Aimed at helping children around the world with educational assistance, our registered charity for children has a heartwarming story behind it.
At five years of age, little Julia,
(whose favorite color is pink by the way) had already developed
compassion for those less fortunate than herself. Wanting to help, she
began saving her money to give to poverty stricken children. Julia saved one thousand, seven hundred pennies!
At
that same time, my husband Jim and I were planning our trip to Kenya,
Africa. This was in fulfillment of a life long desire of mine to see the
children of Africa and their needs.
Jim and I were humbled to be
asked to carry Julia's money with us to Kenya with the promise that we
would be sure it met a need there.

While in Garissa, Kenya, I had the honor of meeting Rukia Mohamed Affey.
Rukia is a remarkable woman whose dream is to empower the women,
orphans, and poverty-stricken families in her community, most having
been touched directly by the HIV/AIDS pandemic spreading throughout the
continent.
We were able to purchase three soccer balls at the local market with
Julia's money and donate them on her behalf to Rukia's school. Rukia and
the children were most appreciative of the gift. The school had no
sports equipment, and the children wadded up plastic bags to play with.
During
the three weeks that I volunteered at the school, Rukia asked many
times about Julia and her family. She absolutely marveled at such a
small child wanting to help others.
Out of their poverty, the
school staff had two Somali style dresses made for us to bring back to
Canada for Julia. This gesture of thanks was well received by Julia and
her parents.
Jim and I were deeply touched by the many needs of these beautiful African children. I knew we had to do something more to become actively involved in helping children around the world. Matching Julia's desire with our own seemed like the next logical step and so The Julia Project was born as a nonprofit charity for children.
I think there might be other children like Julia and other adults like
Jim and I who can help. If a little Canadian girl could save 1,700
pennies, what can you and I do towards helping children around the
world? I challenged myself with that very question.
Being an avid
gardener, I decided we would host our first fundraiser – a Garden
Party. It was such a successful event our guests were anticipating a
repeat party the next year with enthusiasm and excitement. It looks as
though we'll be hosting the Garden Party as an annual event for our children's charity.
As
Julia's pennies showed, a little can change a lot. Help us change a
child's life by donating to our children's charity today. Become
involved with us in helping children around the world.
I invite you to take a look around our site, and get a feel for who we are and what we're doing.
Together we can make a difference!
All the best - Jill
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FIVE FOR FIVE
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Julia and Founder, Jill Carty
Julia, our charity's namesake, and I, extend a warm welcome to you.
We'd love to hear from you!
Please share your comments

New books for African students in Garissa, Kenya.
Haitian students with new books supplied by The Julia Project after the January 12, 2010 earthquake.
African school children have their first try at baseball, with Founder, Jill Carty.

Julia packing donations destined for Mishkeegogamang Reserve in Northern Ontario, Canada.
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