Adopt-A-Cot because Babies Lives Matter!

Dear friends and incredible supporters of TLC.

It is with great sadness that we communicate that TLC will come to an end, unless there is dramatic intervention. After 25 years of dedicated, passionate advocacy for the right of every baby to a family, it is our privilege to know that over 900 babies never needed to know the horror of lifelong institutional care.

Many of you have followed our challenges over the last few years but here are a few of the big ones that each added their own weight to the problem:

• Insufficient income. Despite our best efforts to create a financially stable institution, the costs increased faster than we could cover with donations. The lack of proper State support and the rejection of our R4 million lotto application at the very last hurdle was a huge set back.
• The increasingly hostile attitude of politicians around the world toward adoption and the increasing incapacity of State Social Service structures has increased the average length of stay for children at TLC from 6 months to between 25 and 33 months. This has a huge impact on the investment needed to maintain the high quality of care for the 36 children at TLC.
• Sadly, the proverbial straw that broke the camels back is the damaged relationship between TLC’s founder, Thea Jarvis and the rest of the management team at TLC.

Our current situation is that we are about US$ 72,000 (R1 million) in debt, with costs piling up daily, as we are US$ 26,000 (R350,000) short every month of what we need to cover our costs.

To even open the conversation of the child and youth care centre remaining operational, we need to pay off our debts of roughly US$ 72,000, and secure committed, reliable funding of US$ 26,000 a month (which equates to 3,500 adopted cots, please see attachments). You can donate today and get your donation matched by GlobalGiving, for Giving Tuesday.

Should we not receive this funding, we will bring TLC to a close in 6 months, which gives us time to facilitate the responsible closure of operations to ensure the best available outcome for each baby and staff member currently at TLC. 

We will keep you updated with the way forward as we walk this slow and painful path. Thank you for walking it with us.

Pippa Jarvis

Links:

• Donate today