dev | The Gem Foundation

Giving Tuesday

Posted on December 1, 2020 at 3:25 am.

Written by dev

Giving Tuesday is here 🎉

HOME SWEET HOME

Today is Giving Tuesday, and we have a generous Matching Grant of $15,000!

This year we are raising money to build two assisted living homes for our adult Gems. This will be a place for our oldest Gems to continue to grow and reach their full potential — we are passionate about seeing our Gems thrive as adults! Every dollar you give will be matched up to $15,000!

Here is what you can do:

Share: share our social media posts, text a friend, or forward this email to someone you know!
Partner with us and give:

GIVE NOW

Would you partner with us? Please share our social media posts, spread the word, and be a part of providing a home for our oldest children as they turn into adults!

Love from Uganda,

Emma

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Home Sweet Home

Posted on December 1, 2020 at 3:25 am.

Written by dev

Home Sweet Home

I (Dwight) grew up in a small town in rural Western New York. Perry was a delightful – Hallmark movie type of small-town reminiscent of Andy Griffith’s Mayberry. Everyone knew each other, we could form a football team with just the kids on the street, the skating pond at the park had a smokey wood fireplace, and the downtown was buzzing at Christmas time. My memories of my hometown are filled with warmth, safety and joy. I wish everyone had a place to call home like I did.

This year the Gem’s moved to that type of “home-town”, Gem Village, a place of accessibility, warmth, safety and overflowing joy. The Gems went home because so many of you gave over and above to make it happen. Thank you for sending the Gems home!

“Home Sweet Home” is our year-end theme this year! The Gems are home but when they reach 18, they are required to leave the children’s homes. So, Emma & Josh came up with the solution. They planned and designed assisted living homes one hundred yards away from the children’s homes. A new subdivision of sorts in Gem Village, and we need your help to give our older Gems their homes.

GIVING TUESDAY kicks off our year-end drive, HOME SWEET HOME! Two couples offered to make a matching grant so we took them up on their offer of $15,000 that will apply to gifts on Giving Tuesday only.

Please share this great news as we work toward meeting this goal! Many of your friends will look for a place to give on Giving Tuesday but don’t know who they can trust. You know us, you know Josh and Emma and you know The Gem and the great work they do so please share away our social media posts and talk it up!

Let’s send the older Gems Home next Christmas!

Blessings! Dwight & Linny The Gem Foundation | US Operations

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Celebrate with Us!

Posted on November 11, 2020 at 3:38 pm.

Written by dev

Celebrate with Us!

MATCHING GRANT UPDATE

Can you believe Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away here in the states? Life is all a little different this year, but one thing that hasn’t changed is that we are super thankful for you. You did it! Together you met and exceeded the matching grant and together raised over $45,000. Jump up and down – we certainly are!

We thought it would take 20 days to raise the matching funds, but your generosity exceeded the goal in just five days. Your generosity gives us the ability to tell our contractors to get ready to put that shovel in the ground to begin Phase 2; talk about a home extreme makeover!

Remember, this is just the seed of Phase 2, the first 10%, to get the construction started. We will share more details in a few weeks about the entire project, with a preliminary cost of $400,000. But for now, let us all focus on “Thanks Giving”! We have so much to be thankful for if we fix our eyes on what is truly important! Celebrate God’s goodness with us!

Oh, by the way, expect a cuteness overload from our Gems for the next few weeks. We will be giving thanks for our Gems and the staff who serve and love the Gems so well! We are blessed to be able to do what we do!

From all of us: thank you, and a big virtual hug!

Love from AZ and Uganda!

– Dwight

Changing The World One Child At A Time

Executive Director US Operations The Gem Foundation John 15:13

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We’re Halfway There!

Posted on November 11, 2020 at 3:37 pm.

Written by dev

Assisted Living Home for Bethany

MATCHING GRANT UPDATE

This past weekend we shared our exciting news about a matching grant! We have been blown away that on day 4 of our Thanksgiving campaign – we have already raised $14,000 of our $20,000 goal. Wow! Only God!

If we are able to reach our goal then our corporate donor said they would give an additional $5,000! That means together we could raise the first $45,000 towards the homes that will allow us to give the go-ahead for construction set to begin in January of 2021.

Why Assisted Living Homes you may ask? In Uganda, by law, when a child reaches 18 years of age they “age out” of our children’s home and have no where to go. It is our deepest desire to provide a safe place for our oldest Gems as they become adults in order to continue to grow and thrive independently. We dream of amazing vocational skills they can learn and the joy of seeing our adult Gems reach their full potential.

Have you met Bethany? This past September, she turned 16 years old. She dreams of being a social worker when she grows up so that she can help others. She is the life of Gem and keeps us laughing. She loves to learn and school is her favorite. We can’t wait to see her achieve her dream of becoming a social worker.

In less than two years Bethany will age out of our children’s home. We are the only family she knows and so she will have no where to turn, but to us. We can’t leave her homeless – we need to do this together! For Bethany, Jerom, Pearl, Angel, Anita, Jane and Collins and Caleb and the many other Gems who will follow. Will you help provide and be a part of our Assisted Living Home for our oldest Gems?

We can’t do it without you. Every gift makes a difference towards us reaching our goal!

HELP US COMPLETE THE GOAL

Thank you for loving our precious Gems!

Love from Uganda, Emma

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Countdown To Thanksgiving

Posted on November 11, 2020 at 3:36 pm.

Written by dev

Countdown to Thanksgiving

20 DAY MATCHING CORPORATE CHALLENGE

I think you will agree, 2020 has been a difficult year for everyone. Loss of employment, loss of loved ones, and the loss of connection has affected everyone. It can be very discouraging. But let’s change our thinking and hearts by becoming advocates of Thanks-Giving! For the 20 days leading up to Thanksgiving find ways to express your thankfulness; write a friend, call a loved one, do a purposeful act of thankfulness for 20 days! At The Gem, we will purposefully be thankful each day!

We are also excited to announce, for the next 20 days The Gem Foundation needs to raise seed money, 10% of the cost of Phase 2, so that we can give the go-ahead to our contractors to begin building Assisted Living Homes for our Gems as they grow to adulthood and become 18 years old.

In Uganda our oldest Gems will be growing into adults and will be required by law to leave our children’s homes. Gem Village for many of our Gems is their forever home and we will not leave our adult Gems without homes. We have been planning for the day that our Bethany and Pearl turn 18 years old. We are excited to announce that our plan for the Assisted Living Homes includes two homes for our adult Gems and we need to raise the funds this year!

We must start in January 2021 with building Assisted Living Homes for Bethany, Pearl, Joram, Moses, Jane, Anita, Angel, and many more will follow as they grow up. It is important to raise the first 10% to enable us to begin site work as soon as the Medical Center is completed. In Uganda, if our contractors move to another job site it could take another year to get them back to us. We simply cannot afford that time delay.

A generous corporation has offered to match the first $20,000 given and will include an additional $5,000 if we reach our goal! Will you help us reach our goal?

DONATE

It’s simple math! For every dollar you give toward Gem Village in the next 20 days, the grant will match your gift dollar for dollar up to $20,000. And if we hit the goal, another $5,000 gift!

As always we are thankful for your partnership and truly couldn’t do it without you partnering with us!

Blessings from Team Gem,

– Dwight

PS: When you give, tell us something or someone you are thankful for on our FB or Instagram site! Let’s blow up social media with hearts filled with Thanksgiving!

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Gem Village | One Month Later

Posted on August 20, 2020 at 9:44 pm.

Written by dev

GEM VILLAGE

ONE MONTH LATER

Today marks one month since we moved our Gems home to Gem Village! We’ve had a very smooth transition and we are so thankful that our Gems are forever home.

Our Gems love spending the days strolling the sidewalks, playing in the sunshine and enjoying the village life!

The homes are spacious allowing our Gems to grow and thrive. Each of the three homes are fully wheelchair accessible. Each room was designed with our little ones in mind including picture windows that give our Gems an opportunity to see the world around them.

In each home we have 16 children. We are so incredibly thankful for these homes and all of the little details that make them special for our Gems. From pictures on the wall of each Gem in their home, to specialized bed signs to show them to their room, beautiful new blankets and sheets, towels and brand new clothes chosen especially for each Gem!

Before moving in our team worked tirelessly behind the scenes – cleaning, arranging furniture, and setting up the homes so that the transition would be as flawless as possible when moving 47 Gems!! Such excitement filled the air on moving day! We are so thankful for our team of videographers who captured the excitement and joy so perfectly! .

If you haven’t seen the video yet – then head on over to see it here:

To all of our donors, thank you again, we couldn’t have done it without you!

Love from Uganda,

Emma and Josh

Helping the Community Around Us

Posted on April 27, 2020 at 7:25 pm.

Written by dev

We want to thank everyone who gave to help us prepare for COVID-19. Uganda remains in total lockdown with all the borders closed and very strict guidelines. But because of your generosity it brings great comfort to know our Gems immediate needs have been provided for through your gifts! We are praising God for his protection over our Gems during this difficult season. During this lockdown not one of our Gems have fallen sick! This is truly a miracle, all glory to God!

Throughout Uganda, many families of children with special needs are struggling to put food on the table. With many families out of work due to the restrictions in place and the ban on public and private transport, all non-essential businesses have been closed! The result? Many families are going without food. We literally are seeing the need for vulnerable families of children with special needs going hungry and no idea where their next meal will come from.

We feel that we must act and do something! Let’s feed 100 families for the week of lockdown!
$20 = 1 week of food for a family of 4.

GEM SPECIAL NEEDS COMMUNITY OUTREACH

There are families like our precious Noah (see picture above) who was reunited with his mom this past summer need daily food. Also, remember our beautiful Leila who is thriving with her family. Our mission always has been to care of the disabled and help families with disabled children. Now is the time to act in our community. Would you consider joining us to help make sure children with special needs are not going hungry in our surrounding community? We are partnering with our friends at Special Children’s Trust to work together to accomplish this task.

$20 will provide food for a family of four for one week. We understand that things are hard for many of you, whether that’s job loss, cut hours, etc. so please don’t feel any guilt if you can’t give this time around! 🙂

We would love to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this season of uncertainty. Our goal is to raise $2,000 to provide food for 100 families for a week! Would you help us? Get involved today by giving to our community fund here:

GIVE TO THE COMMUNITY FUND

Please share this post with friends and family and help see vulnerable children with special needs celebrated and cared for in their communities! We will keep you updated on our Facebook page! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for valuing children with special needs and stepping up to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this season!

No Caffeine Week?!

Posted on February 17, 2020 at 10:59 pm.

Written by dev

Join us February 24th for something special! We’re giving up caffeine for a week and taking the money you would’ve spent and donating it to The Gem Foundation!

There is one simple rule: if you break down and drink caffeine, you double what you paid by donating another gift (voluntarily, of course).

Sign up here

Leila’s Story

Posted on December 5, 2019 at 4:35 am.

Written by dev

Leila joined our home in January 2019 after being severely malnourished and a victim of extreme neglect. She was sick, withdrawn, and scared.

Her empty eyes held so much heartache as they bore into each person she met

Yet because of our generous donors, Leila was able to receive emergency medical care, intense therapy and excellent nutrition. Leila was able to heal as she learned how much we love her, and how much Christ loves her.

Where is Leila now?

Little by little, Leila began to blossom! Leila began to talk, walk, and the best part of all – she started to smile! She has become the life of our home with her chatting, dancing, and praising Jesus! It has been such a beautiful story of redemption and transformation right before our eyes!

After more counseling, therapy and support Leila was able to say goodbye to our Gem family as she was reunited with her biological mama! God is so good, and we are so excited to see her accepted and loved not only by her family but the entire community around her!

Think about it, at the beginning of the year, Leila looked hopeless but today she has an entirely different story! Leila is healthy, talking, joyful, loved and adored and reunited with her family! Although we will miss having Leila in our home, we are so excited about the future for Leila!

We have 45 other children, just like Leila that we care for — and are taking in new children all the time. Want to see more children like Leila healed and cared for?

Give now!

The Gem Village | March Update

Posted on March 14, 2019 at 3:30 pm.

Written by dev

Today we are thrilled to share with you an update and video on the progress of Gem Village changing what was once just a vision to a reality… all because of YOU! The construction crews made up of a team of 45 have been digging by hand the foundation, laying the foundation brick upon brick, pouring the concrete floors and finally the walls have begun to rise up from the Ugandan soil!

The video is specifically of the walls of the Medical Center going up but we will place the Medical Center on hold until the additional funds are raised for the clinic. Don’t let the building stop here! We have a matching grant to get us closer to our goal.

Watch the video below to experience the thrill of seeing the walls of the medical clinic begin to rise out of the African soil. Each brick, every wall and all the concrete floors will declare God’s love for the Gems! We are beyond thankful for all you have sacrificed to make this vision a reality.

Financial update

Matching Grant: We are excited to announce that we have received a very generous offer of a $60,000 matching grant from a Foundation in California. If you’ve been thinking about making a donation for Gem Village now would be a great time to make it and to double your money! This will allow us to get closer to finishing the medical clinic.
Phase 1a cost: $739,000 includes 3 homes and the Medical Clinic
Phase 1a raised: $519,000
Phase 1a needed: $220,000

The matching grant will get us much closer to completing the Medical Clinic. If you know of anyone who may be able to help: your church, small group, friend, coworker – please share away. Together with God – all things are possible!

Please celebrate with us all that God is accomplishing through ordinary people in creating the Gem’s forever homes. Thank again for loving, giving and praying for our precious Gems!

Donate to The Gem Village

God Bless you All, – Dwight & Linny and Joshua & EmmaLee