“Children are the future. Nurture them right, so that they grow up to be able leaders and lead the world towards light.” Children’s Day is a national holiday celebrated in South Korea every year on May 5th. This year for the first time, we hosted a special fundraiser to celebrate this special day dedicated to all children in South Korea. Our goal was to raise enough money to fund a meal for 210 children and to provide 60 gifts for a KKOOM-supported children’s home. Our goal was to raise $5,500 and in five days, we surpassed our goal by raising $6,159.
Thank you for making Children’s Day this year truly special for the children we serve. One really unique gift we were able to give the children at Samsungwon was providing Baskin Robbins. The children have not visited a Baskin Robbins store in-person since March 2020 due to the government restrictions placed on the children’s home during the pandemic. It truly was a treat to enjoy for the special holiday.
The Samsungwon children are used to only receiving gifts from KKOOM during the annual holiday party, so they were ecstatic to receive a special gift from their wish list for Children’s Day. One child asked for a skateboard, while others asked for watches, a new soccer ball, a plushie pillow, crocs, and snacks. It never fails that snacks are a wish list item for a number of the children, especially oreo o’s cereal that is famous in South Korea.
At another children’s home in the Gyeongsangbuk-do region, 79 children at Emmanuel enjoyed pizza, fried chicken, tteokbokki, dumplings, and more! Pizza is such a comfort food in the United States and it’s the same in South Korea, along with spicy rice cakes, and fried chicken.
Thank you for celebrating joy by cherishing the lives of Korean children. Every child deserves dignity and is worthy of respect, care, and love. Through the children’s home staff, the house mothers, and the KKOOM community, we give positive memories so the children living in Korea’s social welfare system have enriching experiences.
With gratitude,
-Grace Lee, Executive Director