FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Focus America
Celebrates First Anniversary by
Adopting 1000 Children for Holidays
November 20, 2003-CONVENT
STATION, NJ: On the eve of their first
anniversary, a volunteer-run 501c3 charity announced that it has adopted
over 1000 children for the Holiday 2003 season. While the majority of children are adopted from agencies serving the NY/NJ
Metropolitan area, gifts will be sent as far away as South Dakota to a Lakota
Indian Reservation. All children that are being sponsored for the holiday
season are working within the system through various organizations
that work with
the needy identify families who otherwise would not have a holiday celebration
and help their children complete wish lists with three components: a want,
a need, and something educational. Volunteers “sponsor” a
child by shopping for items specified on the wish lists and delivering wrapped
and tagged gifts to one of several prearranged
drop sites the second week in December. "Last year, we sponsored
75 children so this is a huge jump for us in both volunteerism and logistical
management,” says Shelly Zimmerman,
President and Founder of Focus America. “This year, our volunteers
have aggressively tackled the season, enthusiastically working to recruit
sponsors for all of our children
since Labor Day weekend. My volunteers are determined to cross the 1000
child mark, hoping to touch the lives of these children who have so
little going
for them. A gift of happiness and hope to welcome the New Year is the goal.” Individuals and organizations interested in sponsoring children should
email gifts@focusamerica.org. About Focus America Founded in October 2002, Focus America selected Pembroke as their flagship
project, adopting the community after reading about their plight in The
New York Times. The first project was collecting and shipping 50 uniforms
to Pembroke, an extremely poverty-stricken community in Kankakee County,
Illinois, in order to help students return to the classroom after a uniform
dress code was implemented. Volunteers also collected and distributed food,
coats, hats, and Christmas presents during the 2002-2003 winter. Focus America provides community support through the talents, skills, and
dedication of an extensive network of volunteers, mostly college students
from Northern New Jersey as well as a few out-of-state universities. The
volunteers focus on addressing basic needs (shelter, food, and clothing)
then introducing mentor programs to help improve the self-esteem of the
hardest hit members of these communities: the children. Their ultimate
goal is to eliminate poverty in these communities while developing the
business skills of the volunteers who create, implement, and manage the
projects. For more information, contact Shelly Zimmerman at szimmerman@focusamerica.org
or visit their website at http://www.focusamerica.org. CONTACT: Shelly
Zimmerman, President and Founder
PO Box 267
Convent Station, NJ 07961
862-812-0648 (cell) or 973-993-8639 (home)
szimmerman@focusamerica.org
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