are always so willing to work and do a good job!

Thursday was parade day!  Can you imagine three bands, 1,012 children, 45 faculty, nurse and 10 Muzungu's?  It was the most wonderful experience.  Geofrey sent us home early to "rest" as he was having tents put up and chairs assembled for the big tenth anniversary celebration Friday.  (If he ever wants another life he is an awesome event planner!).  And, he got the tents donated from the bank that they use!  Smart move!

Friday we did the orphans' birthday party, fed the children and then over 1,000 parents and guardians started arriving to have a meal and enjoy the afternoon.  Four hours of games, singing, dancing ... plus, of course, another cake!

Saturday, Sunday and Monday ... Paraa Lodge, Murchison Falls, giraffes, hypos, alligators and elephants ... a beautiful, peaceful respite before starting home.  All in all, another wonderful trip.

Clinic

Thanks to the Hynes family, the clinic is almost done.  And, what a wonderful building.  Lydia, our nurse, has been moved from her teeny-tiny cubicle off the library and is temporarily set up in the infirmary in the clinic.  She can now handle up to 7 children! 

Hope for the City, which is graciously donating all the equipment and other items needed for the clinic, has sent the first half shipment with the second following in a month.  In addition, they have offered to come over and help us set it up!  This is all thanks to Jason Davis from KSTP-TV coming to our school last year.  Thanks, Jason.

Child sponsorship

We now have 250 orphans at the school in grades baby class, top class and P-1 to P-7 and 68 who are in secondary school (S-1 to S-6).  I hope you can find it in your heart to sponsor a child ... in the primary school it is only $1.00 a day and in secondary school it is $1.50 a day.  Please help us make a difference in these children's lives by taking them out of poverty.  These payments cover food, lodging, clothing, education and health care.

Christmas in July

Every year, during the month of July, we ask you for a donation so we can put on a Christmas party at the Mbiriizi Advanced Primary school in Uganda.  This year we need to raise $17,000 so that every girl gets a new dress and every boy gets a new shirt.  (Uganda has had a 25% inflation rate this year while people still live on $2.00 a day!).  You can do this on the Sylvia's Children website or give us a call and we will send you a form.

In case anyone asks ...

We always need sponsors for the children, we always need general donations; however, you can also go to www.sylviaschildren.org and see the scrolling "needs list" down the right hand side.  Just click on the donate now button ... your payments are secure!

Joan Nakidde

Thanks to Vernoy Paolini, Shriners Hospital for Children In Philadelphia has accepted Joan as a patient to do her hip replacement.  We still have some hoops to go through but if all the paperwork  goes as planned (and we can get her a Visa) we can bring her back in November!   If anyone wants to make a donation for her airfare it will be gratefully received!  Plus, we can take her back in March when we do the medical trip!

Thank you ALL for your wonderful support of Sylvia's Children.
With your help we are making a difference!

Sylvia Allen

www.sylviaschildren.org        sylvia@sylviaschildren.org

732-946-2711

For Sylvia Allen The Time Is Always Right!

There is never a “right” time to start a business. So if you are thinking of doing it, just do it. That’s how I got started.

I started Allen Consulting Jan. 1, 1980, and have ridden the most wonderful roller coaster for the last 33 years. Much of what I have done has been intuitive and the company has been reinvented five times.

I started out doing straight public relations and technical documentation. I previously had worked for AT&T, so I knew how to write manuals, which made it easy to start the business. As the business grew, so did the number of employees and so did the focus as we began to do advertising and marketing campaigns.

Now there was more work and more employees until, at one point, we had four locations and 34 employees. This meant more traveling, more administrative tasks for me and no time for creative work, which I really loved. One day I decided to stop and go back to what I liked to do, which was to help make clients successful through quality writing and business planning and to produce live events.

Jan. 1, 1990, was a major turning point because I made a conscious decision to do what I liked to do, never go beyond six employees and to work with clients that I liked and that needed the talents I had to offer. We focused on producing and selling sponsorships for successful events, which was fun. We have followed this formula 90 percent of the time and we are still having fun.

Of course, I get easily bored, so in June 2003, I was adopted by a primary school in the African country of Uganda and started a nonprofit called Sylvia’s Children. We have raised over $850,000 for the school, changing the lives of over 2,000 students. The joy of seeing these children get a decent education and learning a profession or trade so they no longer live in poverty is beyond description.

In November 2011, I bought a 1903-04 building in Aitkin, Minn., that features an opera house where Judy Garland, as one of the Gumm Sisters, got her start in 1925. I had all renovations on the first floor done and two tenants in by the following November. The Aitkin Opera House renovation is now complete and we are beginning to book special events.

During this same period I wrote two books – “How To Be Successful at Sponsorship Sales” and “A Woman’s Guide to Sales Success” – both of which are both festival and event industry standards. I taught as an adjunct at New York University for 20 years in the School of Continuing and Professional Studies and the Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising.

I continue to be a featured speaker at conferences, conventions and association meetings around the world, speaking on the topics of sponsorship sales, public relations, event marketing and management, and nonprofit fundraising. And I raised two beautiful, successful children.

I feel so lucky to be a woman in business today where the only barriers are self-inflicted. Bored? Not yet! Retire? Can’t even think of it!