Baan Jing Jai is an orphanage in Pattaya, Thailand. It is the current home to 63 children from the ages of 1 to 17. Unfortunately, in this third world country the orphanage struggles to meet the daily needs of the children, let alone indulge them with the fun toys and activities that all of my friends and I in Palatine, Illinois enjoyed while we were growing up.
vital stats:
people impacted:
63
people involved:
10
why it's important:
Baan Jing Jai is located only minutes away from my father's house in Pattaya. Last year, he and my stepmom took me there to serve lunch to the children. Wanting to bring a little bit of American flair to the table, we ordered 15 Pizza Hut pizzas and cokes to the orphanage; a far cry from the rice soup and dried fish that they are used to. Sitting there watching them tear into the pizza, I couldn't help but be overcome by the fact that I was meant to do more than just SEE them. I knew that in fifteen minutes their pizza would be gone. Down the street my father's air-conditioned house would still be waiting for me. What was waiting for them? It didn't seem right.
the plan of action:
The Thai Your Shoes Foundation began as a shoe drive at my high school in the winter of 2008. In less than a year, it has spiraled into so much more.
Aside from the shoe drive, I organized a project through a service-oriented club at my school whereby each orphan in Thailand was "adopted" by one of the students in the club. These students really came through, bringing in mounds of toys, school supplies, and clothing for all 57 children.
Then, on May 16th, a friend and I organized the first annual Race For Sincere Hearts 5K to benefit the orphanage (Baan Jing Jai is House of Sincere Hearts translated into English). The race was more successful than either of us had imagined, earning a profit of $2,500 for Baan Jing Jai.
With well over 100 pounds of donated shoes, toys, and supplies, we were in desperate need of help in shipping packages internationally to Thailand. Luckily, a wonderful company called Corporate Graphics really stepped up and sponsored the entire international shipment cost.
The packages are scheduled to arrive in the next few weeks. The money from the race is already here in Thailand in the form of travellers checks. If all goes according to plan, a local television company will be present at the orphanage for the unveiling of all of the donations, hopefully raising awareness for the orphanage and shining light onto an organization that has been swept under the carpet for too long.
For the 2009-2010 school year, there are several new projects formulating. First and foremost is the Race For Sincere Hearts 2010. Feeding off of the experience and success of last year's race, we hope to increase our profits to at least $3,000. We are also contemplating creative new ideas for the collection of toys and other gifts for the kids as well as fun activities or outings that we could sponsor for them to take part in. Some of these ideas include an easter egg hunt, a trip to a nearby water-park, and a "From Palatine to Pattaya" buddy system, where each orphan would be assigned to an individual, family, or group back home in Palatine, who would then be responsible for their child on his/her birthday and other major holidays.
how you can get involved:
One way to physically help the kids at Baan Jing Jai would be to volunteer or participate in the Race For Sincere Hearts in Palatine in May of 2010. The event website is www.raceforsincerehearts.weebly.com
We are also always up for suggestions, projects, and creative ideas about how to connect the students of a Chicago suburb with the interests of young orphans in Pattaya, Thailand.
project updates:
03/24/2010
So much has happened since my last post. My senior year has been very busy for Thai Your Shoes.
The year began with Thai Your Shoes being named as the beneficiery of the Homecoming festivities' proceeds from my high school. These events included the annual girls' powderpuff game as well as the "Pie in the Face" contest at the pep assembly. These events made about $4000 in addition to a Culver's Custard sale which I also did around Homecoming time, bringing in an additional $1000.
This was followed by another huge clothing drive which I hosted through Fremd's Service Over Self club.
I then partnered with Harper College's preschool program for a holiday project in December. The preschoolers helped the kids at Baan Jing Jai by donating their old clothes, writing holiday cards, and donating $350.
Recently, Thai Your Shoes hosted a "movie night" in the school cafeteria. This event earned $300. T-Shirts are currently on sale and have raised an additional $200 so far. Finally, in the beginning of the month, Thai Your Shoes hosted a booth at a local craft fair, earning $350 in proceeds.
This brings the grand total to nearly $9000 in addition to hundreds of pounds of donations since Thai Your Shoes began in August of 2008.
Future plans include a massive clothing drive during Environmental Week in April along with a dunk tank fundraiser to support shipping costs to get the items to Thailand. Also, the second annual Race for Sincere Hearts will be held on May 29th.
Stay Tuned!
07/10/2009
The big day at the orphanage was the 28th of June. Baan Jing Jai was presented with 85,000 Thai baht, the equivalent of 2,500 US dollars. Each of the 63 kids was also presented with an individual bag of toys, candy, and school supplies, as well as a larger gift and an official race T-Shirt from the Race for Sincere Hearts 5K back in Palatine, Illinois.
What a great project! You are changing those kids' lives in more ways than one. I think the future "buddy system" idea is a great way to help these kids have hope and someone to look up to. Let us know how your ideas unfold!
Agreed, that does sound like a great project! I'm new to this whole system and have an idea but don't really know where to start. My question is how do you get people to sponsor you? As in where do you give the money to if you don't have someone trustworthy you know in an Area you want to help in the world.
Thanks for the feedback!I really appreciate it. I believe that we are setting the date with the orphanage for around the 30th of June, so check back after that and I should have it all updated!
xostargirl13-
That's a really great question. Obviously my family situation (my father lives in Thailand) allows me this unique opportunity, but I did not initially jump right into international charity work. I spent several years volunteering at a retirement home back in Illinois. Also, I have been a member (and am now president) of an organization in my community that does a lot of different charity work around the Chicagoland area. These things have been extremely valuable to me because they have given me experience in charity work, taught me neccessary leadership skills, and helped to show me what areas of charity I was most drawn to. So I guess what I am saying is to start small. Look for an community service organization in your area or school, and don't only join it- but join it with some new ideas and projects so that you will immediately be recognized as a real "do-er" and will get to lead the group on a project that you came up with entirely on your own. Hope that helps!! If you need help coming up with project ideas let me know.
That is such a great a idea! I wish that I could travel in order to do international charities. I always want to donate books, clothes, shoes, and toys to third world countries and nations destroyed by disasters. I do not have any money to donate, only supplies, and I can never find out where to send the items. Do you know how I can donate items to causes like yours?
I wish I had a simple answer to this question for you. If you are talking about donating small amounts of your personal books, clothing, etc. your best bet will be to go through a Good Will or other oranization that is involved internationally. If you are interested in making a direct donation of items to any international program, they are going to require that you are sending them items in bulk because the cost and time for them to sort the individual items would be too great for them to accept individual items.
Keep an eye out for any agencies that are hosting collections in your area for the causes you're interested in. Sometimes you will come across these collection initiatives at a local church or school. Maybe you could even start your own!
I don't know your background, but personally my first step would be to go to my church. They have a lot of service and international outreach programs that are always up to something globally. Even if they can't offer you a place to donate your items, they will certainly have a better idea as to how you can get involved because they are more familiar with the charity sites and programs in your area.
Volunteer Programs- Volunteers Thailand - You Can-Build, Protect, Teach and Care through volunteering programs. Starfish Ventures specialises in volunteer travel, programs and volunteer work in Thailand.
.JPG "Harper College Preschool Project")
Comments
What a great project! You are changing those kids' lives in more ways than one. I think the future "buddy system" idea is a great way to help these kids have hope and someone to look up to. Let us know how your ideas unfold!
Agreed, that does sound like a great project! I'm new to this whole system and have an idea but don't really know where to start. My question is how do you get people to sponsor you? As in where do you give the money to if you don't have someone trustworthy you know in an Area you want to help in the world.
Thanks for the feedback!I really appreciate it. I believe that we are setting the date with the orphanage for around the 30th of June, so check back after that and I should have it all updated!
xostargirl13-
That's a really great question. Obviously my family situation (my father lives in Thailand) allows me this unique opportunity, but I did not initially jump right into international charity work. I spent several years volunteering at a retirement home back in Illinois. Also, I have been a member (and am now president) of an organization in my community that does a lot of different charity work around the Chicagoland area. These things have been extremely valuable to me because they have given me experience in charity work, taught me neccessary leadership skills, and helped to show me what areas of charity I was most drawn to. So I guess what I am saying is to start small. Look for an community service organization in your area or school, and don't only join it- but join it with some new ideas and projects so that you will immediately be recognized as a real "do-er" and will get to lead the group on a project that you came up with entirely on your own. Hope that helps!! If you need help coming up with project ideas let me know.
That is such a great a idea! I wish that I could travel in order to do international charities. I always want to donate books, clothes, shoes, and toys to third world countries and nations destroyed by disasters. I do not have any money to donate, only supplies, and I can never find out where to send the items. Do you know how I can donate items to causes like yours?
save_wildlife~
I wish I had a simple answer to this question for you. If you are talking about donating small amounts of your personal books, clothing, etc. your best bet will be to go through a Good Will or other oranization that is involved internationally. If you are interested in making a direct donation of items to any international program, they are going to require that you are sending them items in bulk because the cost and time for them to sort the individual items would be too great for them to accept individual items.
Keep an eye out for any agencies that are hosting collections in your area for the causes you're interested in. Sometimes you will come across these collection initiatives at a local church or school. Maybe you could even start your own!
I don't know your background, but personally my first step would be to go to my church. They have a lot of service and international outreach programs that are always up to something globally. Even if they can't offer you a place to donate your items, they will certainly have a better idea as to how you can get involved because they are more familiar with the charity sites and programs in your area.
Inkat1411-
Thanks! I will look for international charities and look into starting my own. Thanks so much!
Volunteer Programs- Volunteers Thailand - You Can-Build, Protect, Teach and Care through volunteering programs. Starfish Ventures specialises in volunteer travel, programs and volunteer work in Thailand.