Welcome to our Blessing Hands Blog

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

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Blessing Hands August Newsletter

Scholarships: We have great news! Blessing Hands has received a scholarship fund grant from a foundation that wants to remain anonymous. This grant will fund twelve of our graduating female students for $500 scholarships. If more girls are accepted late to colleges, we hope it will cover them also. There are four female students in Yangshuo and eight in Qinzhou funded. With the gracious support of our friends and supporters, seven male scholarships have also been funded for the fall semester.

The W. Paul and Lucille Caudill Little Foundation Friendship Art Grant: In partnership with Sister Cities of Morehead, Blessing Hands will receive pen pal funds for our Chinese students. The two year grant will benefit all Rowan County public and private school students, and provide money for Sister School and pen pal exchanges between Rowan County students and Yangshuo County students. Yangshuo County, China is Morehead’s Sister Cities match.

We have always promoted pen pals and sponsor communication. Now we have a way to fund return letters from China. The Sister Schools will also exchange packages containing art, music, and drama items at Christmas and Chinese New Year.

The grant will also fund a Friendship Art Show displaying Yangshuo student’s art for the month of October at the Rowan County Arts Center. The show, sponsored by Sister Cities in cooperation with Blessing Hands, will display drawings and photos produced at the Friendship Art Day in Yangshuo this summer during the Morehead Sister Cities Youth Delegation’s visit. Robert Franzini, head of the Art Department at MSU and Megan Mraz, our Blessing Hands intern, assisted with the art demonstration and participation event for Yangshuo students. Over 60 works by students aged 13-18 will be on display from October 1st through the 27th. A people’s choice award, decided by the public at the art show, will select one student’s picture to represent Yangshuo in the International Sister Cities Young Artist’s Showcase competition in 2008.

The Yangshuo paintings in the exhibit and photos from Yangshuo are available for viewing online at http://www.blessing-hands.org. Look for a link on the home page to Friendship Art Show Paintings. The paintings will be sold in a silent auction that will benefit any poor child of Yangshuo County who needs educational help. You can register a bid by e-mailing blessinghands@gmail.com. Some paintings are really outstanding. Checks should be made to Sister Cities of Morehead, if you buy a painting on line or in the silent auction at the show. Your online bids will be placed with the silent auction bids at the art show. Someone may out bid you.

Charity Parade and Fair: Blessing Hands is participating again this year in the rowanreview.com Charity Parade and Fair event in Morehead. Rowanreview.com is encouraging people to give items to 10 local charities over a 14 day period. Starting on the 12th of September, contestants can go online to see announcements by charities each night at 8 p.m. on Rowanreview.com. People will be asked to "parade" to the featured charity locations and donate small items like shampoo, detergent, or towels. The charities get a lot of items and publicity, and the contestants get prizes and free food at the Charity Fair held at the end of the 14 days. The contestants sign a sheet at each charity to show their participation and provide names for the drawing on the 27th. During the “parade” part, Blessing Hands will have public displays at US Bank, China CafĂ©, and China Star Restaurant to promote for sponsors and pen pals for our students.

Three prizes of $500, $300, $200 will be drawn at the Charity Fair from the names of the participants. Winners will give half of their prize to the charity or community organization of their choice. The Charity Fair will be held at 6:00 pm at the Wesley Hall of the Morehead Methodist Church on September 27th. Charities will have tables to display their missions and answer questions. If you live in the Morehead area, come by to hear Four Square City, a local Bluegrass group, play gospel music. Jeff Fannin, an advisory board member of Blessing Hands, will also share some of his songs. Many local restaurants have given coupons for free meals as door prizes.

Make donation checks to Blessing Hands and mail to106 Timber Lane, Morehead, KY. 40351 or click on the donation button at the top of the blog.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Wu Needs a Scholarship



Wu is from Qinzhou, China. His tuition would be $607 for a year. I will let him speak for himself.


Thank you for your love and care. Because of your help, I have successfully completed high school. Now a university has accepted me. I am really very happy, because I have a dream to become a lawyer, and the school is training these personnel areas. In other words, I will realize my dream from a day far away.


However, there are difficulties to come. There is a huge tuition, so I am in trouble. My household numbers six. I have a grandfather, grandmother, and father who have a disease. We have almost lost their labor. My mother and brother’s yearly meager income is not enough to pay for their want to give up my dream. The university has been in me and my family's dreams, and I have been working toward it. Now, I do not want to let this opportunity slip away.


I know that only knowledge can change my destiny.I really hope you will seriously consider my request, and I would be most grateful. In the future, I will develop a lot of Blessing Hand’s selfless spirit. I will do my utmost to help those who need help.


Thank you!


Would you like to help Wu fulfill his dream? You can contribute with the button at the top of the blog or by writing us e-mail at blessinghands@gmail.com. Checks can be sent to Blessing Hands, 106 Timber Lane, Morehead, KY 40351. Great News. Wu has been fully funded by a local college teacher and a doctor, who was born in China.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Liang (Maxim) Needs $528 in Scholarship Money for College



You folks are really great! Over a thousand dollars has been pledged toward the college scholarships for the boys in just one day. He wants to be an engineer and has been accepted into an institute of technology. Someone has pledged $100 toward his tuition.

Late breaking News -
another $200 now applies to Maxim's tuition. He just lacks $228 for his spring semester now.

Liao Needs $400 to Go to College.


Liao's family makes About $340 US a year from their farm land. He dreams of majoring in Biology at an agricultural college. His tuition for a year is $400. I have pasted reference letters written by his village leader and his teacher below.


I am the village committee member. Liao is a resident in our village. I would like to explain this student’s situation to you.

Background and status: He has 6 family members and two of them are working. His grandparents are very old and sick. They have small farming land so his family is very poor.


Liao’s personal status: He is a hardworking and frugal student. He studied so hard that he obtained an excellent academic result and can go to a university.

I would like to certify that all the above information is true and hope you can give a helpful hand to support and help him, so that he can continue his further study and become a man of great ability in our country.

Liao (name withheld for privacy)
(Village Committee Member)

Dear Respectful Board members,

Liao went to Yangshuo Middle school in September 2004, and he graduated in June 2007. He is concerned about national issues, and he is a person that obeys the rules and laws very much. In general, he has a high discipline for himself with good attitudes towards life and social values. He is able to improve his weaknesses and always behaves himself. During the school years, he obeyed the school rules and respected the examination without cheating. He respected teachers and cooperated with other students. He had a good attitude towards learning, so he has been rewarded with a scholarship before too.

Liao got excellent academic result in all subjects, and he is a responsible student. He worked seriously to his tasks and helped the school to work for many projects without any complaints. He is such a very hard working student. Besides that, he enjoys group activities and is concerned about others’ benefits as well. He cares about his classmates so much that he helped them to solve problems. He was named as “OUTSTANDING STUDENT”.

According to my observation during the past 3 years, Liao is an outstanding student in both behavior and academic performance. I hope your organization can help him.

Best Regards,

(Teacher)
2nd July 2007

If you would like to help Liao go to college you can donate with the button at the top of the blog and write us at blessinghands@gmail.com. The need is urgent since the college will start classes soon.

Liao just got a sponsor for the first semester. Blogging his needs worked. I am so glad. Read on for other students who need sponsors for their college expenses.

I want to thank all the people who helped to translate these letters.


Liu (Leo) Would Like to Go to College.


Leo needs $488 US to pay his tuition for a year at a chemistry and science college he wants to attend. Chinese universities are very specialized and hard to get into. First you have three choices of universities that you can ask to be admitted to. Then you have to pass a national test that the whole country presses toward every June. If you make a high score, you still might not get to go to college, if the college you choose does not select you. Leo has gotten the coveted acceptance letter to his college of choice. Leo's family makes about $700 a year. I have pasted his application for a Blessing Hands scholarship here.

3rd June 2007

Blessing Hands,

My name is Liu (Leo). My family has a small piece of farming land which is only 2 to 3 acres in total. If we all rely on farming, we cannot support our living at all. Therefore, my parents need to find some other jobs to earn our living. Many years ago, my father found a job that employed people to hit stones in the hills. That was a very hard tough job, and he got hurt from that job. His health was getting worse at that time. Therefore, we spent lots of money for his medical expenses. Although he is getting much better now, he still cannot do through work. Now, he can only do some farm work at our small farm land in order to earn some money. Moreover, my mother has found a job near our home. Her salary is very low, but that money still can help a little bit to our living. On the other hand, she can also take care of the family due to the short working distance.

I studied in Higher Middle School last year. Its annual tuition fee was $6000 to $7000 (Yuan) which intensified my family’s burden. My family was too poor to afford this, and the expensive tuition fee led my family to a very difficult situation. Last summer, I started to receive your support, and it helped my family’s finances a lot and reduced my parents’ pressure and burden. I will go to university this year, and the expensive tuition fee has become a big problem to me again. I worry about it very much, and I don’t know what to do.

However, I have heard that Blessing Hands has supported students financially to go to a university, and three students received the scholarship. Therefore, my home class teacher recommended me to apply for a scholarship from Blessing Hands in order to solve my financial problems and stress, so that I can go to university and graduate.

I clearly understand that I must use that money correctly since it comes with a good timing, and it is so precious as well. I must not waste any money and will use all the money for my study only. If I can go to a university, I will work very hard and learn useful knowledge, so that I would not disappoint you. Moreover, I would like to thank you for all your concern and help for me the past year. I promise to study very hard and become a useful person in society.

Best Regards,

Liu (Leo)

If you would like to support Leo's college tuition or help support it, you can donate at the top of the blog. He needs the tuition very soon, so don't delay.

Some one has just pledged to give $100 to Leo. That is good news. Maybe someone else will give a $150 to pay for his first semester at college this fall.

Great, someone just pledged $150 to complete Leo's scholarship for the first semester. Now he only needs another $250 to pay for his spring semester. We usually give $500 scholarships. If that is more than their tuition comes to, then they can spend the rest on books or room and board.

Li (James) Needs Money to go to College


Li is from Guangxi Province. He wants to study hydrology and needs $650 US in university tuition. He already has two sponsors who have pledged $100 each for the fall semester and another has given $66. Late breaking news is that James now has his fall semester. He still needs another $325 for spring. Blessing Hands usually only gives $500 in scholarships to each student, but if someone wants to especially donate the extra amount for James, I am sure he would appreciate it. I have pasted his application letter below.

Dear Blessing Hands members,

How are you? I am glad to receive your sponsorship, so that I can complete high school and live happily and healthily with your care and love. I passed my high school examination this summer, but my family cannot afford the expensive tuition fee for the university. However, I heard that Blessing Hands has a scholarship, and I am writing to apply for it. I feel very honored and blessed to have such an opportunity to apply for it, because I know there are still many kind and nice people who would like to help people in need like me.

Here, I truly thank Blessing Hands, which can give me an opportunity to apply for the scholarship. I hope it can help me to complete university studies and learn skills and knowledge, so that I can accomplish my dreams and bear my own responsibilities and duties. Also I can help people in the future and let those people in need be helped so that they won’t have to suffer. I will spread love to those people around me and let the love fill society.

James needs scholarship help immediately to get to school on time. If you want to donate, just use the button at the top of the blog and send us e-mail at blessinghands@gmail.com.




Yu (Jonathan) Needs a College Scholarship Sponsor

This young man would like to go to college but the tuition is $422 a year, and his family cannot afford that. He loves computers and has been accepted into a good college. Below I have pasted his application letter with some personal things edited out.


Dear Blessing Hands:

I am a high school graduate and just took my college examination in June. I am looking forward to college life and hope that I will have such an opportunity. I know how important knowledge is to people. It is knowledge that helps a society develop. Also, knowledge helped me to mature from humble beginnings.


I have been supported by Blessing Hands for two years---. The only thing that gives me courage to apply is the strong motivation that I have to study. Now the examination is over, and I have filed my choices for universities. --- My family cannot afford it. My mother told me to go ahead and just study and not worry about money while my dad didn’t say anything. ---- It takes the income of thirty farmers to support one college student. This is from a report that I read in the newspaper. ---- I cannot hold back my desire to go to college. I have been out of school for almost half of a month and have been working for a while which has caused me to realize how important knowledge is.

I very sincerely request your consideration of this application for assistance from Blessing Hands. I promise in the future that I will definitely carry the torch of Blessing Hands program of helping others. This is what I remember hearing Betty say at one of the Blessing Hands events. I also remember her saying that the purpose of helping others is not to receive something back from them but is for those who are helped to continue to help even more people also.

If you would like to help this young man go to college, you can donate through the button at the top of our blog and write us at blessinghands@gmail.com. Let's give this fellow a chance to meet his dream. His need is immediate so please decide right now.

Good News! Someone has just pledged $100 for Jonathan for his first semester in college. Maybe you want to contribute the other $150 to get him started in college.

More good news. Jonathan just got the $150 pledge and will have his first semester paid for. Now he just needs $250 for the spring semester. Maybe you will help him with that.



Male Scholarship Sponsors Needed

This is Betty Cutts blogging to you. We have a urgent need to present to folks who are interested in education and especially educating deserving young men. Blessing Hands has been blessed to have an opportunity to apply for college scholarships for our graduating students, but the foundation is interested in helping girls. We presently have 12 girls who have completed their applications and been accepted by a college. We are hoping that all of them will get grants for college.

We also have three scholarships to award to boys from our Blessing Hands budget this school year. However, seven deserving young men have applied for the three scholarships. As we read their applications and letters, we can't bear to choose only three. Someone suggested today that we should put information about them online and ask our supporters and friends to help. The cost of tuition at Chinese universities averages about $500 US a year. What a bargain for a first rate education.! That is the amount that we have settled on to give our students, although special sponsors sometimes pay more for students they have sponsored all along. I want to introduce one of our applicants.

Gao is from the Guangxi Province, and he wants to be a doctor. His family's income as farmers is about $471 US a year. How can they afford the $607 yearly tuition at the college that has accepted him? His teacher highly recommends him.

Gao --- is a very good student in my class. He works very hard and has a high GPA. He also has a very good relationship with classmates and teachers.

If you would like to be a supporter of Gao, you can donate with the button at the top of our blog and contact us personally at blessinghands@gmail.com. You can share in his support or take his complete support depending on your desire. He needs this support immediately since college starts very soon.

Gao now has a sponsor for full tuition for both fall and spring semester. Thanks so much