Helping Sylvia’s Children Bring Joy to the World

The summer season is barely over, but for the volunteers of Sylvia’s Children, it is never too early to start planning for the Christmas holidays. The charitable organization, founded by Holmdel resident, businesswoman, and philanthropist Sylvia Allen, supports the students – many of them orphans – at the Mbiriizi Advanced Primary and Day Care School in Uganda, providing them with the basics of education, healthcare, safety, lodging, and food, and teaching them vital, self-sustaining work and life skills. Over the course of 14 years, since Allen was first “adopted” as the children’s honorary grandmother while visiting the area on a humanitarian trip, the student population has grown from 439 to more than 1,400. During that time, Sylvia’s Children has accomplished remarkable, monumental projects for the school and the students, including the construction of a fresh well, new classrooms and housing, a kitchen, chicken coops, a sewing facility, a library, a playground, a medical clinic, and more. The organization has also been able to provide scholarships to allow students to achieve something that would have previously been an impossible dream: higher education.

But to the children, perhaps the most eagerly anticipated events of the year are the two annual trips that Allen makes to visit them – one in June and the other in November – each time bringing with her a group of other enthusiastic volunteers who strive to make a difference in the lives of these youngsters.

For the November trip, Sylvia’s Children organizes a Christmas party for the children and faculty members, where each and every student gets to enjoy a special meal and receive gifts. Every girl gets a new dress and every boy gets a new shirt; often, these are the only gifts they ever receive. Additionally, each child is given a goody bag filled with treats like candy, crayons, stickers, Mardi Gras beads, sunglasses, kazoos, and pencils. The celebratory meal features cake, soda, rice, and meat sauce – a rare specialty for children who usually only get to eat meat twice a year, at the June collective birthday party and the November Christmas party. The festivities also include lots of singing, dancing, smiles, and hugs!

If you would like to lend support in bringing holiday cheer to the students of Mbiriizi Advanced Primary and Day Care School, this is your chance and it takes so little. For a donation of just $45, you can provide one shirt, one dress, and two goody bags to make two children happy. Or you can provide a dress, which costs $17, or a shirt for $13. Treat-filled goody bags are $7.50 each. Perhaps you – or a group of family members, neighbors, friends, or coworkers – would be able to make a more significant contribution. If so, $500 can buy the meat for the holiday dinner and $900 can provide gifts for 75 students in grades preschool through seven and 50 faculty members.

Besides donations – 100% of which go directly to the school – Allen is also seeking people who would be willing to roll up their sleeves and join the November excursion as hands-on volunteers. The upcoming trip is scheduled for November 8 through 21, 2018 and it promises to be the trip of a lifetime, where participants are sure to impact not just the lives of the Ugandan children, but their own lives, as well. In addition to touring the school and the village, volunteers will spend time serving meals, handing out gifts, interacting with the students, and assisting with various tasks to carry out the organization’s mission. Both medical and non-medical professionals alike are welcome to join each trip and lend their enthusiasm, time, and talent. During the trip, travelers also take part in a three-day safari experience at Mweya Lodge in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth Park. The all-inclusive cost for the entire trip is $3,750 and includes airfare from the New York area, lodging, meals, ground transportation, travel visa, tips, and the safari.

Doug Brown, the general manager of Brown’s Heating, Cooling, & Plumbing in Little Silver that services clients throughout Monmouth and Ocean Counties, has been on 11 of the Sylvia’s Children trips, including the most recent one in June with a group of five volunteers, and is a proud supporter. He has seen firsthand the difference that the organization is making in these children’s lives and the incredible spirit and love of learning it has inspired. He says, “I needed to get back to these children. They bring so much joy into my life!” While there on the latest summer trip, he looked into ways that his company and the services they provide could help, one of which was the creation of their own fundraiser to benefit Sylvia’s Children and the November party. Originally dubbed “Christmas in July,” it proved to be so well-received, it was extended for another month. During the months of July and August, Brown’s Heating, Cooling, & Plumbing donated a portion of every service call they made and helped spread the news about the organization and its efforts through the company website and Facebook page.

In a statement in which he detailed Sylvia’s Children and the work they do, Brown explained, “We believe there’s no better definition of success than serving a purpose and filling a need in the world while doing what you love. But we also understand that it can be difficult, as a homeowner, to find extra funds for so many causes when mortgage, bills, and myriad other things demand so much time and money. That’s why we at Brown’s have made it possible for our customers to be a part of our giving back program, without changing anything that you’re currently doing, and at no additional cost.” He encouraged customers to either donate directly to Sylvia’s Children or to schedule a summer service appointment so that they could donate on the customer’s behalf. Clearly, Doug Brown and his company have found a cool way to bring the warmth of the season to those who need it most!

For more information about Sylvia’s Children, to make a donation, or to travel as a volunteer, visit www.sylviaschildren.org, follow Sylvia’s Children on Facebook, call 732-946-2711, or email sylvia@sylviaschildren.org.