Actually, their donation is 500,000 baht this year, which means they are also a Platinum Sponsor (100, 000 baht) too. What is truly remarkable is since Glencore joined us in 2007 as a triple Platinum, their total donation to date is a whopping 1.5 million baht. And that translates to a huge boon for the needy children in the region through the provision of educational opportunities, specialized learning and safe shelter!

In the meantime, as we collect funds for Jesters Care for Kids 2010, we still preoccupy ourselves with the distribution of the remaining funds raised this past year.

Last month, Joe and Oiy St. Laurent and their son Ern, accompanied us to Sunganseuksa Phiset 12 to hand over our annual 100,000 donation there. This center, which is located in Ban Bueng, provides care and learning for disabled kids and is the regional seat for other institutes benefiting such children, including Khao Baisri in Sattahip where we are presently constructing a home for disabled boys.

Joe and Oiy, who are perennial Gold Sponsors (50,000 baht) for our charity drive, brought Sunganseuksa Phiset 12 to our attention 3 years ago. Since then we have matched their amount to double the donation to center.

The photos above of the autistic girl in the padded cylinder is a sample of some of the physical therapy equipment we previously provided for them.

We also recently visited Ban Jing Jai, the orphanage for 65 children in Nong Prue off Nern Plub Wan Road. The occasion was to take Steve Mascari there to donate 34,000 baht, which were the proceeds raised from their Steve Donovan Memorial Golf Tournament held in late November last year. Steve Donovan, a dear friend to many of us, was also a staunch promoter, donor and volunteer for the Jesters.

Ban Jing Jai is regularly provided for by the Pattaya Sports Club, who pay their monthly rent, while we cover their monthly food costs and utilities. Nevertheless, they still seek more help and we encourage others to get involved too. Rick Bevington, for example, graciously devotes his time there as a handy man and also gets the kids to help him with meaningful activities, such as starting and maintaining a kitchen garden on the land adjacent to the premises.

If you would like to learn more about how you can help projects like the above and the Jesters Care for Kids Charity Drive 2010, please click deeper through our website or visit our online donations pages - please click here

With Glencore International’s generous donation now in the books and the first committee meeting of the New Year under our belts, we can already feel the adrenaline coursing through our veins.

If you too would like to get involved in helping both the disadvantaged and disabled kids, please contact us here. Our aim is to help these kids have a happy New Year too!

If you would like to assist, please click here to see more about why the need exists, or click here to see how you can help us make a difference. We hope you can support us latter this year at our Children’s Fair on Sunday, September 12th at Diana Garden Resort and Driving Range in North Pattaya & the Party Night on the following Saturday evening the 18th September.