Happy New Year

Partnership with Shanghai United International School We have great news. The Shanghai United International School has chosen Blessing Hands to be their charity to support and partner with for the coming year. They will encourage their students to do partner projects with our students and emphasize volunteerism. They have an annual Christmas bazaar and concert to raise money for their chosen charity and also have a charity 5K run during the year. Their Christmas activities this year raised 40,000 yuan ($6,289USD). Use this website link.  The children themselves are encouraged to decide how the money they raise will be used.  We gave 18 computers to Du'an Special Education school last spring. They need 24 more so every classroom can have three computers.  Good Giving Guide Challenge  The Blue Grass Community Foundation has picked 100 bluegrass area charities to assist in raising money for their special projects. The charities that raise the most money with the most donors by December 31st, have a chance of winning $5,000 awards for their endowment funds at the Blue Grass Community Foundation. Our project is to raise $13,000 for classroom computers for the Du'an Special Education School. We have raised $4,150 from 32 donors. We are 13 in a field where one is the highest and 38 small charities are listed. They have different categories for small and large charities, so we have a chance to get an award. Give with a card. It is easy on your cell phone. Our giving page is here.  Our high school students in Guizhou received their new clothes recently. Clothes Given to High School Students Our high school students are getting 3 pairs of pants and a jacket each. Mr. Chen, who sells cars in Qinzhou, was able to get new, high-quality clothing that was donated by the maker. We plan to share them with our students in Yangshuo, Guizhou and Gansu. It gets cold in Southern China, so they have come just in time for winter cold. There are no small sizes, however, for younger kids.  They were asked to give their sizes, so each student's clothes would fit.  Betty Cutts and Chen Jiqing Report of College Scholarships  We have 66 college and university students in our scholarship program now. Chen Jiqing has been a Blessing Hands student for 10 years. She was in the third grade in Yangshuo when she first received help. Now she is a freshman student studying at the Medical College of Guilin. She is determined to be a doctor, perhaps because her parents are both sick and unable to work.  Two sponsors make her $650 scholarship possible. Water purifier  Year's Report of Water Purifiers We have done so much this year. Five primary schools in Yangshuo have new water purifiers - thanks to the water purifier team from East Oldham Middle School. The tanks, pipes, faucets and all labor was given in kind by the East Oldham Middle School and the Gao family from Kunming. These volunteers worked together as a team of west meeting east. Eddy Wu came from Hong Kong to help and learn. He is applying for a Chinese patent with no intention to make money on his purifier. China needs pure water and his expertise is a perfect match.. Matthew Liu talking to Qinzhou high school students. Student Report Most of our students are in high school. Matthew Liu, one of our board members, enjoys meeting them each summer. We have about 191 high school students presently in Qinzhou, Yangshuo, and Du'an in Guangxi province, and more in Guizhou and Gansu Provinces. We have volunteer administrators in all these areas. That is why our management costs this year are 5% and 95% goes for programs. Our 107 primary and 19 lower middle school students are in four different provinces and represent Yao, Miao, Buyi, and Zhuang minorities as well as Han majority students. Most of our students are from single parent or disabled families. They are chosen by their schools and principals through an application process. Sponsorship is the core of our charity.Write us to receive a special child that needs you as their sponsor.  Financial Report Our wonderful donors gave $130,350 during the 2014-2015 school year. We spent $118,430 on programs serving students, their families and schools. We had a surplus of $6,378 to start the new 2015-16 school year.  Put "smile.amazon.com" into your browser before shopping on Amazon, and then choose Blessing Hands as your charity. Amazon will give us 0 .5% of your purchase. Shop and give at the same time.  Blessings to You and Yours in  This New Year All of us at Blessing Hands  want to thank you for your loyalty, and support in 2015. We hope to see you give again in 2016!   https://www.blessing-hands.org  https: //blessinghands.blogspot.com https: //blessinghands.blogspot.com Email:bdcutts@blessing-hands.org  Address for Checks: Blessing Hands                    106 Timber Lane                  Morehead, KY 40351   #GoodGivingGuide Challenge page;

Merry Christmas

May your days be filled with peace, hope, and joy this holiday season. As always, thank you for your sponsorships, scholarships, and support. Sincerely, From all of us at Blessing Hands Good Giving Guide Challenge           So far $2,473 has been contributed from 19 people for the #GoodGivingGuide Challenge. We can receive a $5,000 award for our endowment fund at the Blue Grass Foundation, if we get more funds and donors. This is the giving page for Blessing Hands.  Baozi - Steamed Stuffed Buns         You can send checks to Blessing Hands, 106 Timber Lane, Morehead, KY 40351. We will use them for matching online donations. We need more unique donors and donations to rise in our charity's category before theDecember 31st deadline.          Mr. Li and his wife Mrs. Wang sold "Baozi" and gave their $270 earnings to Blessing Hands. They have blessed our children and the blessings will return to them also.  Laura Shelton gave a quilt  that sold for $100 to bless a grandchild.          Laura Shelton gave a quilt she recently made to Blessing Hands. It was bought by a grandfather for $100 to give to his grandchild for Christmas. Laura donated the $100 to Blessing Hands.          Tim Callahan gave us two of his books to sell on behalf of Blessing Hands. This is his Website. Click on the books to get more information about each of them. They would both make great Christmas gifts. I really enjoy reading his books since he is a Christian writer. A story of a traumatized Vietnam POW who finally comes home after 35 years. ($18 plus postage)   A love story set in the music scene of Nashville. ($20 plus postage) Amazon Smile Christmas Shopping I was ordering a book last night when I remembered to sign into Smile.Amazon.com so Blessing Hands would receive a donation. I added a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to start my Christmas shopping with AmazonSmile.  It is an automatic way for you to support Blessing Hands every time you shop on Amazon, at no cost to you. We get the added bonus that Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to Blessing Hands. Just type in Blessing Hands in the charity selection box.  Kroger Community Rewards® Blessing Hands received $663.88 from the Kroger program last year.  Kroger Community Rewards® makes fund-raising easy. All you have to do is shop at Kroger and swipe your Plus Card! Qianjun is from Yangshuo and in the 4th grade. His father died and his mother remarried. He lives with grandparents now. Proceeds from the Kroger card can sponsor three children like him a year. You can pick a child to sponsor by clicking on the picture.   Sign In or Create an Account to Enroll Once signed in, you can enroll or update your Community Rewards choice of Blessing Hands under your account settings. If you did it last year, you still have to enroll again each August. If you live in Kentucky, sign up now and choose Blessing Hands. If you are in another state, choose a good charity that also helps children.  Blessing Hands, www.blessing-hands.org  Email: bdcutts@blessing -hands.org  106 Timber Lane, Morehead, Ky 40351

Thanks!

Daguan Ling Our Students are Thankful For You I am Daguan Ling and my Chinese name is 凌大冠 。 I am a senior third student, I have already received Blessing Hands' help for three years. Maybe I can't use any impressive words to express what it is in my heart, but I can say that Blessing Hands is my best home where there are many people with a kind heart, and they only think about us, thinking of our study and our future.  I think every one who knows about the Blessing Hands should do their effort to provide for it. In the Blessing Hands' home, I can learn not only that people all over the world are one unit, but also everyone has a kind heart. I hope everyone can give another a hand so there is a more beautiful world in future years! Qinzhou, Guangxi, China Happy Thanksgiving We are very thankful for all of you who have given to our #GoodGivingGuide Challenge since November 13th.  From now until December 31, 2015, our friends will come together to raise money for classroom computers for Du'an Special Education School.  We need YOU to join us. It's a season of unprecedented nonprofit giving, and it's your chance to make a real difference for our students. In honor of Thanksgiving, Christmas and the year end, join many people who make their donations for the year. If you love children, you will love Blessing Hands.  By showing your love through this Challenge, you help sustain our amazing students, and give so much to our Chinese students. Join me in supporting our students from now until December 31 2015, by donating online on our special giving page. If we have the most unique donors and a high amount of funds raised in our category, we can receive a $5,000 award for our endowment fund at Blue Grass Community Foundation.  So far we have 11 donors and have raised $1,100 toward our $13,000 goal. Presently we are 43rd place in Most Unique Donors and 50th place in Most Dollars Raised. Just now a new matching challenge for $102 was posted from Suzi Deng. Match her donation to double the funds available for computers at Du'an Special Education School.  Give today to make a difference in a child's life! Another Student is Thankful Xuan Huang Dear Blessing Hands, I am glad to write to you again. With your help, I have finished three terms of study. Thank you for your help. I am a girl from countryside. Going to school is my dream, but I also have to face my sick father and my poor family. Luckily, I got your help. It really helped me and my family. Thank you. When I was a child, my father often told me to study, because it could change my life in the future. I never forgot his words. I will study hard, and I will remember your help forever.                                                             Xuan Huang 璇黄                                                                Yangshuo, Guilin, China Give to our students on our#GoodGivingGuide Donation Page.  Checks written to Blessing Hands should be mailed to 106 Timber Lane, Morehead, KY 40351. If they are over $100, with your encouragement, we can feature them as matching donation challenges. However, all funds given toward the $5,000 award must be made online.  Blessings and thanks,  Betty Cutts, Founder/Director of Blessing Hands Blessing Hands | www.blessing-hands.org | blessinghands@gmail.com 106 Timber Lane, Morehead, KY 40351