Sleeping Children Around the World
Our Dream: A world in which every child benefits from the comfort of a good nights sleep.
Our Mission: Through free-will donations and in partnership with our volunteers, we give bedkits to needy children in developing countries, thus helping them to face the challenges of the coming day.
Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW) is a Registered Canadian Charity founding in 1970 by Margaret and Murray Dryden.
Sleeping Children Around the World is operated by volunteers, from the processing of donations to the distribution of bedkits.
All administrative costs are covered by an investment account set up by Murray Dryden. We neither receive nor request funds from any level of government.
With zero overhead, SCAW guarantees that: 100% of every bedkit donation reaches a needy child.
$35 = ONE BEDKIT
Sleeping Children Around the World provided bedkits to children of any religion who will benefit most - typically located in underdeveloped and developing countries.
Each $35 donation (Canadian funds) provides one bedkit consisting of a mat or mattress, pillow, sheet, blanket, mosquito net if applicable, clothes outfit, towel and school supplies. Bedkit contents vary from country to country depending on local needs.
Every child is photographed with the bedkit and a label showing the donor's name and address and/or a special-occasion message. Each photograph is then mailed back to the donor, providing a timeless way for the donor to remember the child who so greatly benefited from their generosity.
Our Donors
Individual donors account for two-thirds of our donations. Churches, schools, service clubs, and corporate community represents the remaining one-third. Donations are tax deductible in Canada.
After you donate
Acknowledgment cards for special-occasion donations are sent as soon as possible. Tax receipts for donations are mailed within a few weeks. A photo of your bedkit recipient is mailed within four to six months. For special-occasion donations, you can specify a personal message and/or the name and address of the picture recipient.
SCAW VOLUNTEERS = ZERO OVERHEAD
Sleeping children Around the World is operated by volunteers, from the processing of donations to the distribution of bedkits.
Administrative Volunteers
Working out of the Dryden family home in Toronto, which has been donated to SCAW, administrative volunteers process donations, produce bedkit labels, and mail bedkit photos.
Travelling Volunteers
At their own expense and without benefit of a tax receipt, travelling volunteers supervise the distribution of bedkits, photograph children with their bedkits, and write articles for the donor newsletter. Since SCAW's inception, over 200 individuals have gone on bedkit distributions.
Requisites for travelling volunteers are a love of children and travel experience - with the physical and emotional capacity to withstand this form of travel. All pay their own travel expenses. Twice a year, SCAW offers volunteer information workshops. Should you be interested in travelling with SCAW, please contact us.
Oversees Volunteers
Volunteers in the country of distribution select children with the greatest need, organize the manufacture of bedkits, choose distribution sites, and help travelling volunteers distribute bedkits. Examples of overseas volunteers include groups such as Community Service Clubs, Salvation Army and Religious Orders.
Locally produced bedkits result in:
- elimination of transportation costs
- provision of materials and labour at minimal cost
- employment for families in the country
- assistance to the local economy and the country as a whole
SCAW Future Bedkit Distributions
(dates and numbers subject to change)
Jan 2011 Kolkata, India 6,500
Feb 2011 Pune, India 5,000
Feb 2011 Belgaum, India 4,000
Feb 2011 Chennai, India 6,000
Mar 2011 Kenya 5,000
Apr 2011 Philippines 6,000
May 2011 Togo 4,000
Jun 2011 Uganda 6,000
Jul 2011 Zimbabwe 4,000
Aug 2011 Tanzania 7,000
Sep 2011 Honduras 5,000
"There is nothing more peaceful than a sleeping child."
Murray Dryden knew how vital a few hours of comfort and sleep could be to help one forget the extremes of temperature, the hopelessness, the sickness, and the pangs of hunger. During the Great Depression in the 30's, while travelling East from Manitoba looking for work, he endured many nights without food or a bed. He felt that "the comfort of a bed is a basic right of every child."
His hobby of photographing sleeping childlren (his own and those of his friends) gave rise to the idea of a retirement project. He and his wife, Margaret, decided to provide bedkits to 50 children in India in 1970. The concept grew and eventually became the focus of their lives.
Many children in the world have needs; however, SCAW's mandate is to assist children in developing countries.
"I know the difference between being poor in Canada and being poor in Bangladesh. Remember they have no welfare system, no Medicare, and very few charitable organizations in these countries. It is when there is so little hope for people, such as those people in the developing countries, that we must work to improve conditions."
-Murray Dryden
How You Can Help
-Each $35 donation (Canadian funds) provides a bedkit for a child in a developing country
-Celebrate births, birthdays, graduations, weddings, anniversaries, retirements, Christmas or Hanukkah
-Offer a meaningful "in memoriam" Give as a thoughtful "thank you" for business associates, friends, relatives
-Raise funds to provide bedkits as a rewarding project for churches, schools, community organizations and families
-Make copies of SCAW printed material and pass on to friends, co-workers, clients, churches, service organizations, with a request that it be put on bulletin boards or in newsletters
-Invite a SCAW speaker to your meeting or event, or speak about SCAW yourself. Support materials are available - contact us
-Use our all-occasion cards for your correspondence Read and pass on Murray's book: "With God Nothing Is Impossible"
-Send an email to a friend with a link to our website - www.scaw.org
Contact Information:
Sleeping Children Around The World
28 Pinehurst Crescent , Toronto, ON M9A 3A5 Canada
Phone: 416-231-1841
Fax: 416-231-0120
Toll Free: 1-866-321-1841
Email: info@scaw.org
Web: www.scaw.org
RCC#: 13163 4396 RR 0001
Information may be picked up at the church office and we have special cards made up, that can be used as a gift card, stating that this is a special project of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Owen Sound.
Click here to read the latest live report from Nicaragua
