Help Traumatized Palestinian Children

Now is the time of year when people give to causes they support.  We hope you will be generous in your gifts to the American Friends of the Spafford Children’s Center through GlobalGiving at https://goto.gg/31839.

In December, if you begin a recurring monthly gift, GlobalGiving will match it for one month.  Your end of year contribution of $50 becomes $100!  AFSCC will be grateful to receive your monthly donation through 2019.  Your donation each month will help the Spafford Children’s Center in Jerusalem provide tutoring to Palestinian children who attend schools with class sizes of 50 or more; will assist mothers who want training in ways they can reinforce the learning of their children at home, and will go toward cultural activities like art and dance that allow traumatized children to express their joys and fears.

AFSCC’s Chair, Rev. Matthew Dayton-Welch visited the Spafford Children’s Center recently. Here is his report.

Last month I spent several days at the Spafford Children’s Center in Jerusalem and Bethany to witness firsthand the impact that the SCC—and our donations—make for many underserved children. In Jerusalem, the center was bustling, with every classroom occupied. Children were receiving the personalized academics for which the SCC is so renowned. (They even let me teach an Arabic lesson.) In the auditorium, musicians from a local orchestra performed lively Palestinian folk tunes as children and mothers clapped along. In the dance room, a dozen girls were learning ballet and, in the halls, mothers were making new friends.

The center in Bethany, a close suburb of Jerusalem, serves a different set of needs. Its clientele are West Bankers and most are unable to access the resources once available to them in Jerusalem, so SCC-Bethany offers them the same tailored academic support and therapeutic resources, while also providing quality pediatric healthcare. Recent US funding cuts to UN agencies like UNRWA has resulted in unmet needs among Palestinians. The vaccine refrigerator in Bethany, for instance, is nearly empty. The work of SCC has never been more important. With your help, the SCC can see that children in Jerusalem and the West Bank are provided the opportunity to dream—like all kids should.

(No donated funds are used by board members who visit SCC).

Give as generously as you can—a one-time gift or a monthly donation—to the American Friends of the Spafford Children’s Center through GlobalGiving at https://goto.gg/31839.