Wendell Brock - Friday, March 12, 2010


When an 8.8-magnitude earthquake rocked the Maule Region of Chile on February 27, it was the second major earthquake to hit the western hemisphere in as many months. 

Subsequent aftershocks from both quakes further rattled these communities that had already been grappling with tremendous damage, both physically and emotionally. 

Resulting tsunami waves hit the Chilean coast and wreaked havoc on the town of Constitucion. With such devastation and human suffering, our world can sometimes feel unpredictable and frightening.

After the Haiti earthquake, CREED is working to send School Kits to the children of that country, after its citizens and government have been able to recover and the children will be back in school. CREED will do the same thing for Chile. While Chile is not the poorest country in our hemisphere—Haiti claims that unfortunate title—the need is still great.

The Climate
Chile is one of South America’s more prosperous countries. According to Wikipedia, Chile, “leads Latin American nations in human development, competitiveness, quality of life, political stability, globalization, economic freedom, low perception of corruption and comparatively low poverty rates.”But, this was before the world’s fifth largest earthquake since 1900—the first year seismic data began being collected—hit the country. A natural disaster such as this, often times sucks productive growth and development out of an economy.

The Need
It is estimated that about 500 people were killed in the earthquake, with many more still missing. Residential, governmental, and commercial buildings and hospitals were razed; bridges collapsed; some looting further exacerbated the awful situation.The quake affected 1.5M Chileans and damaged 500,000 homes. These homes are where children studied, did their homework, and kept their school supplies. President Michelle Bachelet has said the country will need three to four years to rebuild. The children of Chile can’t wait this long for an education. 

The Aid
For just $10, you can send a school kit to a child in Chile, shipping included. Maybe you’re a parent, and want to send one kit in honor of each of your children who are fortunate enough to live in America and learn under its educational system. Maybe you have nieces and nephews or grandchildren, and want to send as many kits as these relatives for whom you buy gifts each holiday season.Or maybe you simply want to send a school kit—or two or three—because you feel it’s the right thing to do. Education empowers people to rise up and make their communities better for both themselves and further generations.

Wendell Brock - Tuesday, March 02, 2010

When a tornado ripped through Iowa’s Little Sioux Scout Ranch in 2008, the area was devastated both geographically and emotionally. Not only did the tornado level a building and destroy a forest, it killed a young Boy Scout named Aaron Eilerts.

In the aftermath of such a tragedy, Iowa Governor Chet Culver created “Aaron Eilerts Day of Service and Giving” on February 24, 2009, which would have been Aaron’s 15th birthday. Each year on this day, schools throughout Iowa are asked to practice the same kindness through service that Aaron had displayed throughout his life.

The Project
This year, with the Haitian earthquake fresh in the minds of students at Hinton Community School, they decided to help their peers in Haiti. An Internet search turned up CREED’s School Kits program, and the students decided to raise money to send kits to Haiti. Calling their project “10x10,” Hinton’s students set out to raise $100, or enough for 10 kits.

Every morning for a week, Student Council members stood in the school’s lobby and collected voluntary donations from students as they arrived at school. By the end, the students had smashed their $100 goal, and raised over $400!

The project was carried out by elementary students— ages six to 11—who saw a need and decided to fill it. CREED is honored to accept their kind donation and forward the school kits to children in Haiti.

The Need
For many children, CREED’s School Kits are the first step to an education. They provide the materials that students must have in order to attend school—materials that are quite simple and total just $10—but for many families are unaffordable or simply unavailable.

Each school kit contains:

• One durable cloth bag with handles and Velcro closure
• Three spiral-bound notebooks totaling about 450 pages of paper
• Four No. 2 pencils
• One pencil sharpener
• One box of 12 colored pencils
• One eraser
• One pair of children’s blunt-nose scissors
• One 12-inch metric ruler

Doing More
Hinton’s good work won’t end with their donation to CREED. In the spring, they will collect donations for the Children’s Miracle Network. In the fall, they will collect food for a local food bank. During the holidays, they will give donated items and wrapped gifts to a needy family in their community. Throughout the year, they help their school in little ways. As Hinton Counselor Mary Daniels says, “My council is very busy!”

For 2009’s Aaron Eilerts Day, Hinton students carried out two community projects: making fleece blankets for animals at the local Humane Society, and creating Sunshine Buckets for senior citizens. “Sunshine Buckets” are sand pails filled with stamps, playing cards, lotion bottles, and other small items to bring a little sunshine to a senior citizen’s day.

What You Can Do
If you’d like to help educate children we are continuing to collect funds for school kits.  We are in the process of helping the children in Haiti and In the near future we will ask for funds to help the children of Chile after the recent massive earthquake in their country.  You can help by following the example of the children of Hinton Community School by making a donation to CREED by clicking on the homepage.