About the SANDI HOUSE - Answers to Commonly Asked Questions | VIDEOS from Sandi's Mem'l Service
DONATE NOW ONLINE or send check to: Sandi House, PO Box 480 Wheaton, IL 60187 | Contact – Brian & Mary Ellen Kluth
Checks can be sent to:
Sandi House - PO Box 480
Wheaton, IL 60187
Or CLICK to give online by CK or CC
· DONATE to the PSALM 41:1 SCHOLARSHIP FUND $41.01 monthly support for needy girls/orphans
· DONATE to the SPECIAL NEEDS & PROJECTS FUND Gifts of $10 or more
MOTTO: LIVING MORE SIMPLY SO MORE CHILDREN CAN SIMPLY LIVE.
Change the life of a needy girl or orphan forever with your
PSALM 41:1 DONATION (donate now)
Psalm 41:1 "Oh, the joys of those who care for the poor."
Your $41.01 per month scholarship donation (or $125/quarterly or $500/annual gift) will provide a young girl with a bed in the Sandi House, three meals every day, school uniforms, shoes, clothing, school supplies, medical attention, adult supervision, and loving care.
OR GIVE A ONE-TIME “SPECIAL NEEDS & PROJECTS” GIFT (donate now)
James 1:27 says...
"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God
the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress."
WATCH 3 1/2 MINUTE VIDEO
from 2013 about the Sandi House Story
Q&A's:
ANSWERS TO COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE SANDI HOUSE
PROJECT & PROGRAM
1. What type of donations do you receive to help needy girls and orphans at the Sandi House? (1) We receive monthly donations ($41.01/monthly), quarterly ($125), or annual donors ($500/year) who want to share God’s love with a needy African girl or orphan. These PSALM 41:01 SCHOLARSHIP SPONSORS FUND underwrite ALL the costs for a girl to be able to attend school and live in the Sandi House. (2) We also accept one-time and occasional gifts ($10 or more) from a wide variety of people for our SPECIAL NEEDS & PROJECTS (from $10 to thousands of dollars) (for soccer balls, jump ropes, water filters to provide clean water for families, school supplies, school computers, building projects, and more). Please contact Brian Kluth (email or 719.930.4000/cell) for a current list of special needs and projects awaiting funding.
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2. What % of the Psalm 41:01 scholarship donations goes directly to help the needy girls and orphans? 100% of your donation will go to help a specific girl at the Sandi House. Every December we will send you a personal letter from the girl that your donations helped sponsor. We will also send you an annual report on the impact and influence of the ministry.
3. How can someone donate to the SANDI HOUSE? CLICK HERE to donate online for one-time, occasional, or on-going gifts by credit card or from you checking or savings account. If you are making out a check, please make it out to: Sandi House - PO Box 480 Wheaton, IL 60187. Questions? Contact Brian or Mary Ellen Kluth at 719-930-4000 or by email.
4. What is the SANDI HOUSE and where is it located? The SANDI HOUSE is an 88-bed dormitory at St. Paul's Christian School (pre-school, primary, middle school) in Rukungiri, Uganda in Africa. Click to see the EXACT LOCATION OF THE "SANDI HOUSE" on Google Maps (zoom in on the gold star). The SANDI HOUSE dormitory has four 22-bed dormitories to serve 88 needy girls and orphans between the ages of 9 and 13 years old. About 30 of the girls either have families that live in the nearby community or they were girls who were walking 1 to 2 hours one way (2-4 hours per day) to attend school. The other nearly 60 girls are considered orphans. In the African context there are 3 types of orphans - a child with no father and mother, a child with one parent (but the parent cannot afford to send the child to school), or economic orphans where there may be two parents in the home but because of difficult life circumstances there are no funds to send the child to school. The SANDI HOUSE provides a safe and comfortable place to stay so all 88 girls can receive a Christian education and daily meals.
5. Who was SANDI KLUTH? Sandi was born September 20, 1955 to James and Marion Johnson. She was the beloved sister of Karen Clapper and Debbie Lunke. Sandi grew up in Minnesota and Montana. Sandi came to know Jesus as her LORD and Savior as a high school student in Billings, Montana. In 1977 she graduated from Concordia College in Fargo-Moorhead. Over the years she taught high school, junior high, and college students as a Spanish and French teacher. In 1982, she married Brian Kluth. They served the LORD together at Fort Wilderness Christian Camp in Wisconsin (1982-1990), in Milwaukee at Harvest Community Church (1991-2000), and First Evangelical Free Church of Colorado Springs where Brian was the senior pastor from 2000-2009. Sandi was a beautiful singer (watch/listen to video of her singing) and guitar player and she showed people the love of Christ wherever she went. Over the years she traveled to more than 20 countries for ministry opportunities with Brian and to see family and friends living abroad. Sandi was the mother of Joshua (born 1992 and adopted from the States), Bethany (born in 1995 and adopted from India), and Jeremy (born in 1996). Sandi went home to be with the LORD after an 8-year joyful and grace-filled cancer journey (inflammatory breast cancer). She frequently told people that she had the "BIG C" in her life and then went on to say that the "BIG C" was CHRIST and that cancer was the "small c" in her life. She lived every day with the joy of the LORD in her life and the love of God in her heart. She was a blessing and inspiration to all who knew her. There were over 26,000 visits to Sandi's Cancer Journey Blog. Sandi's CELEBRATION OF LIFE Memorial service (Videos) was attended by 500-600 people. The SANDI HOUSE is part of Sandi's legacy of love for her LORD and for others.
6. What Bible verses have meant a lot to you in the SANDI HOUSE project and program to care for needy children and orphans? James 1:17 says that "pure and undefiled religion is caring for widows and orphans in their distress." Psalm 41:1 says, "Oh the joys of those who care for the needs of the poor." God is pleased when we use our income and influence to benefit those you are truly needy. The SANDI HOUSE project and program is a wonderful way to live out the truths found in these two powerful verses of Scripture.
7. Who paid for the building of the SANDI HOUSE? Sandi's husband, Brian Kluth (bio) collected ~$200,000 in tax-deductible donations from about 100 family and friends in 2012 and 2013 to construct the SANDI HOUSE under the direction of eMi Ministries' Uganda office.
8. How did Brian and Sandi Kluth become connected with St. Paul's Christian School where the SANDI HOUSE is now located? The school was founded in 2000 by Brian and Sandi's dear Uganda friend, Rev. Canon Ephraim Gensi, near the small town where he and his wife grew up in SW Uganda. The three of them met a a Lausanne Younger Leader's Conference in Singapore in 1988 and maintained their personal friendship over the years through communications and visits in each other's homes. In the past, Ephraim Gensi was a leader with African Enterprise and a Vice Present for East Africa for Compassion International in Colorado Springs. Currently he is the senior minister at St. Stephen's Anglican 2000-person church. Brian and Sandi had sent donations and sports equipment in the past to help the school. After Sandi went home to be with the LORD in 2010, Ephraim wrote and asked if it would be acceptable if they named a future girls dormitory after Sandi. In December of 2011, Brian and his oldest son Josh went and visited the school, meet the staff, and to determine if they wanted to help organize funding to help build the SANDI HOUSE. Brian and Josh were very encouraged by everything they saw, heard, and experienced at the school and said they would like to help raise funds for the SANDI HOUSE. Upon their return from Africa, numerous family and friends pledged their generous financial support towards the building of the SANDI HOUSE and construction was completed in November 2013.
9. Did Brian ever remarry after Sandi went home to heaven? Brian was single for 3 years before he married Mary Ellen Covino, who was also widowed 3 years earlier. Mary Ellen grew up in Indiana but was a special ed school teacher for 35 years in Littleton, CO before retiring in May of 2013. On June 9, 2013 Brian and Mary Ellen were married at Glen Eyrie Castle in Colorado Springs. In November 2013 Brian and Mary Ellen visited St. Paul's School to celebrate the completion of the SANDI HOUSE building construction and to meet the girls that would be moving into the SANDI HOUSE. Brian and Mary Ellen plan to go back once or twice a year to help with the Sandi House girls, school, and community.
10. In the United States, does anyone receive a salary for their work with the SANDI HOUSE? Brian and Mary Ellen Kluth volunteer their time to raise donations for the SANDI HOUSE needy girls and orphans, St. Paul's School, and community outreach.
11. Who runs St. Paul's School and how are they funded? St. Paul's is a Ugandan private Christian school that was founded in the year 2000, is recognized by the government as a leading school according to test scores, and it is operated by Ugandan leaders. The school has 40 staff and teachers to oversee the educational, spiritual, and social needs of the 600+ students that attend St. Paul's as pre-school, primary, or middle school students. Around 20%+ of the students board at the campus in boys and girls dormitories (includes 96 girls staying in the SANDI HOUSE). The annual budget for operations comes from fees paid by the parents and some scholarship sponsors from Europe for needy children and occasional outside donations for capital projects. Friends of the SANDI HOUSE are the first Americans to actively partner with this school's ministry, students, and their families.
12. Is St. Paul's an orphanage and do the orphans in the SANDI HOUSE live their year-round? St. Paul's is a traditional Christian school, not an orphanage. They have over 600 students from the community and surrounding areas. Most children walk to and from school each day. Over 140 of the children are boarding at the school because they live 2-3 hours away from the school or because they are sponsored orphan or needy children. When the school has a holiday or vacation, children go back to their extended family members, home, or community.
13. Who watches over the children that are boarding at the school? The school has staff that live in the SANDI HOUSE girls dormitory or in the boys dormitories to oversee and care for the children. There are also kitchen staff that prepare their meals each day and on the weekends.
14. How much of each donation goes to directly benefit the children and how are tax-deductible donations processed? 100% of every Psalm 41:01 scholarship donation goes to help a specific needy girl or orphan at the Sandi House. This is possible because Brian and Mary Ellen Kluth volunteer their time for this project and they also personally underwrite the cost of processing fees (7-10% for every $1 donated). All tax-deductible donations are processed through Faith & Learning International, an ECFA-accredited umbrella organization that receives donations on behalf of the SANDI HOUSE. Note: When donors give through their bank accounts (online or by check) instead of by credit card, the ministry SAVES close to 3% off of the transaction fees charged by credit card companies. All tax-deductible receipts for checks or online donations are sent out by Faith & Learning on behalf of the SANDI HOUSE. Two separate funds are maintained by Faith & Learning International for the SANDI HOUSE - Special Needs & Projects Fund and the Psalm 41:01 Scholarship Sponsors Funds (to provide full-tuition, room, board, clothing, supplies, etc. as listed above). All expenditures, purchases, and projects are appropriately disbursed from the proper fund as donations are available in the accounts. At St. Paul's school a separate bank account is kept for the Sandi House project/programs and the school has a full-time accountant on their staff to provide proper accounting for all funds and expenditures.
15. How does the school decide which children will receive the PSALM 41:01 SPONSOR FUND scholarship donations? The school has two trained and dedicated full-time social workers that does on-site home visits to evaluate each and every child that is being considered for a scholarship sponsorship. The social workers talk to the parent/s (if living), extended family, and neighbors. They evaluate the living conditions, financial resources inside the family or extended family, the child's needs, past academic experiences, distance from the school, any health or personal problems, and their potential to do well in school. Detailed reports are developed and kept up on every child. There are more needy and deserving children than there are PSALM 41:01 SPONSORS available. As people let us know they want to be a PSALM 41:01 SCHOLARSHIP SPONSOR ($41.01 per month, $125 per quarter, or $500 per year), we will notify the social workers to go through their current list of waiting children and invite the child to begin attending St. Paul's School as a fully funded boarding student in the SANDI HOUSE. Day school students or partially-funded SANDI HOUSE students can also receive financial assistance through the SPECIAL NEEDS FUND of one-time or occasional donations.
16. When someone provides PSALM 41:01 SCHOLARSHIP are they sponsoring a specific child or the SANDI HOUSE program? The sponsors support is guaranteeing needy girls and orphans a bed in the SANDI HOUSE and a Christian education where they will also be cared for, loved, provided daily food, and be able to live in a healthy and happy environment. Every December you will receive a personal letter from the girl that received your scholarship sponsor funds.
17. What does my $41.01 per month donation (or $125/quarterly, or $500/annually) cover? Psalm 41:01 sponsor donations cover the costs of a girls tuition, room, board, clothing, supplies, and basic medical needs. We will continually be looking for additional donors to help with the PSALM 41:01 Sponsorship Fund, so if you have to disrupt or discontinue your monthly or annual support we will use new people's support or any reserves available to continue to keep all the children in the school and the SANDI HOUSE.
18. How will you stay in touch with what is happening with the students? Brian and Mary will be in monthly contact with the social workers and are planning to take trips to Uganda every year to influence the student's lives and help out at the school and community.
19. Can others go with you to Uganda in the future? We will be looking for ways to serve the students, teachers, school, and community in the future and will be glad to consider having others come with us for a 10 day trip. Typical costs will probably be around $2900 (can fluctuate depending on airfare costs) + any needed shots/passports and spending money. If needed, individuals going with us to Uganda will be able to raise tax-deductible donations to go on this short-term missions project.
20. What if I have additional questions? Please contact Brian & Mary Ellen Kluth at 719-930-4000 or by email. You can write them at Brian & Mary Ellen Kluth - 34 Lookout Mountain Circle - Golden, CO 80401.
21. How can people donate to the SANDI HOUSE? CLICK HERE to donate online for one-time, occasional, or on-going gifts by credit card or from you checking or savings account. If you are making out a check, please make it out to: Sandi House - PO Box 480 Wheaton, IL 60187. Questions? Contact Brian or Mary Ellen Kluth at 719-930-4000 or by email.