Cherish Our Children International

Save the Date to Celebrate~Sept. 27th~20 years!

coci2012 — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:09:56 +0000

Sept. 27th, Houston, TX we will be celebrating 20 years of making a profound, life altering difference for children…and much more. Mark your calendars, more information will be coming soon.

Spring Break Trip to Mexico

Leeanne — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:00:25 +0000

New Dates on Reynosa Trip

If anyone from COCI wants to go to Reynosa for all or part of the Spring Break construction trip for Little Blue Schools, the dates are changed to April 18-22nd.

Let us know.

Email info@cherishourchildren.org

Houston TEAM COCI get together Feb. 21st – Don’t miss it!

coci2012 — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:32:42 +0000

Come kick off our 2013 season with fellow Team COCI athletes, supporters and friends. Interested in learning more about Team COCI and how it can help you reach your athletic goals?

Then come learn more about us and invite all of your friends!We will be getting together for a social at the fun Red Lion British Pub for some amazing food and drinks

We will be in the “Fire Room”

Let’s Share our 2012 accomplishments and gear up for 2013!

You won’t want to miss this!

For additional info contact Angelica Robles at 832-656-4166

Thursday February 21,2013

6:30pm

Red Lion British Pub<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Lion-British-Pub/151304494886049>

2316 Shepherd, Houston, Texas 77019

coci2012 — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 02:01:08 +0000

Congratulations to Kaytlynn and Heather Welsch, two TEAM COCI supporters who felt greatly honored to donate their race winnings in the past to such a worthy cause. There will be a story about them and their racing on Rock Center with Brian Williams Friday Feb. 8th at 9pm central and 10pm eastern. You rock girls, we love you!

Check this out.

Launch Charity Challenge Opportunity

Leeanne — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 20:58:08 +0000

The Woodlands Marathon Management team is giving away $18,000 in prize money to the charities of the highest fundraisers! This is a huge opportunity to raise money for Team COCI to support the children of Cherish Our Children! Please click here … Continue reading →

Wholesome Sweeteners CEO Uses Endurance Sports to Support Fair Trade, Social Causes

Leeanne — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 22:33:24 +0000

Premium content from Houston Business Journal by Jennifer A. Johnson, Special to Houston Business Journal

Date: Friday, January 4, 2013, 5:00am CST

Nigel Willerton, CEO of Wholesome Sweeteners, at his Sugar Land offices

On a typical day, Nigel Willerton crawls out of bed at 4 a.m. to meet a cycling group in the park. Other mornings, he goes for a 5 a.m. swim at a master’s class or meets other runners to squeeze in a run.

“With running, it’s having enough light so you don’t trip over anything,” he quips.

Rising in the wee hours and putting in the miles has been part of Willerton’s life for the past four years, ever since he took up endurance racing, a year after his brother completed the high-profile Ironman Triathlon: a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.2-mile run, done consecutively.

After jolting his system most mornings with a serious workout, Willerton heads over to his day job at Wholesome Sweeteners in Sugar Land, where he oversees the operations of one of the nation’s largest producers of organic sugars, syrups and honeys sold in retail stores nationwide.

Willerton, 48, sees a definite synergy between his endurance competitions and his work as CEO of Wholesome Sweeteners.

He says competing in endurance races is a way to underscore the social missions of Fair Trade businesses, including his own company, and to raise awareness for causes he believes in and wants to support.

“I decided if I am going to do this, I want to do this for something that has a bigger cause behind it,” he said.

He completed his first Ironman Triathlon in 2008 to support the Westview School in Houston, a school for children with autism, which his son attends.

Since 2008, Willerton has competed in 10 Ironman races, two ultra-distance events and a myriad of triathlons and marathons.

In 2011, he was part of a team of 10 American and six Ethiopian runners that ran 250 miles – roughly the equivalent of 10 straight marathons – for 10 straight days across southern Ethiopia. The run raised over $250,000, which was used to build three schools in the Ethiopian Highlands and to support Fair Trade coffee growers in the region. The funds also helped purchase textbooks and cover ongoing costs for the schools.

In August, Willerton competed in the Ultraman Triathlon in Canada – a 6.2-mile ocean swim, 171.4-mile bike race and 52.4 mile run. He finished eighth and qualified for the World Ultraman Championships in Kona, Hawaii. Willerton also raised $25,000 to support Cherish Our Children International, a Houston-based charity that provides support for abandoned and HIV-positive orphans in Africa, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia and the U.S.

Training for long-distance events can be time-consuming, challenging and, ultimately, a way of life, Willerton said. His girlfriend, Triny Aguirre, also is a triathlete and can be a motivating factor on those days when it is really tough to wake up and put in some training miles or swimming laps.

“The day is coming where she’ll beat me,” he says.

Both Willerton and his girlfriend are involved with the C Different Foundation, a nonprofit that creates opportunities for visually impaired athletes to participate in athletic events.

In 2011, Willerton competed in the Texas Ironman Triathlon with Brandon Adame, who is blind. The pair trained together for six months to prepare for the race. They tethered together for a 2.4-mile swim, rode a tandem bike for 112 miles and then used a guide rope for the 26.2-mile marathon.

“The race was nothing but great fun, but the training was brutal,” he says. “It was an incredible experience.”

Willerton, who was born in the United Kingdom, moved to Houston in 2001 to head up what was then a four-person start up venture between Imperial Sugar Inc. and British company Edward Billington & Son. Since then, Wholesome Sweeteners has grown to over $160 million in revenue in 2012 and employs more than 40 people.

In 2012, Arlon Group, a private equity firm based in New York, purchased a majority stake in the company.

Under Willerton’s purview, Wholesome Sweeteners created a certification process for Fair Trade sugar and honey in the U.S. The certification ensures that farmers receive a fair price for their crops and an additional premium payment that is used to benefit the growers’ communities.

“We want to be a credible business in an industry where there isn’t a lot of credibility to the consumer,” he said. “We are trying to create a real mission with our products and to improve the quality of life for our farmers.”

Through Wholesome Sweetener’s Fair Trade initiatives, the company has paid more than $7.5 million in social premiums to benefit Fair Trade communities globally. The premiums help provide clean water, electricity, schools and health care facilities to villages in the developing world.

For his next challenge, Willerton has set his sights on competing in The Race Across America, a 3,000-mile bicycle race from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean – all in 10 days. Racers ride over 300 miles per day and sleep only a few hours per night.

“I don’t know if it is even possible,” he said. “I don’t want to do it as a relay.”

Jennifer A. Johnson is a freelance writer. Contact the editor of this article at gbarr@bizjournals.com

10 Reasons Why COCI Should Be Your Cause Countdown to 2013: Reason #1

Leeanne — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 16:00:03 +0000

Because You Can!

The most important reason of all as to why you should donate to charity is because you can.

It is often seen that the people who don’t have much are the ones who are willing to give away the most.

It is the duty of the privileged to help those that are underprivileged as it is the only way that we can make our world a better place to live in not just for ourselves but also for the future generations that are to come.

If it isn’t COCI make something your cause today, don’t delay.

10 Reasons Why COCI Should Be Your Cause Countdown to 2013: Reason #2

Leeanne — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 16:00:37 +0000

We Produce Lasting Results That We Want to Replicate

Success Story

Growing up, I’d always thought that I had a story of shame and that my past was something I needed to keep under-wraps. Having both of my parents incarcerated was a difficult part of my life growing up. It caused me to be an introvert and pushed me to over compensate in other areas of my life.

Although my success in education was tremendous, it was not sufficient to fill that void in my life that I kept hidden from the public and my peers.

Becoming a member of No More Victims (A signature program of COCI) changed my life in a way that I could not have imagined. The program taught me that I had a powerful story and it did not need to be concealed, but voiced for the many other children like me.

If it were not for this amazing organization that sparked a flame in my passion for public service, I would not stand where I stand today, as a Truman Scholar, LSU Alum, mentor, advocate, and PhD student at Columbia – all because of their push to share my story with others.

Fact: Of every ten children with a parent in prison, six to nine (60% to 90%) children end up in prison in their lifetime, with most becoming incarcerated in their teens and early adulthood. The No More Victims Program has approximately 1500 children who have enrolled in the program, with the oldest member now being thirty years old and only 5% have become incarcerated.

10 Reasons Why COCI Should Be Your Cause Countdown to 2013: Reason #3

Leeanne — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 16:00:15 +0000

Doing the Things that Matter the Most!

Today I attended the funeral of Siniša, a boy of 14, he was diagnosed L-Downs Syndrome but he died of heart complications.

His father made a moving speech recounting a story from last summer. In his speech Siniša’s father recalled the basketball tournament organized every year in Serbia under the auspices of COCI, and the fact that Siniša was so excited to play on that mach.

For the first time he had a chance to compete with regular children. Siniša played like never before, the match was very dramatic, the result was a draw. In the last moment of the match, like in a movie, Siniša received the ball, advanced towards the opponent’s three point line when he was fouled…Free throws for Siniša, he felt like he was the center of the planet….it was way too important for Siniša not to miss this one….everybody was silent leaving time for Siniša to focus on this throw. Finally he let the ball fly, it hit the backboard, than balanced for few moments on the rim and finally entered into the basket….everybody cheered for Siniša! His team won! At the end of the match he was carried by his teammates and the audience cheered Siniša! Siniša! Siniša!….It was the best moment of his life, he was a HERO that day!

The last words of Siniša to his parents were in fact the question related to this match; “Did you like the game? Did you like the way I played?” the next moment he died without waiting for the answer…

August 2012

Tip: International Adoptions are open in Serbia for Special Needs Children.

10 Reasons Why COCI Should Be Your Cause Countdown to 2013: Reason #4

Leeanne — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:00:20 +0000

A Great Way to Commemorate Love

Love is much needed in today’s world.

COCI provides a great way to commemorate your love by donating to remember a loved one or pay tribute to someone who has made a difference in your life.

What about commemorating that teacher or child who loved you? It is one of the best ways to show the world that you do indeed care.

Today, we remember and honor children all around the world.