January 2010

Expand Your Local Network

As the economy attempts to make a recover, unemployment remains in double digits across the nation. For churches and humanitarian agencies the recession is doubly troublesome in that as the need rises, resources dwindle. Your requests are greater and your funds are smaller. While we may not be able to help with increased funds, Charity Check can help by making those resources go just as far as possible. Simply put, the larger your network, the greater the benefit.

As you begin the new year why not let Charity Check help you increase your local network or begin a new one. There are several ways to accomplish, such as direct mail, local demonstration and webinars just to name a few. Give us a call, or email today to discuss ways that, together, we can meet the needs of the hurting in your area instead having to turn them away.

Homeless: How Do You Do Homework Without a Home?

You can’t practice the violin in a homeless shelter. Not really, not if you don’t want to wake the babies—and you don’t want to wake the babies. That’s something 14-year-old Chauncey learned last year during the months she and her family spent at a family shelter in Northern Virginia.

Another thing you can’t always do: Sleep.

Chauncey’s big sister Chassity, a young poet, strictly prefers to sleep at night and dream during creative writing, but one morning last year, after weeks of shelter noises and nightmares, she could barely keep her head off the desk during 11th-grade English. Finally, her teacher took her aside to ask, “Is there something going on with you?”

In fact, there’s something going on with a lot of kids in America. In 2007, nearly 800,000 homeless children were enrolled in public schools—up 17 percent from the year before, according to the U.S. Department of Education. This year, as unemployment and foreclosures continue to rise, the rate of homelessness is expected to follow the same grim climb.

“There are homeless children everywhere,” says Barbara Duffield, policy director for the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY).

These days, the average homeless person in America isn’t that whiskered alcoholic on the street, begging you for change while you sip your Starbucks venti. In small towns and cities across the country, the new face of homelessness is a single, often working mother with children like Chassity, Chauncey, and their young brothers, Chaddwick, and Chancellor.

Quick Tip...

Since changing over to our new system at the beginning of 2009 and allowing a search by last name, some users have noticed what appear duplicate clients. This can occur for a few reasons, but it mainly boils down to users adding a client before thoroughly searching for them. In any event, if you believe you have found a duplicate client, we have the ability to merge the records and delete the duplicate record. When this issue arises, simply email us with a brief description of the client along with the last five digits of their SS#. We will take a look into the situation and merge the records for you if that seems to be the appropriate action to take.

Please Let Us In

Have you ever wondered why you may not have received a response to an email that you have sent us? We can assure you it's not because we are ignoring you, we answer ever single email that we receive. The problem typically finds itself in one of two areas. First we did not receive because it went to our spam folder for some reason. Second, you did not receive our response because it went to your spam folder. Spam blockers and virus protection software many times block emails based on specific words. The best way to avoid missing any emails from Charity Check is to make sure that you allow all email from our domain (www.charityck.com). By doing this all of emails, whether from our support, info or other email address will make it through to your email. You may need to do this within your own software or you may even need to contact your email provider such as sprint, embarq, at&t, etc.

If you should ever not receive a response to an email, please feel free to call us (423-647-5618) to follow up. We want to help you and be your partner in assisting those who are hurting.