The world of the internet creates instant connections, fast information and compelling press coverage. Those are the positive components of this wonderful and crazy time we live in where people expect and can obtain service faster than I can write these words. Want a document translated? Google Translate will do it for you in sixty seconds or less. Can't find your favorite restaurant in the behemoth geographic area known as New York City? Click your favorite directional app and the information is in the palm of your hand.
In this new age that is lived in nanoseconds of gratification, we as a nonprofit can't afford (literally) to delay in getting information to prospective donors. Philanthropically minded people want to know who, where, why and when their money will/could/should be spent.
In the interest of time, we won't give you graphs, lists and lectures. You can access information detailing our financial and administrative transparency by clicking on the GoodGiving logo to the right of this blog post.
And just in case you still need some tangible evidence that Children of the Americas performs big miracles on little people, here is Celee.
In this photo, taken when Celee was discovered in her village (left) she was wrapped in soiled rags that were tied around her stomach because of a birth defect that could not be surgically repaired in Guatemala. Celee's mother loved her daughter enough to trust Children of the Americas to fly her baby to New Jersey, live with a COTA foster family, get her donated surgery accomplished and return her when we were done working our miracles.
Which is exactly what we did. A baby who was living in the mountains of Guatemala with a hole in her abdomen is now back in the arms of a mother who was both loving and desperate all in the same measure. The trust Celee's mother had is something COTA has earned time and again...over 110 times in fact; one sick child who is returned to a Mayan mother at a time.
Children of the Americas leaves for our next medical/surgical/dental team trip in two months. There will be more mothers with sick babies waiting for us. There always are.
The portal to donate toward this upcoming mission trip is here.
COTA Fundraiser Link
Transparency is a wonderful thing.
So is Celee's smile.
Special thanks are in order to COTA volunteer Nate Whipple from Colorado. Nate is an active and enthusiastic member of our fundraising committee. Those of you who do not know Nate can be reassured that if Nate puts his trust in an organization, you can also. By creating the power point above, he was able to explain what we do and why we do it. The timing for explaining Children of the Americas to prospective donors is perfect. Our annual fundraiser continues until the end of December.
Donations made during this important period will be used for our upcoming medical/surgical/dental team in Salama, Guatemala. This child was helped by COTA because donors understood that a life lived with chronic health issues is a life lived with missing potential. Our donation portal can be found here: GoodGiving Challenge. After watching the powerpoint, and visiting our donation portal, if you still need some inspiration, you will want to remember that Guatemala has the highest rate of pediatric malnutrition in all of Central America. 
