Welcome to our Blessing Hands Blog

Thanks for visiting our website and learning about our charity that helps impoverished children stay in school.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Introducing Our Newest Board Member


Janet J. Gross, RN, DSN is a Professor of Nursing at Morehead State University. She is a specialist in adult health, nursing education, and transcultural nursing. She has extensive international experience as a representative to the Cooperative Center for Study Abroad (CCSA). Through this relationship she has directed or taught study aboard programs for university students in numerous countries in Central America, the Caribbean, Africa and Great Britain.

She is an active member of professional organizations related to nursing and international education. In addition to teaching nursing, she is also serving as the interim director of the Office of International Education at Morehead State University.
Janet’s passions are transcultural nursing and providing students the opportunity to learn about the world around them through direct experience.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Pen Pals Needed


The Blessing Hands students at Zhanghuang Middle school wrote me this charming letter together. I hope some of you will be willing to write these girls, and help them learn English. I would like to match youth groups, classes, and scout troops with schools in China. Write me for more information.

Dear Betty,
How do you do? Thank you very much for helping us in our life and study. We are Lin Xue, Lin Jiafeng, Wang Lu, and Su Lianfeng. We are studying in Zhanghuang Middle School, Pubei, Qinzhou, Guangxi, China. Miss Liu gave us a talk about Blessinghands on National Day, October 1st. Then she gave us money, some school things, and a beautiful big bag. She said we must spend the money on our study. She encouraged us to study hard and go to college with this beautiful bag. We will remember her words forever and make our dreams come true. But our English is poor. We don't know how to improve our English? Can you help us? This is our English teacher Miss Xia Qiumei's e-mail address. We hope to hear from you soon. Thank you.
Best wishes!
Yours,
Lin Xue, Lin Jiafeng, Wang Lu, and Su Lianfeng

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Anna Explains about Blessing Hands


Anna Liu wrote the following e-mail about the ingathering.

Everybody felt very happy and excited. I talk about you, talk about Blessing Hands Charity, and my life in America for an hour. I told them all people in your church are sisters and brothers. I like that. I told them I am their sister, and the other teachers who donate the old clothes are their relatives, too. So they were very glad to share all the clothes donated by the teachers. How happy I was. Betty, you don't know when I told them you would come yourself on the 11th of February how excited they were!

Successful Ingathering
































Anna Liu just sent these pictures of the ingathering day in Qinzhou for Blessing Hands students. 120 students from 26 rural middle schools around Qinzhou and 60 students from Qinzhou Number One Middle School (which has 6,000 student enrolled) came together with their teachers to receive their Blessing Hands tuitions for this semester.

It was a big day when the students got to have their pictures taken for our records, write thank you letters, and receive new school bags and school supplies. Some schools have ten Blessing Hands students and others have more or less depending on the need of the area and size of the school.

Anna was able to get volunteers to help her with the hard work for the day. She talked to them with a presentation about Blessing Hands for an hour and a half and encouraged them to be a Blessing Hand to others as well. She impressed on them that they were not just getting tuition but love as well.

The tuition for these students varies but averages about $75 or a little more per semester. If you want to be a blessing and support one of these students for a semester, you can send a check to Founding Family Foundation at 1004 Rodney Dr., Nashville, TN 37205-1018. Checks should be made out to Founding Family Charitable Foundation since they are matching contributions dollar for dollar until December 31, 2006. After that date contributions should come to Blessing Hands, 106 Timber Lane, Morehead, KY. We want you to take advantage of the matching offer from Founding Families Foundation before it ceases.

We can also match you up with a particular student if you would liketo write to them or know your special student. They are all between the ages of 15 to 18. They have been selected by their schools based on need and educational promise, and all come from families below the poverty line and most are from single parent family homes. The government of China does not pay tuition for children over 15, so many of these students could not go to school without help.