Denise Gosch: One Volunteer Making A Difference
Denise Gosch, a single Mom and school teacher, in Lakeland, Florida has really pitched herself into helping The Sharing Foundation, even though she lives far from New England, where most of the big fund raising occurs. Denise has inspired her school and her church groups mightily in the last several years, and we have received boxes and boxes of clothing and meds collected by her school children. Last year they raised money to completely build a great playground at Roteang Orphanage, sorely needed as many of our kids wait endlessly for adoption to open. They also raised money to buy books for the Roteang village school library, which has now become a focus of the school children's interest. This year, Denise and her daughter Cambria inspired her godfathers church to sponsor Sun Thea, one of Roteang's special needs kids who will always be with us in Cambodia. Denise is true embodiment of "the power of one"! These are Denise’s reflections on her work on behalf of The Sharing Foundation.
In July of 2001 I traveled to Cambodia to be united with my daughter, Cambria Sokly, at the Roteang Orphanage. I was so impressed with the care and love the children were receiving at the Roteang but I did not know any information about this specific orphanage.
Upon
my return to the U.S. my heart was filled with both joy and anguish; joy for the
adoption of my precious daughter, yet anguish for the many children left behind
in Cambodia. I wanted to help the people of Cambodia, but living with limited
financial resources I didn’t know how to do this or where to begin. Within
a month of my return, I decided to speak to my principal at St. Paul Lutheran
School in Lakeland, FL, to see if we could take a one month offering of clothing,
medical supplies, bottles, etc. for the children of Cambodia. After his approval,
I then contacted my adoption agency to ask where I could send items the students
would be gathering and I was referred to Dr. Nancy Hendrie. This marks the beginning
of my support of TSF.
The
students of St. Paul have jumped in and given their all to help the people of
Cambodia. In March of 2002 it was 14 boxes of supplies that were sent to
TSF to be delivered to Cambodia, in October of 2002 the Baby Bottle Project brought
in approximately. $6,000. In October of 2003 we will be pouring our hearts into
another project.
In
April of this year Cambria’s godparents in Lake Worth, FL, agreed to help
me with the Baby Bottle Project at their church. The people of Epiphany
Church also poured their hearts into this project and gathered approximately $3,500.
A friend of mine from a rural community in Minnesota recently contacted me asking
about an offering idea for their weeklong Vacation Bible School project, and they
raised over $200 for TSF to use. I know there will be a time when I will monetarily
tap out most of my resources/contacts and I will have to find other ways to help
TSF assist the people of Cambodia.
It
is my hope that 20+ years from now my daughter Cambria Sokly will be sitting on
TSF’s Board of Directors helping TSF give a hand to other little ones in
Cambodia, just as she was given the opportunity for a better life. I will
forever be looking for open doors and opportunities to give back to the country
and orphanage that blessed me with my precious bundle of joy!
The
Sharing Foundation is always looking for volunteers to help with projects, fundraisers
and more. C’mon and help us help the children of Cambodia. Contact a board
or parent council member with your ideas for getting involved.