OUR APPEAL

ECOC Children In Need (Belgium) 2011
Europe's Children Our Concern is a registered charitable organization 457070829

Needy children here in Belgium:
The ECOC Children In Need (Belgium) appeal is influenced by the annual BBC event held in the UK. The idea is to encourage all communities, business, civil and social in Belgium; to unite and raise money to make a real difference in giving children and young people with any form of learning disability a better chance for success.

Some of these children and young people come from a disadvantaged social group, an ethnic minority or simply have learning issues greater than the established systems are able to deal with.

Not all children and young people are equal, even in 2011:

Children with a learning disability who come from a broken home, live in the wrong area, attend a school with limited funds, or are part of a club that delivers much needed help with very limited funds would benefit greatly from a donation to maintain or improve the level of support.

ECOC's mission is about getting children and young people respected and supported in mainstream education. Learning is a wonderful thing. But when you have any form of preference or disability, such as ADHD, dyslexia or autism - then the whole learning process becomes complicated. This complication is experienced not just by the child, but also by the family and teachers.

Our Appeal:
This appeal is founded on the premise that every child and young person in Belgium, regardless of race, gender, income, geography or learning ability, should be supported to realize their full potential in mainstream education.

How can you support us:

• Raise funds at your place of work, school or club
• Make a donation at any time
• Offer a skill or product for a future tombola

Many schools and businesses already organize regular activities for their community. There are many creative ways to make a difference by doing what you already do. We can work together to integrate this appeal and the ECOC mission into your programme.

If you want to do something particular with friends, family or a group that you are a part of, what about trying one of the following examples:

• If you are already doing the 10k run or participating in a similar activity, collect sponsorship on our behalf
• Arrange a bake sale at home or at your local club. We can help with the marketing of the event
• Do you belong to a fitness club? Why not arrange a sponsored spinning or aerobic class?
• Tombola is a good way to give people something in return for their donation. We can help you gather prizes
• Do you have an online store, where a donation button can be added for children in need?
• Do you work for an organization that can offer a service to the wider community, where a donation to our appeal can be incorporated? Do you have a product that can be auctioned to the wider community?

Projects and activities come in many sizes and guises - many small projects contribute just as much to the appeal. We want to encourage everyone in Belgium to get involved. Our main communications are written in English because of the many groups of people that we deal with. We are happy to undertake translations wherever we can to add value and support our community.

Making a donation:

Here are the current ways to make a much needed donation:

• Credit card or paypal donations can be made via the link below (reference Appeal)
• Donations can also be made directly into the ECOC bank account; ING 310-1238787-86; IBAN: BE78-310-1238787-86; BIC: BBRUBEBB
• Cash donation at any of our events

Governance:
As a registered charity, ECOC has in place a structure for ensuring that all resources are allocated and accounted for. Financial and project reports are posted on our website to improve transparency and annual public meetings are held every June.

How the money is used:
We support those organizations in Belgium ready and able to deliver services that help children and young people learn. There is no shortage of great ideas, groups and needs - we do have a shortage of funding; possibly due to the downturn in the economy, leading to the fact that when money is in short supply, being charitable is not always top of mind.

We are targeting three areas for 2011:

• There are many homework clubs run at local schools, for children where both parents are working. This means that many children, especially those with learning difficulties, those that come from single parent families, or are from a minority group where neither French nor Dutch is spoken at home, are not able to get any extra help with homework. To close the gap, a number of groups have set-up centers with volunteers, and are funded in part for materials and training by organizations like Serve The City. ECOC will support these homework clubs by making regular donations to keep these centers open.
• A number of organizations dealing with children and young people with physical or severe learning disabilities want access to modern learning equipment. The equipment is often expensive or unusual, thus difficult to justify to your local authority or funding source. However, the equipment can advance the learning process and quality of life experienced by this group of individuals.
• A major need for many organizations in Belgium is modern training tools, opportunities and learning experiences for volunteers, staff, parents and teachers. The field of learning disabilities is developing constantly, with workshops, tools and techniques being perfected every month. It is important that ECOC support organizations delivering learning and networking opportunities to everyone dealing with, or experiencing the problems that come with learning disabilities.

We are currently working on projects with key partners but are always open to receiving new partnership requests. Please do email us: ecoc@ecoc.be for an application form. The form is quite easy to complete and should take no longer than 15 minutes, as long as you have all the required information at your fingertips. Required information is: contact and club/charity registration details, high-level project details and dates, outline of costs and amount required from ECOC.

The support of our community is very important - together, we do make a difference.

Chalks Corriette
President - ECOC

Website: www.ecoc.be
Email: ecoc@ecoc.be
Tel.: 0478.482023