Working in the non-profit sector helping across the world in the poorest areas, I often ponder on the difference a normal "working joe" can make. After all, most of us are not able to fund extensive development projects, costing millions! Most of us couldn't take off for a year or two and volunteer our time and knowledge. So can I as an "average American" really make a difference with my $50 or less?

I can answer that with a shouted - yes, you can. How? Simple. Sponsor a child through Star of Hope (my organization) or another organization you trust. You see, our interest shows up in the life of the child we support. That child receives hope in the knowledge that someone cares. They feel a sense of responsibility to do well for their sponsor.

Don't do nothing because you believe you can't change the world. The only gift that doesn't make a difference, is the gift not made.

Barry W Borror
President & CEO

Assortment of thoughts for the New Year

Here it is a big "Thank you", to all of you who has sponsored Star of Hope during 2013.
Without you we could not change lives just like the young girl in the photo, she represents one of our 30,000 kids. She was so happy she is made a sign. That's happy.

The violence reported in Argentina has long since calmed down and things are back to "getting back to normal", I wonder what would happen if all the police in your country would go on strike, all at the same time. In any case the projects reported no damages but as you might recall the staff emptied everything from the outlaying places. It was good planning and diligence by the Staff in Argentina that minimized the risk at Star of Hope Argentina.
The work after the disaster in the Philippines continues, the medical teams have gone home and the rebuilding efforts are under way. Maria Presson will have a look in the affected areas in a few weeks so we will hear firsthand how the efforts are shaping up. Also we will send about 27 tons of roofing materials.

Pastor Ben Mergano, a staff pastor in the Philippines passed away just before Christmas. He was a good friend of mine and a role model. He was poor but had much integrity, when we together in 2005 built over 400 homes and apartments and of course the school after devastating mud slides and typhoons he worked relentlessly always putting others before himself. Pastor Ben would always find someone who was needier to help before he allowed us to help him in any way. He was much loved by all in "Real, Quezon Province Philippines". I am a better man for knowing him. We are covering the funeral costs and a small nest egg for the family, please help if you like.

Thank all of you who gave to the Christmas catalog this year it has been the best year ever for giving and we can't wait to get all the photos and reports back; so together we can see and know how many lives we touched. I often wonder about a hen I gave in 2008, how many offspring that one hen has produced, I bet it's a very large number by now.
Haiti is approaching the 4th year anniversary since the earthquake that destroyed so many of our projects; our schools, Churches and tarnished the lives of countless children. Due to the combined efforts of the Star of Hope family, you the donor and the grace of God we have realized some astounding works in Haiti, new wells, churches, schools and a renewed signal that we are in it for the long haul. Whatever it takes, we will do to produce Godly men and women who are educated and have a fighting chance to break the chains of poverty with their education.

Yearend giving was up and we thank you, this extra giving we hope has extra advantages for you as we are so extra grateful for this type of giving as it allows us to do more good works that otherwise would never be done. A new well, a set of 600 school books; a party the list goes on and on.

We are always ready to talk about legacy giving with you. Yes it's a somber topic but it should be fun! Simple accounts or more complex instruments like a charitable trust or a fund. All these gifts represent a powerful and meaningful way for you to create a philanthropic legacy for your family or yourself. Perhaps you have land, oil or capital investments you have contemplated "doing something different with", if this is you let's talk.

It makes me happy that each day we are able to help so many children earn an education and learn more about Christ. In the US we talk about the education system, our children's education, and college costs all while the older segments talk about continuing education for themselves. It is arguable that education is directly connected to income. In Christian circles it is always continued learning and relationship building. So it feels right that so many people are concentrated on education as that is what we do every day!

JOIN US BECOME A SPONSOR

A lot of children in the local communities are very happy and blessed when they have a sponsor! You can be one of those who change a child's life.
Blessings to you and yours.

Mark Presson

Please see, https://www.starofhope.us/give for latest news on this section.

With 30,000 kids to look after, a charge that comes with insuring they become educated men and women of God it is important to know where we stand as far as needs are concerned. Here is a list of the top needs for 2014 and beyond, if anything strikes a cord or if God taps you on the shoulder please give us a call and lets talk it over.

Top Needs 2014 and beyond.

We have had a wonderful 2012-2013 with many projects completed. We were blessed with funds for new construction projects including Churches, Schools, and water projects, as well as seed and tool projects and more. Our main thrust is always the 30,000 kids in our schools, learning their abc’s as well as hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our Vision is a world where all children have an opportunity to become educated, healthy adults, get involved in their communities and share their love of Jesus Christ.

We depend on your time, talent and treasure. Without you, the kids would not be in school and our extra important projects would never have a chance, so thank you and God bless you.

Our desire is that you become a sponsor. That is what we need to make is possible to help kids around the world. $30 a month will fill the need for one child!

Top needs for extra projects include:

1.            Hesse Church. An additional $50,000 needed

Hesse church is under construction and scheduled to be completed within a few months. The additional funds are needed to make the building a little nicer and provide the furnishings like benches.

A gift to this project will greatly encourage the church people and children who have been holding worship under a tarp since the earthquake in 2010.

2.           Repair to 4 other Haitian Churches. $80,000 needed

There are simple church buildings in each of the other project communities, where we work. These buildings are all in need of repairs. Some paint, some structural repairs, others roof repair or furnishings.

This project will provide clean up and repairs to various church buildings and result in bringing Glory to God as the people see that God does provide.

3.           Four (4) classrooms for Bois Negresse school. $76,000 needed

The Bois Negresse school is in one of the poorest communities where we work. We have been able to procure land and build a 4 classroom preschool building with kitchen and dining area. The kids in grades 1-6 have been meeting under a shed without walls for the past two years. A youth group in Sweden has raised the first $38,000 to build 2 classrooms. We need to build two more units, each with 2 classrooms to complete the school. Each unit of 2 classrooms is $38,000.

4.           Build new children’s home to replace one that we have to vacate. $375,000 needed

This is the Carrefour children’s home for 100 kids. They have to vacate the property which they did not own. The government has made land available outside the city. Other donors have pledged or given half of the total cost of $750,000. The balance we need is $375,000.

This will build 4 group homes, each holding 20 children and an apartment for a set of house parents. The project also includes a dining/study hall and office/guest house.

5.           School Based Community Health Pilot Project- Haiti. $25,000 needed

This project has been conceived to meet the need of helping the children grow up healthy. It is not an acute care project, but rather education and community (public) health.

6.           Pastor and Christian Workers Seminar. $15,000 needed

This provides a retreat setting for the Haitian pastors and workers. They will sit under the teaching of men from the USA and or Sweden. It includes the cost of the facility, transportation for the men, food and materials costs.

7.           Child Evangelism & Discipleship Training. $97,500 needed

This project will make sure that each child has a Bible. Each teacher has training in child evangelism and child discipleship training. Since this is a startup project for us that we intend to replicate world-wide, I estimate the cost to be $25 per child. We have 3,900 children presently in our projects in Haiti.

The dream is to expand this all 30,000 children we work with worldwide. The cost for that will reach $600,000.

8.            Christian Youth Complex in Argentina. $1,500,000 needed

This project now has a 500 strong church body, however they meet in a tent and it is overflowing. The Church in the Chaco province is concentrating on winning souls in the Church and on the streets. The young pastor and his whole team are on fire. The church building within the complex is expected to run $250,000 or about 15% of the total project. They are growing fast and they need a real church building.

This church will have multiple uses and is tied to the Christian sports activities as well. The dream is to get the church built at create a soul winning machine in northern Argentina.

9.           School books in all countries. $500,000 needed

Every year school books cost more and it does not matter where in the world you are. The need is endless and we always need funding for school books to produce graduates.

10.         Romanian family conferences and bible classes. $40,000 needed

Starting in September 2013, in Dorohoi, Romania, we have begun Bible classes we have planned for some time. We want to do expand these outreach efforts.

In Romania (and Moldova), Star of Hope is improving the lives of children with special needs. We are also working to keep children off the streets. The center is changing lives and we want to empower the team much more.

11.         Church support in rural Philippines. $15,000 needed

We support a school and a church in western Quezon province of the Philippines. Pastor Ben Mergano who spearheaded the work passed away last December, however his work continues and we want the work to prosper.

12.         Church support vehicles in Argentina and Haiti. $80,000 needed

Some projects have a real need for vehicles, in these countries the roads are terrible and reliable transportation is a must for Church and School work.

We have many other smaller projects not listed here so please give us a call and tell us what your interest is. ( 1 866 653 0321) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Blessings and thanks.

Staff, Star of Hope

Donate Now

On Dec 1, 2013 I was privildged to be part of the dedication and inaguration of the new church campus in Rigaud, Haiti. It was a joyful time, celebrating how God heard His people's cry and saw their distress. He provided a new place to gather following the loss caused by the 2010 earthquake. It was a joyous time and you can see pictures and read about it by clicking here.

Returning to Tony and Myrtha's home just after dark, we were talking about the events taking place and how excited we were to see how God had provided. Getting close to our destination, bouncing down the rough road, our headlights illuminated a young boy, maybe 7 years old on the side of the road. We were busy with our own conversation and didn't pay much heed to him.

As we passed by we glanced at him and noticed his head was down and his eyes were darting to and fro over the rough dirt road. As we passed our impression was that he was crying. As we rounded the next corner, Tony and I both commented that he probably lost a coin that his mother had given him to go to the corner merchant and buy something that family needed for dinner. He will be in big trouble for losing the money when he returns home. For us it would not have been much. He might have had a 1 gourde coin (about 2 cents). Maybe he was sent to buy one bullion cube to season the evenings rice and beans. We will never know because we didn't stop.

As we sat in our airconditioned car, waiting for someone to open the gate into Tony's home, we looked at each other and both said almost in unison, we should have stopped. We should have stopped to lend a light for that boys search. We should have stopped to meet his need. We easily could have given him a few gourdes to replace his loss. But we didn't because we were too busy.

That feeling of regret is as strong as the joy of the celebration we had with the 500 people who came to dedicate the new church building.

I have committed to be more aware of people. Don't let regret live alongside the celebration of Christ's birth. See the needs, hear the cries and take steps to help. I can always do something.

I pray that you will have a blessed Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. I encourage you to be aware of people around you. You may be the blessing that someone needs.

As I have been pondering how to condense what we in Star of Hope are accomplishing into a short phrase, I have found it difficult. Like many non-profits we seem to be pretty good at telling you what things we are doing but not what we are actually accomplishing.

This exercise in creating a short blurb message has been a good one for me to work on because it helps me focus. After looking at all the things we have going on - quite a remarkable list itself - I have come up with a phrase I like. "We are helping kids change the world" Then I thought to myself, really? That's quite a statement.

As I researched more, I found it is true. It fits in with measuring success one child at a time.

I found this Blog by my good friend Dennis Thern that highlights this well. Read his blog Success Stories from the Philippines by Dennis Thern

My next blog I will tell you more of how I decided that we really do help kids change the world. Barry Borror President & CEO

As you consider the charitable gifts you will make to close out the year, I ask you to please remember Star of Hope and our work on behalf of children across the world.

Now 2021 is quickly coming to an end, and 2022 will be here before we know it. We get caught up in the "end of year" activities and we forget about making year-end gifts.
These gifts, large or small, are important to us as it allows our work to blossom and the return on investment is seen in the children's eyes.
Looking over your charitable giving plans between now and Dec. 31 can help assure maximum benefits for you and your family as well as Star of Hope. Giving sometimes helps you meet personal goals as well spiritual goals.

There are many ways you can make a gift before the end of the year that will provide you with valuable benefits and help further the work.
These benefits include tax savings on this year's return and bypass of capital gains tax on the sale of your property.
Here are three options for year-end giving:

A. Make a deductible gift of cash

While all gifts mailed or hand-delivered by Dec. 31 qualify for the charitable deduction, gifts of cash are the most common and the easiest way to give. If you itemize your tax deductions, gifts of cash are deductible up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income (AGI).

B. Make a deductible gift of securities
Making gifts of stocks, bonds, and/or mutual funds directly to Star of Hope can bring extra tax savings. If you have held such assets for longer than one year, the gift can be deducted at full fair market value, not just the original cost. Giving this way enables you to bypass capital gains tax. Gifts of securities are deductible up to 30 percent of AGI. Please ask your expert too.

C. Make a deductible gift of real estate and avoid taxes
If you own appreciated real estate that you no longer need, consider gifting this property to Star of Hope for the benefit of your personal cause whether it be; education, health, spiritual leadership, or other. Star of Hope will sell your property tax-free, and you will receive a charitable tax deduction for the fair market value of the property and avoid paying capital gains tax.

Now is also a good time to review your estate plan as well, will you leave a legacy?
Many want to make an impact on the world, to leave it in a better state after we are gone. A bequest is one of the easiest ways to have a lasting impact on the people and organizations that mean the most to you. You can create a bequest of any dollar amount, gift specific property, or designate a percentage of your estate in your will or trust.
Ten percent can make a big impact. Your generosity will make a difference for years to come.

These are but a few examples of what we plan for the New Year;

• Get more youth bibles in children's hands

• Water wells in Haiti and Argentina

• New building in Argentina

• Enhanced nutrition for our kids

• Training and services to families caring for children with disabilities - Romania

• Teacher training

• Economic opportunities for people in Haiti and Argentina

• Alpha classes all over the world

• Lunch program needs a refill

Contact Mark Presson on 620 204 1865 or 1 866 653 0321 for more information on year-end gifts.

God Bless you and Happy New Year

Star of Hope

 Donate and give a year-end gift here

Checks to Star of Hope

PO Box 427 

Ellinwood KS 67526 (postmarked before the new year!

Speak to the CEO Mark Presson - call 866 653 0321 and leave a voice note