Show HOPE Fact Sheet

A ministry founded by Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman
www.ShowHope.org

Show HOPE^TM Mission Statement: 

To care for the millions of orphans around the world, Show Hope is a ministry that mobilizes individuals and communities to care for orphans and provide waiting children with families by giving grants to those adopting.

About Show HOPE:

• An orphan care and adoption ministry founded by Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman in 2001 and named after their now 9-year old daughter, Shaohannah Hope, whom they adopted from China in 2000
• In February 2003, Shaohannah's Hope, now called Show HOPE, became an official 501c3
• Since its inception, Show HOPE has financially helped provide forever homes for over 2,000 orphans from 40 countries, including the U.S., resulting in a truly worldwide impact. Yet, still so much assistance is needed!
• As of spring of 2009, the adoption assistance program receives at least 150 new adoption assistance grant requests monthly, averaging $450,000 a month in financial requests, at a $3000 average grant per family
• Current monthly budgets range from $50,000-$125,000, helping 15-40 qualified Christian families each month. This amount adjusts often, depending on contribution support.
• Through Show HOPE, over 40 countries have been adopted from, such as: Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, China, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan, Vietnam
  

Maria's Big House of Hope - Opened its doors July 2, 2009

Located in Luoyang, China, this healing home is dedicated to saving the lives of special needs orphans within the Henan province, one of the poorest provinces in the country with a population of around six million people. At 60,000 square feet and six stories tall, this building is equipped with everything needed to care for these special needs orphans. When at full capacity, there are 128 beds with 190 nurses and nannies on staff. Every orphan in the facility is five years old or younger, representing some of the neediest orphans in the Henan province. 

The mission of Maria's Big House of Hope is to provide the highest level of care for these orphans who are in desperate need of surgeries and special medical attention, thus enabling the children to thrive. In turn, this necessary medical attention can increase the orphans' chances of being adopted into a forever family.

Show HOPE Recognition, Leadership & Awareness:

• Presidential Volunteer Service Award (May '09) - Steven Curtis Chapman was awarded the Lifetime Volunteer Service Award from The President's Council on Service and Civic Participation for his tireless passion of caring for the millions of orphans around the world. This lifetime achievement service award, the highest level possible from The President's Council, recognizes the valuable contributions volunteers are making in our communities, while encouraging more people to serve.
• Children's Hunger Fund Champion Award (April '09) -The renowned organization Children's Hunger Fund (CHF), awarded the Chapman's with the Children's Champion Award due to their admirable care for the needs of children, especially for orphans to find forever homes. The Children's Champion Award exists to recognize those who have used their positions of influence in government, business and charity, to ensure that children-children they may never meet-receive hope against the odds. The Chapman's are part of a select group going above and beyond to care for and provide tangible and significant support for suffering children. CHF recognizes individuals who are: a founder, chief executive, or senior officer of the enterprise; exert their influence to better the lives of children and the underprivileged; exert their influence to better the lives of citizens through their business in general; carry a consistent personal reputation of integrity; and directly or indirectly assist Children's Hunger Fund in the accomplishment of its mission to "serve children in need… across America and around the world."
• Congressional Angels in Adoption (Sept. '01) - Steven and Mary Beth were honored by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), named the Congressional "Angels in Adoption" for their work, on a national and international level, on behalf of children all over the world in need of loving homes.
  

Government and Church Influences

• The Show HOPE ministry has had influence with many facets of the U.S. Government, including high levels of the Executive Branch, Congress, heads of state, international government officials in child welfare, as well as Faith Based Initiatives and the Department of Health and Human Services
• This ministry has cast vision and created tools for hundreds of churches across the country while also impacting church leaders, such as Billy Graham and John MacArthur

In The Media - Adoption Awareness

Show HOPE and Steven Curtis Chapman have been featured in numerous publications, television, and Internet media outlets in bringing awareness to the plight of orphans. Highlights include:

• Good Morning America
• Larry King Live
• Billboard
• Fox & Friends
• CBS The Early Show
• Southern Exposure
• CBS Sunday Morning
• 60 Minutes
• People Magazine
• Parents Magazine
• MSNBC
  
• Fox News   
• CNN & CNN Showbiz
• CBS' "Home For The Holidays" TV Special
• Hallmark Channel's "Adoption" series 
  

Christian Alliance for Orphans

Show HOPE has been a key participant in the creation and formation of the Christian Alliance for Orphans. The Shaohannah's Hope ministry is one of eight organizational leaders that meet up annually and help lead the charge on how all can work, as a unified body of believers, to make a difference in the lives of orphans around the world.  

National Media Blitz - Cry of the Orphan (2007, 2008, 2009, and beyond)

• Developed from the Christian Alliance for Orphans, Show HOPE and FamilyLife joined forces in 2008 for the third year to raise further awareness about foster care and orphans issues. This further established the annual media blitz campaign, Cry of the Orphan, held every November
• 2008's campaign, titled "You are God's Plan for the Orphan," brought together these like-minded organizations to reach millions. Through talk and music radio stations, internet and print media, people across the country heard the clear message about educating and igniting action to Christians everywhere about the plight of orphans around the world. The Cry of the Orphan campaign is for passionate voices to join in, to make caring for every orphan a reality. A centralized website was also created for the audience, filled with resources and further information (www.cryoftheorphan.org).            

ShowHOPE.org

The re-designed website showcases the ministry's new logo (seen above) as well as offering a plethora of information on how to help make a difference in the life of an orphan. Visitors to the site can learn how to make monetary donations to the ministry, how to get involved to help in the life of an orphan, how to apply for an adoption grant, as well as view the resources page offering inspirational tools for individuals and church communities alike. 

Show HOPE: Sponsor

A new program facilitated through the ministry is becoming a Show HOPE sponsor. Committing to a $35 or more monthly donation addresses an orphan's need for food, care, shelter and spiritual nourishment, as well as helping to address the root issue for an orphan: the lack of a forever family. The monthly donation provides adoption assistance grants to help lead orphans into loving families, and provides love, care, and hope to special needs orphans, specifically at Maria's Big House of Hope. 

Show HOPE: Tour Sponsor

Show HOPE was the tour sponsor for "The United Tour" 2009 spring leg, the nationwide tour co-headlined by Chapman and Michael W. Smith. Concert attendees were offered information about Show HOPE through a presentation from special guest, recording artist and close personal friend to the Chapman family, Geoff Moore. Moore, an adoption advocate and adoptive father himself, educated the audience on how they can each make a difference in the life of an orphan, specifically by becoming a Show HOPE sponsor.

StevenCurtisChapmanAuction.com

The popular fan site launched in late 2004, www.StevenCurtisChapmanAuction.com, has been a major supporter of Show HOPE'S mission to come alongside the church in the body of Christ to share the message of the importance of caring for the millions orphans around the world. On April 20th, 2009, the last pair of "The United Tour" ticket auctions closed and with the winning bids, proceeds benefiting Show HOPE eclipsed $105,000! Sincere thanks to all who made bids and participated with the auction site. Because of the financial support, there are girls and boys living with new hope and hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  

Running Hope:

Show HOPE has partnered with Running Hope, an organization with a mission to utilize running and walking events to generate awareness and resources to support charitable organizations across the nation, while working to make a difference for the millions of orphans around the world. Upon joining Running Hope, members create a personal webpage to share their story and help raise money that will bring home orphans to their forever families. Member webpages can honor a special orphan or family who is in the adoption process, share photos and personal messages, and even say thank you for a received grant from Show Hope. Participants are also able to track their fundraising progress and be notified when donations are made. To find out more about how you can participate as a Team Running Hope member, please visit www.RunningHope.org.

The Mackenzie Fund:

The Mackenzie Fund was established by Show HOPE to help fund surgeries for orphans with correctible deformities such as heart surgeries and cleft lips and palates. In many cases, children around the world are considered unadoptable or abandoned due to surgically correctable special needs such as these. This fund was created in loving memory of Mackenzie Trask, granddaughter of Show Hope staff member and long-time Chapman family friend, David Trask. At the age of only six months, Mackenzie died an accidental death in April of 2006. She was born with a cleft palate, therefore 100% of the money contributed to this fund will directly fund these types of correction operations.

The first surgery funded by The Mackenzie Fund took place in China through Love Without Boundaries, an organization specializing in this realm of medical missions. A 3-year old boy, Shuang, received corrective palate surgery that helped improve his overall health, particularly his speech. An infant Jacob also received his much-needed surgery, as he was born with Encephalocele, a neural tube defect characterized by sac-like protrusions of the brain and the membranes that cover it through openings in the skull. The Mackenzie Fund sponsored Jacob's corrective surgery and after successfully recovering, Jacob was adopted by a local Chinese family in the summer of 2008.

Costs of these surgeries range from $500 to over $2,000. Show HOPE is dedicated to bringing hope and life to more orphans like Shuang and Jacob in need of life changing surgeries. Many of the surgeries Show HOPE has assisted thus far will not only improve the quality of life for these children but also increase their chances of being adopted into a forever family!

 

Please consider donating to Show HOPE by visiting www.ShowHope.org and click the Donate Now button. Thank you!

www.ShowHope.org

www.cryoftheorphan.org

www.howtoadopt.org

                                                         Show HOPE P.O. Box 647, Franklin, TN 37065 
                            

The Orphans Of The World - FACTS

How big is the need to help find forever homes for the orphans of the world?

• Over 143 million children have lost one or both parents. (1)
• At least 16.2 million children worldwide have lost both parents. (2)
• Every 14 seconds a child loses a parent due to AIDS. (3)
• Conflict has orphaned or separated 1 million children from their families in the 1990s. (4)

Where are they?

• 43.4 million orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa, 87.6 million orphans live in Asia, and 12.4 million orphans live in Latin America and the Caribbean. (5)
• 1.5 million children live in public care in Central and Eastern Europe alone. (6)
• At any given point there are over 500,000 children in the U.S. Foster Care system. (7)
• In some countries, children are abandoned at alarming rates, due to poverty, restrictive population control policies, disabilities or perceived disabilities, and cultural traditions that value boys more than girls. (8)

What about AIDS?

• More than 14 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS, the vast majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa. (9)
• By 2010, the number of children orphaned by AIDS globally is expected to exceed 25 million. (10)
• AIDS is more likely than other cause of death to result in children losing both parents. (11)
• As the infection spreads, the number of children who have lost parents to AIDS is beginning to grow in other regions as well, including Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Eastern Europe. (12)

What happens to the children?

• Children are profoundly affected as their parents fall sick and die, setting them on a long trail of painful experiences often characterized by: economic hardship, lack of love, attention and affection, withdrawal from school, psychological distress, loss of inheritance, increased physical and sexual abuse and risk of HIV infection, malnutrition and illness, stigma, discrimination, exploitation, trafficking, and isolation. (13)
• Orphaned children are much more likely than non-orphans to be working in commercial agriculture, as street vendors, in domestic service and in the sex trade. (14)
• Unaccompanied boys are at high risk of forced or 'voluntary' participation in violence and armed conflict. (15)
• Orphanages, children's villages, or other group residential facilities generally fail to meet young people's emotional and psychological needs. (16)

What about foster care?

• On average, children stay in foster care for 30 months, or 2.5 years. (17)
• 118,000 children were waiting to be adopted on September 30, 2004. (18)
• On average, those children waiting for adoption have been in foster care for 43.8 months, almost 4 years.  (19)
• Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people "age out" of the U.S. foster care system. Many are only 18 years old and still need support and services. Of those who aged out of foster care: (20)

What is the outcome of these children? (21):

• Earned a high school diploma: 54%
• Obtained a Bachelor's degree or higher: 2%
• Were unemployed: 51%
• Had no health insurance: 30%
• Had been homeless: 25% (22)
• Were receiving public assistance: 30%

Is there any hope?

• Yes.  There is One who infinitely loves each orphan and calls His people to join Him in caring for the fatherless. Each one of us can Show Hope to an orphan. 
• If only 7% of the 2 billion Christians in the world would show hope to a single orphan, looking after the child in their distress, there would effectively be no more orphans.  We can each do something.

Sources:

1 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's Fund and the United States Agency for International Development, Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action, Population, Health and Nutrition Information Project for USAID, Washington, D.C., July 2004, p. 7. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html .

2 Ibid, Children on the Brink 2004, p. 29. 

3 UNICEF, Press Release: As G8 leaders discuss global poverty, UNICEF puts spotlight on children in poor countries. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_21421.html

4 UNICEF, Aug 2006. From website, "Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse." http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_orphans.html

5 Ibid, Children on the Brink 2004, p. 3

6 UNICEF, Aug 2006. From website, "Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse." http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_orphans.html

7 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) #11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm

8 Human Rights Watch. Easy Targets: Violence against Children Worldwide . New York: Human Rights Watch. 2001, pp. 25-26. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/children/

9 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS.   The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS , July 2004, p 5.  Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net

10 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS.   The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS , July 2004, p 5.  Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net

11 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's Fund and the United States Agency for International Development, Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action , Population, Health and Nutrition Information Project for USAID, Washington, D.C., July 2004, p. 11. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html

12 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS.   The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS , July 2004, p 7.  Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net

13 Global Partners Forum convened by UNICEF with support from UNAIDS.   The Framework for the Protection, Care and Support of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Living in a World with HIV and AIDS , July 2004, p 9.  Global Strategic Framework: http://www.ovcsupport.net

14 United Nations Children's Fund, The State of the World's Children 2006 .  Dec 2005, p. 50. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_30398.html

15 Ibid, UNICEF, Aug 2006. From website, "Child Protection from Violence, Exploitation and Abuse."

16 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Children's Fund and the United States Agency for International Development, Children on the Brink 2004: A joint report of new orphan estimates and a framework for action , Population, Health and Nutrition Information Project for USAID, Washington, D.C., July 2004, p. 20. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_22212.html .

17 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) #11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm

18 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) #11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm

19 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and reporting System (AFCARS) #11 data submitted for the FY 2004, 0/1/03 through 9/30/04. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/ tar/report11.htm

20 National Foster Care Month, Facts about Children in Foster Care , 2006 Fact Sheet. http://www.fostercaremonth.org/FactsAndStatistics/

21 Young adults ages 18-24 years old 2.5 to 4 years after leaving foster care: Cook, R. (1992). Are we helping foster care youth prepare for the future? Children and Youth Services Review. 16(3/4), 213-229. Cook, R.; Fleishman, E., & Grimes, V. (1989). A National Evaluation of Title IV-E Foster Care Independent Living Programs for Youth (Phase 2 Final Report, Volume 1). Rockville: Westat, Inc.

22 Cook, R. (1991). A national evaluation of title IV-E foster care independent living programs for youth. Rockville, MD: Westat Inc. http://www.cwla.org/programs/fostercare/factsheetafter.htm

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