Corn Boil Weekend is a great opportunity for us to raise money to help charitable organizations. This year, we're donating to both Big Brothers Big Sisters of Marquette County and to the International Organization for Migration. We've included an overview of the organizations, but if you would like to know more about what they are doing or how you can contribute, feel free to email us.

This organization was recently discussed on the Oprah Winfrey Show. To see a slide show taken from that episode, click on this link: http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200702/20070209/slide_20070209_284_101.jhtml

Quotes taken from Oprah's website:

“One of the most dangerous jobs for child slaves is working on fishing boats. Seven days a week, 14 hours a day, the "fishing children" are ordered to risk their lives, Lisa says. Beginning each day at 4:30 a.m., the children—many of whom don't know how to swim—are forced to paddle long distances, dive into frigid waters and pull heavy fishing nets from lakes. Lisa says if all goes well, the children pull them up and collect the fish. "But sometimes the nets get caught, and that's when it becomes very, very dangerous," she says...

Richard Danziger—the head of counter-trafficking at IOM—says the government of Ghana doesn't have enough resources to fight the problem on its own. He says IOM uses donation money to pay for salaries for counselors, to aid in the rescues of children and to fund the rehabilitation period the children undergo.

Richard estimates that the number of children still enslaved in Ghana is in the high hundreds to low thousands. "This has been going on for decades," he says. "What has started as a sort of apprenticeship has now moved into what we call child trafficking or a form of slavery— just through the change in society, through the extra poverty."

IOM has received many calls and contributions to help the child slaves. Richard says the U.S. State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration funds IOM's program in Ghana, but it isn't enough money to help all the children. Richard says that the more contributions IOM receives, the more children it can help. "Ninety-three percent of the kids we've helped so far, they are back with their families, which is where children should be," Richard says.”

From the IOM website:

“Your (one-time donation) money will be channeled into a scholarship scheme for trafficked children who have proven to be highly motivated, attend class regularly, and excel academically in their respective schools. Scholarships will enable the children to attend secondary schools and in some cases tertiary instituations, depending on the extent of funds earmarked to support particular children.

Some one-time donations could be used to provide rehabilitation, reintegration, and follow-up assistance to the trafficked children.”

For Additional Info on this issue, visit:

http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200702/20070209/slide_20070209_284_101.jhtml

http://www.iom.int/jahia/Jahia/pid/1666

http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/projects/documents/indi_donors_faq.pdf

We are currently selling Ghanaian Jewelry at the store.

50% of the Profit from these sales goes back to Ghana. Part of this money will be used to ship books to a rural school in Ghana, and the rest will be donated to IOM to help them fight child slavery in Ghana.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is the oldest, largest and most effective youth mentoring organization in the United States. We have been the leader in one-to-one youth service for more than a century, developing positive relationships that have a direct and lasting impact on the lives of young people. Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors children, ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country - including yours.

The Big Brothers Big Sisters Mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that have a measurable impact on youth.

Our Mentoring Programs Work
National research has shown that positive relationships between youth and their Big Brothers and Big Sisters mentors have a direct and measurable impact on children's lives. By participating in our youth mentoring programs, Little Brothers and Sisters are:

• More confident in their schoolwork performance

• Able to get along better with their families

• 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs

• 27% less likely to begin using alcohol

• 52% less likely to skip school.¹

Calls come in every day from parents, teachers and guidance counselors. They know what a difference a mentor can make in a child’s life. Your gift can help make Big magic for children in your local community by:

• Helping us to recruit new Big Brother and Big Sister volunteers

• Ensuring that trained professionals match children to caring and responsible Bigs

• Offering one-on-one, ongoing supervision and support for every match

• Providing cultural and social activities to enrich the opportunities for children

And 92.2% of every dollar you give goes directly to making and supporting matches; the remainder covers overall program administration.

Think about a child who has wished for a Big Brother or Big Sister. Someone to have fun with and confide in. Someone to be a mentor. A guide. A friend. Now … think of how your gift could make a difference in that child’s life.

For more information visit: http://www.bbbs.org

We do have Raffle Tickets on sale in the Store at Lake Arrowhead to help Big Brothers Big Sisters. One ticket is $20, or you can get 3 for $50, or 7 for $100. You could win cash prizes of up to $1,200!