2013 in Review + Changes Ahead for ChAngels

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

The ChAngels team had a year with fewer projects but we were especially honored to support ChAngel Lily with her Digital Dreams project.  

Lily hosted a luncheon to introduce other mothers and daughters to Myanmar (Burma) where her family built a clinic a few years ago.  It was through their involvement at the clinic that she discovered a new way to help the people there and Digital Dreams was born: a project to provide schools in Myanmar with laptops to improve the quality of education for children. 

At the lunch, Lily shared how privileged she feels to attend a school where technology is so readily available and taken somewhat for granted. Her goal for this year is to provide 10 laptops, and each year thereafter, so that by the end of her high school career she will have helped supply laptops for an entire school. She fielded questions, shared an inspiring power point she created and introduced a representative from Partners Asia, the agency she is working with to ensure the laptops reach their intended destination.  

By the end of lunch, Lily's goal was met and funds for 10 laptops were donated, included one from ChAngels. Next month, Lily will travel with her family to Myanmar to deliver the laptops.  We can't wait to share photos of this important global work and are so proud of Lily for her hard work. 

We were also proud to put on our pink (one of us is wearing a tutu) and participate in the Hike for Health on a beautiful sunny California morning!  This annual event hosted by our friends at Poised raised funds to buy scarves for women who have lost their hair during treatment for breast cancer.  It was an inspiring morning and the hike provided ChAngels time to brainstorm about the future.



After learning that there are an estimated 30 million enslaved individuals in the world, many of them women and children, ChAngels Sara and Lisa were inspired to action. They hosted a hot chocolate stand at school to raise funds and awareness for the Bay Area non-profit Not For Sale, which fights modern-day slavery around the globe. The sisters worked with friends to raise $500, the cost to free one slave.  Through their sales and support from ChAngels they were able to reach their important goal.     They also were able to increase awareness about this tremendous problem by arranging a speaker to present to the students in their school.  We hope to continue our partnership with Not For Sale in 2014.

CHANGES AHEAD

Although we had fewer projects this past year, we had a lot of long-term strategy meetings and we can tell you, there are great changes ahead for ChAngels in 2014! When we began in 2007, we were a group of girls, aged 8-11 working with our amazing moms. Now that we are in middle + high school, we are looking for ways for ChAngels to grow up too. 

WE WILL BE UNVEILING A NEW TEENAGE EDITION OF CHANGELS 

IN THE COMING WEEKS AND WE CAN'T WAIT TO SHARE OUR NEW LOOK AND OUR FUTURE PROJECTS.  WE ARE INSPIRED!

A Sweet Thank You for SAFAR!

It's the holiday season and we love to bake and decorate cookies!  We wanted to deliver something sweet to the team at SAFAR, the Stanford Alliance for Food Allergy Research to say "Thank you!" for all their important work.  This program at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford is currently running clinical trials to desensitize people from their food allergies.  SAFAR is a cause that is important to ChAngels because two ChAngels,  Nicole & Lisa, had life-threatening peanut allergies.

Over the course of the trial, Lisa & Nicole ate a prescribed number of peanuts, which increased gradually over time, until they were reaction free and both tested negative for peanut allergies.  They  have to  eat a certain amount of whatever their food allergen is (in this case peanuts) every day to keep up their tolerance. It is new, life-saving technology and is currently the closest thing to a cure that there is for food allergies. We can now do so many more things and no longer have to constantly worry about what they are eating.  (We also rolled coins and were surprised, again, at how those coins can add up so quickly.  In this case, $200 for SAFAR!)

Halloween at the BOO-tiful Fisher House

ChAngels loves the work at Fisher House a "home away from home" for the families of patients  receiving medical care at military and VA medical centers.    There are currently 58 Fisher Houses all around the country, where more than 160,000 families have stayed free of charge since 1900, and many more under construction. We love the Fisher House motto, "Because a Family's Love is Good Medicine," and we wanted to help the kids celebrate Halloween by providing goodie bags for them and their visiting friends.

We were proud to co-host the grand opening ceremony for the "Fisher House Market,"a playhouse in the Fisher House playground.  We provided market items (plastic fruits and foods) for the kids to play with and  baked cookies and provided drinks for the dedication.  



We smile every time we drive by the VA Hospital & Fischer House in Palo Alto, and were happy to learn about the care available to those who have so bravely served our country.

We Turned Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness

About 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, and over 85% of those women have no family history.  We were so pleased to raise awareness for the 2.8 million women in the US with a history of breast cancer, by wearing our pink and hiking the popular "Dish" in the hills near Stanford University.  Our walk was inspired by our friends at Poised who organize the walk annually, but this year our calendar was full on their hike date, October 27th.  So, in true ChAngels style, we walked on our own so we could still participate.  We were able to donate $200 for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarves, to purchase scarves for cancer patients who have lost their hair during treatment.

Kick-Off a New Year and Breast Cancer Walk

A few weeks back we kicked off this year with a meeting right where it all started five year's ago, in Kate's living room.  We welcomed a new member, Nicole and her mom, and we were full of excitement and ideas.

October 6th will be our first event.  We are walking for Breast Cancer.  We've invited friends to bring change and wear pink.  All donations from this event will be given to Poised founders Yvonne and Jill, who are walking later this month in their annual Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarves walk.  They will then purchase scarves for cancer patients at Stanford.  They've inspired us in the past with their walk, and we are so happy for the inspiration.

Towels for Palae Metta - A ChAngels Party

Our party at the beginning of June was a big success.  We had several friends join us for an informative and fun afternoon.  Upon arrival, our guests watched a 5 minute video made by ChAngel, Lily.   First, it was educational just to learn where exactly Burma is on the world map! Then we learned what it is like to live there, and the video showed us the women and children at the HIV/AIDS clinic, Palae Metta in Yangon. They live with the bare necessities and really need our help.

Then the learning continued as we all had to learn to thread a needle and sew by hand.  The knots were the hardest part!  We sewed pockets onto colorful beach towels and stuffed the pockets with goodies for the moms and children at the clinic.  We added flip flops, mini stuffed animals, soap, toothbrushes, and toothpaste to the pockets.  They were brimming with useful and cuddly things.

Thanks to all our friends who came that day and made our party fun and productive.  In the end we sent 25 beautiful, goodie-filled towels to  Palae Metta!

Palae Metta

The ChAngels Spring Party will focus on supporting the women and children of Palae Metta.  We will be sewing pockets onto towels to stuff with flip-flops, soap and teddy bears - all needed items for these moms and their families. 

Palae Metta is a clinical residence for women and children living with HIV/AIDS in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). Residents who live in Palae Metta receive antiretroviral, supporting medications and vitamins, nutritious meals, basic clothing and linens, mosquito nets and toiletries in a warm, supportive, home-like setting. Many of the residents are vulnerable girls and young women from rural ethnic areas. Palae Metta's goal is get these young women and children healthy and back on their feet with the skills and networks they need to lead healthy, productive lives. Residents are welcomed into a network that provides emotional counseling, job retraining and/or school (depending on age and level), basic financial and life-skills training and the opportunity to join support groups and savings groups.

Because HIV/AIDS is so stigmatized in Burma, staff work closely with residents, their families and communities to reintegrate the young women and children as productive, respected members of society. To date, Palae Metta has served up to 40 people—including 15 children, 15 pregnant women and their children, 5 outpatients, and 5 emergency cases when beds are available—with 17–23 residents at any given time. Built in 2010 with the generous grant from the Barnett family, Palae Metta operates thanks to their continued support.