The 6th Annual Children's Haven Benefit Concert will be held on Friday, February 3 from 2 to 4 p.m. The event will be held at the Rio Grande Bible Ministries Friesen Building, 4300 S. US Hwy. 281, in Edinburg. Winter Texan favorites Dale and Gayle and Ambassadors of Grace will be performing.
A love offering will be received during the concert, with 100 percent of the proceeds given to Children’s Haven.
Each year Ambassadors of Grace has been able to be a part of this fundraising event for Children’s Haven. Other entertainers are selected from the great talent that visit the Valley each year.
The organization will also be celebrating their 50th anniversary. They will celebrate with a fundraising dinner on February 25th from 5 to 8 p.m. There will also be a silent auction, raffles, and bake sale. Choices for food will be chicken salad or brisket sandwich with all the fixings, drink and dessert.
The dinner will cost $12 per person. Tickets are available at the CHI office – but limited to the first 200 people. Their Pharr office is located at 400 E. Minnesota Rd.
Children’s Haven International is a ministry program for children that is located in Reynosa, Mexico. They provide a home and refuge to over 50 children from broken, abusive, or impoverished families. The children usually range in age from one to 18.
Their history dates back to over 35 years ago when a lady named Shirley (who had a Mennonite background), from Flint, Michigan, moved to the interior of Mexico and married a local man named Lee Mendoza. One day, she found an orphaned child had been left on her doorstep. She took in the child and cared for them. As time went on, others were left to her and she continued to care for them.
It was in the mid 70’s when the couple rented a building in Reynosa where they continued to take in children that needed a home. After a fire destroyed the building, the Mennonite Disaster Relief provided funds to purchase 14 acres and build six separate homes on the outskirts of Reynosa.
The home is called Refugio Internacional de Ninos, or International Refuge of Children, and is overseen by Children’s Haven International whose sole purpose is to provide loving Christian care for needy children. The mission is to fully provide for each youngster that comes under their care – physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually – so that he or she can become a responsible, Christian citizen of their country.
In 1988, six acres were donated in Pharr. This site now serves as the main headquarters and consists of RV hookups, housing, offices, and a thrift store which sells donated items to raise funds for the orphanage. Numerous volunteers perform an immense variety of tasks.
A third arm of the ministry is located way up north in the home of the Volunteer Canadian Directors and is used as a second fundraising office known as International Children’s Haven in Canada.
More information can be found in an ad in this issue and online at www.childrenshaven.org.
This benefit concert is just one of the many ways you can support them. There are ways to sponsor a child, donate time, materials, and more to support the organization and the children it serves.
Tours can also be arranged upon request if you would like to visit their facilities. Their thrift shop is located in the main building in Pharr, 400 E. Minnesota Rd.
You can also find out more information on the Facebook page or by calling (956) 787-7378.
