Cambodia Children's Education Fund (CCEdFund) is an excellent organization that provides meaningful and sustainable assistance to the Cambodian population by providing scholarships to orphaned but promising children. I have worked with the organization as their campaign coordinator so that we could raise enough funds to send 2 more children to school. The way that CCEdFund handles the donations they receive and how they interact with their scholarship recipients is truly unique. I would really like to see them expand their efforts as the year comes to a close and to provide more scholarships to more promising young Cambodians.
I strongly support the work of CCEdFund which is changing the lives of children in Cambodia, 22 children at present. I have promoted the organization to numerous individuals because I share the founders' belief that to create the leaders of tomorrow in Cambodia one must plant the seeds in the minds of the youth there. To read the accounts of the students' accomplishments can literally bring tears to one's eyes. To see where those children live and how little they have tugs at one's heartstrings. I hope to have the opportunity to travel to Cambodia one day and meet some of these children. They are Cambodia's future and I applaud the work of the CCEdFund to help them.
Shortly after the organization and qualification of Cambodia's Children Education Fund, Inc. as a charitable entity its purpose and vision was explained to me by one of its organizers, Carrie Garber. She spoke from first hand knowledge of the poverty and societal cruelty to the youngest and most vulnerable members of the Cambodian population. I was immediately impressed with her understanding of the situation and the need for immediate action. The record of the growing number of children that the Fund has helped educate gives me hope that Carrie and Jennifer's generation understands the need for international charitable involvement to turn back poverty and ignorance. In these difficult economic times I have personally budgeted funds to ensure that the education of the children of Cambodia continues through the efforts of Cambodia's Children Education Fund, Inc.
My personal experiences with CCEdFund have mostly taken place vicariously through Carrie Garber, one of its co-founders. After learning that Carrie was running an NGO while also juggling law school, I became interested in what it was that compelled her. When she explained that the organization was founded to help Cambodian trash pickers, I became even more interested. I had heard of the Khmer Rouge at that point, but I didn't fully appreciate the devastation that Cambodia continues to suffer as a result. Carrie patiently explained the dire need of many Khmer children, and quickly sold me on CCEdFund as a way that I could help these people so far away. I have attended and participated in a handful of fundraising events, and I remain a consistent donor. This has only been bolstered by my recent trip to Cambodia. I traveled to Cambodia last month, and I was truly saddened to see so many starving and despondent children in every city I visited. Though I was there on vacation to celebrate a recent personal accomplishment, I was humbled by the Khmer people and their story. Seeing it all in person, from the killing fields to the remaining catastrophic effects of the Khmer Rouge, has only strengthened my loyalty to this organization. CCEdFund provides for me a special opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way, where I can be certain that any money I donate will be used first and foremost to help the Khmer children. For that, I am extremely grateful.
I've been very impressed with the work they do to both raise funds in the US and actively establish ties to schools in Cambodia by visiting and interacting with the teachers and school leaders there. I've discussed multiple times with the founders and leaders of CCEdFund the advances the children they support have made. I think they've made great progress towards improving their system of identifying promising students and transitioning those students into schools that are at the appropriate level for them. While there might previously have been an issue with this, they've since adapted the system to include an intermediate level so their support achieves the greatest success for any individual student.
My sister first told me about CCEd Fund, and being a NYC teacher I quickly became intersted. As I learned more about the organization and the amazing people behind it, I am inspired to work harder at my job everyday. It is difficult for me to look beyond the immediate problem of the achievement gap in our country, so I am very proud to support such an important organization that is looking to help solve a global problem.
Tell your story here and help others understand this charity I had the pleasure to participate in the charity benefits held in New York City & Greenwich, CT which were wonderful presentations on what amazing work the charity performs. The stories presented by its co-founders Jen Kinberg & Carrie Garber always give a real sense of what tough situations the children in Cambodia are presented with and natural struggle to aspire for a better way of life. I can't wait to participate in further events and opportuniies with CCEF in the future.
We discovered CCEdF though our daughter-in-law who who saw the plight of the poor in Cambodia, recognized the essential role of an excellent education, and decided to do something about it. CCEdF provides scholarships to children of promise who in turn will help their fellow countrymen rise up from poverty. The latest recipients were children living in a garbage dump. They were selected from a number of fine candidates. The glad news is two human beings have been given a chance to develop, to evolve, and to help others in return. The sad news is that so many could not be helped due to lack of resources. The young women who founded this charity are passionate educators who contribute their time to identify interview,and select worthy recipents. They also make presentations, maintain the website, and raise the funds to get the job done. The program has Zero overhead; ALL funds go directly to scholarships. The need is great. The program is excellent. We are glad to suppport CCEdF. Pam and Jim Leahy
This is an amazing charity helping to give Cambodia a chance. After the Khmer Rouge, the culture structure of the country was demolished, and education was largely lost. Slowly, Cambodia has been rebuilding with the help of others. Cambodia's Children Education Fund helps make that happen. It is an unbelievable program for the country and has changed many children's lives.
You're never going to find people who truly care more about the mission of their organization than the people at CCEdFund. They always continue to push the bounds and never let themselves be satisfied with just a comfortable base of students. It is amazing to see them grow the organization year after year, and I can't wait to see where they go with things in the future. Way to make a difference!
I've been helping at the CCEF fundraisers since they organization began and have been able to watch the transformation in these dedicated kids. They are eager to learn and Jennifer and Carrie give them that opportunity. A better education means a brighter future for these kids and for Cambodia.
CCed Fund is a terrific organization. Their staff are very dedicated, caring people. They will go out of their way to help these under privledged children in any way they can. I'm proud to contribute to this cause and hope more people will too.
CCedFund is a great organization. The founders are extremely dedicated to their cause. They are constantly looking for new ways to raise funds and awareness for the children of Cambodia who they hope to save from a life of poverty. Their hard work is evidenced by the Cambodian children they have already been able to provide an education for.
Carrie and Jen's generosity and large hearts never cease to amaze me. Regardless that they are both very successful in their respective professions, they take a huge amount of time to make a difference in another part of the world. They are global leaders and the world would be a little less bright if these two hadn't teamed up during their time in Teach for America to bring education to a region that not many Americans think about.
In March of 2010, I traveled with Jennifer Kinberg Leahy and Carrie Garber to Cambodia. In Cambodia Jennifer and Carrie took me on tours of the various orphanages where their scholarship recipients lived and the schools they attended. I was able to see the children in their daily lives and routines. I saw their living conditions, and their learning conditions. I was also shown the living conditions of the general population in Cambodia, and the condition of a public school in Cambodia. By seeing both the public schools and the private schools in Cambodia, I was able to see how truly amazing the gift Jennifer and Carrie give to those children really is. They are given an opportunity to attend excellent schools that they would never be able to attend under ordinary circumstances. They are given a superior education, far above what they could receive in the public schools. Cambodia's Children Education Fund seeks out children with potential who can one day lead successful lives. Jennifer and Carrie's organization changes the path of those children's lives. They begin their lives on the streets fending for themselves, or in orphanages abandoned by their family, or all alone in the world. Without those scholarships, the children would continue to live on the streets, or continue to live an dreamless lives. With the scholarships from CCEd Fund, they can be properly educated. Their job opportunities will drastically increase. They no longer have to live in survival mode, they can begin to envision a future for themselves. While in Cambodia, I met several children who touched my heart. One teenage girl was so confident and comfortable at her school that she participated in the school singing competition. She has big dreams to study medicine with a singing career on the side. What is amazing is that she is able to dream about an amazing future. A nine year old boy seemed quiet at first, but he quickly warmed up to me, and was eager to have me look through his school notebooks at all of his great work. He went from not speaking any English when he first met Jennifer and Carrie to sharing entire stories he wrote in english only a few years later. I also met a nine year old girl who is very bright, and has a huge heart. Her mother is a prostitute. Her path could have led her to return to her mother, and then slowly learn what living on the streets was really like. However, with the scholarship she received from the CCEd fund, she is already living a brighter life. She attends a wonderful school where she is constantly challenged. She lives in a nice orphanage where they value the education she receives and support her. She is allowed to focus on her education and herself rather than having to neglect her education to make money for her family. Jennifer and Carrie put a lot of work into finding schools that are just right for the students. They research the best schools, but also make sure the schools they pick are a good match for those particular scholarship recipients. If a student is not finding success at the school they find an environment where they will be able to meet their full potential. They are sensitive to each recipient's wants and needs. The children I met while in Cambodia not only are bright potential leaders, they all were kind and compassionate. Each student looked out for the others. They care about Jennifer and Carrie as much as Jennifer and Carrie care about them. One girl even used what little money she had to buy thank you gifts for me, Jennifer, Carrie, and the other people went on this trip with us. Jennifer and Carrie are also two people with huge hearts. They frequently travel to Cambodia with their own funds to interview and select the perfect scholarship recipients. They ensure that their recipients receive proper education but they go above and beyond that. They see to it that the recipients receive proper nutrition and health care as well. They make sure they have school supplies, and that they are happy in the both orphanages and schools they good to.
This charity was created because the two founders recognized the lack of educational opportunities for gifted Cambodian children. In a situation of extreme poverty, these children would otherwise have no opportunity to help advance their own situation or that of their nation. By helping to build an educated class of people in this developing nation, this charity will significantly help the development of Cambodia.