Mother Theresa said God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle. Not only is the truth in that statement proven daily by the strength and love of our Directors Bill and Mary Kwiatkowski, it was and always will be a truth within our dear friend Brandon Cook.

The Cook family has always been very close to Children of the Light, with father Jim running the non-profit Heart4Children that provides invaluable assistance to COTL, and Brandon making trips to the project in La Ceiba, Honduras, to help. Mary refers to Brandon as her ‘hijo norteamericano’ or her North American son.

In January 2011, Brandon left this world after a courageous battle. This first newsletter in 2011 is dedicated to our strong, inspirational brother, son and friend – who was always smiling, laughing and being a hero to our boys at COTL.

Click on the images below to see the 2-page newsletter, or click HERE to download the PDF.

To subscribe to our newsletters, send an email to cotlsponsor@gmail.com

Handing out candy on Halloween is an American tradition that kids of all ages look forward to for months.  When you head to the store to pick up your bags of candy this year, consider handing some out to the kids in Honduras, too.

Think of the kids this year by matching the cost of your bag of candy and donating it. One bag of Halloween candy at a national drug store could cost around $5.99.  Depending on the size of your neighborhood, you may be picking up 2 or 3 of those bags before you’re done.  If you match the price of just ONE bag of that candy, you’ll be doing more good for our boys than you can imagine.

And the advantage of donating to COTL vs. a bag of candy? Our donations are tax-free and tax-deductible! Now that’s better than a well-earned sugar-induced stomach ache.

Drop any amount into our “Candy Bag” this month for Halloween and be featured on the site! After donating, send us a photo of you, your family, kids, friends or whoever in your best Halloween costumes to be featured as Star Donors on the blog.

Every tiny bit helps, which is why if you can only match the cost of one fun-size Snickers, we still think you’re the greatest and want everyone to know.

So send us a picture of your charitable family dressed up for Halloween and you could make it onto the blog!

And speaking of Halloween candy… consider steering clear of Hershey’s, a company that gets its cocoa from farms in Ivory Coast of West Africa that use child slave labor to harvest their beans, and go for a certified fair trade chocolate that ensures slavery-free practices.

Much love this holiday season!

Genna, volunteer from the USA, and the COTL Family

P.S. Are you living a Paypal-alternative lifestyle? You can still make an online donation through Network for Good!

I wanted to share with you the exciting news that Children of the Light has been featured in a blog post on the US Fund for UNICEF website!

As an intern at the US Fund for UNICEF, I offered to write about my experience as a friend and volunteer of the Children of the Light and to inform people about what small and large organizations, like Children of the Light and UNICEF, are doing to help put an end to child inequality in Honduras.

http://fieldnotes.unicefusa.org/2010/03/making_progress_in_honduras_1.html

Check it out

-Meghan St. John, volunteer from Connecticut, USA

Below is the new Children of the Light Newsletter sent out by Bill and Mary today.

Much Love!

Genna, Volunteer from US

Newsletter J F 2010

We’ve arrived and we have had a few days to catch up and spend time with the boys at the project. Everyone is doing well except several of the boys have caught colds due to the cooler weather.

However, spirits are high and the youngest boys, Milton, Josue, Wilmer, Angel, Oscar, Michael and Marquitos are keeping us busy running around and playing soccer. Marlon insists we only speak in Spanish so that we learn the language and he has been a huge help! Meanwhile, the older boys are very busy doing their homework each day. And on Monday, Geovanny celebrated his 17th birthday!

The school at  Ninos de la Luz now has grades 1-4 and plan to expand a grade every year. Currently there are two volunteers, JuJu from New Zealand and Elizabeth from Norway, who are helping teach in the classrooms.

Genna and I took photos of all the students at the school that will be added to the blog as soon as possible. Furthermore, we have helped decorate the library and computer room to “bring it to life.” We have also taken many new photos and videos of the boys that we will share with you all soon!

Dios le bendiga!

-Meghan (Volunteer from Connecticut, US)

Hello All!
It’s March already? How did that happen??

Sorry for the radio silence, COTL Family! Not too much to report after the holidays yet, but I will soon have plenty of updates after my trip beginning tomorrow with fellow US Volunteer Meghan to visit our hermanos y padres de Honduras (Honduran brothers and parents) in La Ceiba!

Wish us luck and a safe trip.  We’re excited to document the status of dorm construction and other happenings on the grounds, the lives of the boys and to gather information on how to best help COTL in 2010.

And, of course, we’ll be collecting photos, letters and other special correspondences from the boys to their sponsors for the first Quarterly Sponsor Newsletter. These updates are only available to those receiving the free Quarterly Newsletter through the monthly Sponsorship program. Very excited!

We will post online updates via the blog, twitter & the Facebook Page as often as possible.

A Dios le Bendiga, Familia! (God Bless, Family!)

-Genna, Volunteer from US

Sorry to those who clicked the “Sponsor a Child” link to the Right on the Blogroll and were sent to an outdated page on the website!  It’s been fixed now, and it sends you to the updated sponsor page! Happy Holidays!

Click the thumbnails to see larger versions of the photos! Love, Peace and Goodwill to you all during the New Year!