Winning isn't Everything..but it Helps!

No one is more cherished in this world than someone who lightens the burden of another. Thank you. 

~Author Unknown

Many people do not realize that Phoenix Children’s Project is run solely by volunteers and all of the monetary support is received by caring donors like you and local companies. Phoenix Children’s Project is grateful to have such a wonderful sponsorship network, but it is also a balancing act for Mary Frieling, since the funding and donation support has been raised solely by her efforts.

So when Mary heard about the Spirit and Word contest for local charities late last year, her ears perked up…especially because the winning charities would win $10,000. Since PCP does not have an operating budget like all big name charities, $10,000 is paramount to an organization our size.

Mary was in her car that morning last year when she heard the announcement on the local phoenix radio show, Beth and Friends, on KEZ 99.9. The Spirit and Word Award was started by the late Bill Austin, formerly of Beth and Bill. Before he passed in 2010, he donated the money to Spirit and Word, a non-denominational spiritual resource. To date they have donated $80,000 to Phoenix charities.

When Mary got to her office, she immediately signed up for the contest on-line, and then sent an email to her distribution list, urging our network to nominate Phoenix Children’s Project. Over the course of the contest, at least 3,000 local charities were nominated, and Mary’s email had started a chain reaction of support for PCP.

The judges of the contest had a tough task ahead of them, but they narrowed the list down  to the top five charities nominated. Although PCP did not receive the most votes or nominations, the proposals they received were remarkably written and full of love. There were about twenty nominations, and some from our families who have internet access. One recipient of PCP support described our organization and Mary Frieling as lifesaving.

Although, PCP didn’t have the most votes, it had the most meaningful nominations, and we were selected as winners! Thank you everyone who helped make this happen. Your words and votes were instrumental in helping us, not only to win the money, but also to gain more exposure in our community.

The prize money was used to help purchase a property that will be used as an additional facility. We will need everyone’s help once again to get it up and running, but we know we can count on you. This new project will require a lot of time, hard work and vision, but we know we can do it with the help of you, our wonderful volunteers and donors.  Thank you again, for all you do, your efforts touch the lives of so many.

Stay tuned for more details about the new project!