Update on the Don and Birdie Reeder Global Emergency Fund

Rather than moving on to more hilarious stories and observations, I wanted to update you about the good works that the Don and Birdie Reeder Global Emergency Fund have helped finance during the last couple of years. Profound observations, like who’s the best captain of the Enterprise, Kirk or Picard, or why Joan Jett was cool but not Pat Benatar, will have to wait for another day.

Anyone who ever knew my mother or knew anything about her knew that she had an incredible gift for connecting with and caring for children. Not only did she spend most of her life working with children here in Texas, she put that gift to use throughout the world on numerous mission trips. These allowed her to love and care for so many orphans and impoverished little children whom the world had forgotten.

So when she died in 2007, my family helped establish the Don and Birdie Reeder Global Emergency Fund as a means to honor her and carry on her work with children all over the world. Children’s Emergency Relief International (“CERI”) administers and maintains the Fund, and uses it as part of its overall mission efforts to aid children throughout the world. We are particularly gratified that our former pastor, Dr. Dearing Garner, CERI’s Executive Director, personally reviews every proposed Fund disbursement to ensure that it fulfills a purpose that our mother would approve. He has stated that he has one overriding criterion for approving a requested expense-“would Birdie have approved?”

Initially, CERI, with my approval and Dr. Garner’s direction, primarily used the Fund to address individual emergency situations. A child here or a family there facing a necessary living expense that they couldn’t meet. Other examples included money to apply for a college course or for glasses. CERI and Dr. Garner let their local workers in the various countries in which they operate know about the Fund, and encouraged them to apply for disbursements meeting the requisite criteria. During this initial period, we encountered a problem-the field personnel were reluctant to request grants. For some time, and at the time I last posted about the Fund, it ran a surplus. Though the Fund was helping people, it definitely had the potential to have a greater impact.

Fortunately, the in country workers seem to have gotten the message. Not only have Fund grants greatly increased, but we were able to expand the Fund’s scope beyond emergency reimbursements. Yet, at the same time, the Fund continues to maintain a relatively good balance, though one that I’d dearly love to see replenished.

Among other needs, the Reeder Fund has made possible the following:

*construction of two new, modern houses for needy families in Sri Lanka and Chiapas, Mexico;
*acquisition of and administering medicine and medical supplies in, and supporting medical missions to, Mexico, Moldova, Nigeria, and the Central African Republic;
*meeting living needs such as rent, medical care, groceries and school application fees in Moldova;
*planting sustainable gardens in South Africa; and
*construction of wells and water and sewage facilities in Sri Lanka.

I hope soon to post some photos showing these projects.

CERI directs much of its efforts, including these emergency expenditures, towards projects that help combat conditions leading to child trafficking. Poverty and lack of parents can make adolescents particularly vulnerable to this scourge. So the Reeder Fund’s primary goal has been and remains addressing personal situations that could easily deteriorate and make these children vulnerable. Such as when a teenager’s parents die or abandon them, or when they lack resources but cannot work. You can read about one such story in which the Reeder Fund played a role by clicking here.

I hope that the Fund will support more great works in years to come. Dr. Garner told me that the “Reeder” name has, through the Fund, acquired a certain reputation and locals have come to look to the Fund for help when children face dire situations that could threaten their welfare and survival. So an opportunity exists for the Fund to continue helping children with needs in years to come. Mom would have been extremely happy about that.

As we head towards the end of the year and you consider making charitable donations, I hope you will consider participating in the Reeder Fund’s efforts in some small way through a donation, or through making your friends aware of this project. You can read about the Fund, and contribute, at this link.

Thanks very much for reading this, and hopefully everyone will have a great Thanksgiving!