Tom Lewis, a former police officer and founder of The Fishing School, showed us the importance and satisfaction of helping those who are less fortunate. The Fishing School’s motto is: “Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”

Having visited “Officer Friendly,” as he is affectionately known around the school, we instantly wanted to be involved with his organization. Seeing a dilapidated building in desperate need of repair, Santa Direct proposed the new addition to their computer lab where the children could learn basic computing skills after school. Within a year, Santa Direct raised over $30,000 and the addition was built. The Fishing School had received recognition earlier by the President as part of his faith based initiative, and soon money from other sources was firmly committed. It was a great success story and one with which we were proud to be involved.

Seeing the impact of this experience in the community, our family knew which direction we wanted to take our charity. We believe the next true form of discrimination will be those children with access to computers and information and those that do not. It is our goal to bridge the desire to learn by providing access to the latest computers, software and education, thus allowing a child to expand their knowledge online. From our original goal of providing underserved children with gifts during the holiday season, we have expanded our mission, emphasizing the gift of knowledge. With this idea, we reorganized as The Children Direct Foundation in June of 2006 and launched our new mission.

After speaking with Mr. Lewis about other possibilities in similar surroundings, we learned of a newly established Fishing School located in the poorest town in the poorest area of North Carolina, Chadbourn County. Founded by Ms. Hattie Kelley, Tom Lewis’ cousin, the program operates out of an old, run down gas station given to her when its original owner went out of business. Similar to the original Fishing School in Washington D.C., the after-school program in Chadbourn supplies students a hot meal and a place to continue their learning, focusing on subject areas that require additional review.

Our first step in our mission was to provide the students a safe environment in which to learn. Through numerous fund raising efforts in late 2006, including a successful date raffle held in Washington D.C., Children Direct raised over $11,000 to install a new roof, AC/heat unit, and security system to ensure the safety of the structure. With the building secure, we could focus on providing what we believe is the critical component of an education - a child’s ability to use a computer to access information online.

In the summer of 2009, we constructed a small room on the rear of the existing building in Chadbourn and added four new computers, equipping the children with what Thomas Jefferson called “useful knowledge.” It is our mission to unite the desire to learn with the opportunity to learn by providing access to the latest computers, software and education, thus allowing a child to expand their knowledge online.

Our fund raising goal for 2010 is $40,000.  Our plans include:

*Teacher salary for computer training

*Provide ongoing internet access

*Plant a garden to teach sustainable living

*Install an outside half-basketball court

*Update/renovate part of the kitchen

*Build a fence and install lights around the property to keep it secure