Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Blessing Hands?
Blessing Hands is an American public charity with 501(C)(3) status with the United States Government. Being a nonprofit organization means that our purpose is to give money to those who have educational needs - not make money as a business. We are incorporated in the State of Kentucky.
What is the meaning behind the name “Blessing Hands”?
We think that blessings, not luck, will help students progress toward a rewarding life. We also believe that anyone’s hands can bless others with help. We want to foster charity and compassion in our sponsors and students, empowering them to help themselves and others. It is not enough to succeed personally. Real success is when you are able to help others also succeed.
Are you associated with any religious group?
We are not a church or an evangelistic organization. We seek to help any poor students regardless of their belief system. We are a Christian faith-based charity that believes that God’s hand blesses us all.
What is your purpose?
Immediately our purpose is to help students reach their full potential by offering educational aid to students in the Guangxi Province of P. R. China. In the long term we expect our students to become a blessing hand, passing their blessings on to many others.
How did Blessing Hands get started?
Betty Cutts, our founder, was teaching in a summer English camp in Yangshuo, P. R. China when she became interested in helping disadvantaged students continue in school. Looking around, she saw opportunities to touch many students’ lives with long term blessings at very little expense. Charity dollars given in the USA go a long way in China.
Why were Yangshuo and Qinzhou students chosen first to help?
Betty Cutts taught summer English camps in these two areas and developed friendships with professional educators and teachers in both areas. She also made friends with two visiting scholars from these areas of Guangxi province, who came for extended stays at Morehead State University, where her husband taught physics until his retirement.She was able to select proven administrators who were outstanding in China to be administers and advisory board members for Blessing Hands.
How much aid actually goes to the students?
Blessing Hands has many volunteers but only two paid part-time workers.In our last school year (2006/2007) we spent $44,716 on programs for students and $3,226 on management.$701 went for fundraising that year.
Who runs Blessing Hands and makes decisions?
Blessing Hands has a five member American board of directors that have experiences in international travel and teaching. One of our board members, Li Xiao Long is from rural China, and gives valuable insight into Chinese customs. We are directed by by-laws of our choosing and the charity laws of the USA.
Who runs your program in China?
Our three administrators in China are distinguished educators and educational leaders in their locations. Two of them have been visiting scholars at Morehead State University and developed personal friendships in Morehead. Two of them are administrators in their schools or educational departments. They have extensive knowledge of the educational system of China and have earned the respect of teachers, principals and local educational department officials.
Who supports Blessing Hands?
Clubs, churches, individuals, schools, and granting foundations support Blessing Hands, but individuals are the backbone we depend on. We want our students to know their sponsors and encourage communication between sponsors and their sponsored students. We hope you will become a supporter.
How do you select the students to help?
Such information as family income and size, commitment to learning, grades, and academic performance is gathered by the school teachers who know the students. Orphans and single parent families are given special consideration. The local school authorities and Blessing Hands administrators check the authenticity of the teacher’s recommendation.
Volunteer teachers supervise students in their areas. Schools are dropped from the program if they don’t cooperate for the good of the children. Most of our primary schools are rural and nearly all of our students are from rural areas, even if they go to city secondary schools, where they become boarding students.
Where do the children live?
Our students are presently in two areas of South China in Guangxi Province – Yangshuo and Qinzhou. Yangshuo is a tourist area because of its beautiful rock formations and river. Almost every American president that has visited China has been to Yangshuo also. Qinzhou is a southern port city on the Gulf of Tonkin near Vietnam. Most of the students over 12 live at their schools, since it is so far home to their rural villages.
Who selects college scholarship students?
When our students graduate from secondary school, we like to support them in college as funds allow. The Blessing Hands Board has final authority over the awarding of $500 tuition scholarships and the selection process. They delegate a committee to either interview students in person in China or review submitted scholarship applications. The students are selected based on college entrance exams common to all of China, recent grades in school, two letters of recommendation, a personal essay, and a submitted photograph. Scholarships are given for one year and renewed based on passing grades, continued need, and funds available. Sponsors are also encouraged to fund their special student’s college tuition, when they reach that age.
Who makes decisions in China?
Our administers make some decisions about programs in China and make recommendations to the Chairman of our Board. We have good communication by phone and e-mail and keep up with happenings in China. We have an advisory board of former visiting scholars who have been in Morehead and returned to China, who give opinions and suggestions. The final decision, however, is made by the Blessing Hands Board or the Board Chairman, as authorized by the board, depending on the situation and the need for immediate action.
How does the money get to the students and how can I know that they actually get it?
Money is wired to China and distributed to the schools and students personally by our administrators. Betty Cutts, our founder and President, often travels at her own expense to be in ceremonies where tuitions are publicly received by students and schools. A signed receipt is received representing each student and school. Photos with the children holding their received aid are encouraged. Betty Cutts or other Blessing Hands representatives visit schools and talk to teachers and students.
Sponsors are encouraged to write to their sponsored children to hear first hand how they are doing and make sure they have received their school aid. Thank you letters are on file for most children.
The school where the student is studying sometimes assists in giving out the funds to the students if the schools are remote. Both the person who handled the matter and the student or the student’s parent sign the receipt. Receipts in Yangshuo are received by the Education Department, who forwards them to the Blessing Hands designated representative.
What kind of relationship do you have with the government of China?
We are not registered as a Chinese charity, since we do not raise donations in China. Our funds are given internationally and spent in China. We have an agreement with the Educational Department of Yangshuo County as to how many students we will fund at what level, but the funds do not go to the government. They are distributed personally to the students by way of our administrators.
In June 2007, the provincial government of Guangxi gave a Certificate of Special Individual Contribution to Charity to Betty Cutts for service to the poor children of Yangshuo County.Blessing Hands is often featured in Chinese newspapers and on local Chinese TV.
How are financial matters handled in the USA?
Our audited financial records are available for inspection and our form 990 is placed on line at here for anyone to see. The board treasurer makes monthly reports at our board meetings, and we are guided by a budget.
Can I send a special gift to my sponsored student?
When Blessing Hands representatives travel to China, light weight special gifts can be sent to a sponsored school or child. You can also mail gifts to your student personally, but money should not travel through the mail. Heavy gifts are very expensive to send to China. Busy Blessing Hands administrators are not usually asked to personally give special gifts to students.
Can a whole school be sponsored?
Yes, you can send gifts to a school or adopt a school as a “Sister School” with your local school.Clubs, classes and families can adopt the students in one school and interact with the Blessing Hands students there.
What does a sponsor do?
You support your chosen student with $80 in school tuition if they are over 15. If they are junior middle school age you give $25 a semester for their non-tuition support in boarding school. Primary sponsors give $10 a semester in school supplies and books for their sponsored children.
You are encouraged to interact with your student through letters or e-mail. Many of our students come from one parent homes, live with grandparents because their parents are divorced or working in the cities, or are orphans. They benefit from contact with a caring person in their lives. Letters also encourage them to learn English. A sponsor is given a photo, an address to write, and other information about the child they support. The students like to practice their English skills through interactions.
Can I write to my sponsored student?
We encourage writing and e-mail connections with the sponsored students. It takes quite some time for a letter to go and come from China. Some older students have e-mail access, but they can’t write very often. Your communication with younger sponsored students will have to be facilitated by teachers, so be patient.
Can I visit my sponsored student?
At your own expense, you can visit your student or sponsored school in China. Be sure and make arrangements ahead of time with Blessing Hands, so your visit will be a blessing to your student. The schools are out for the month of July and the part of February near Chinese New Year. Yangshuo is a tourist area, and you can easily combine a regular trip with also contacting your sponsored child in Yangshuo, if you are not on a packaged tour. Be prepared to pay for transportation and escort to distant schools.
Can I be a volunteer?
We need Chinese volunteers to translate newsletters and other items for us. This can be done by e-mail. We also need computer literate people willing to help us with pen pal pictures and files seasonally. If you are good at web maintenance, we can sure use your skills. Pen pals are vital volunteers also. If you want to present a PowerPoint presentation or host a fundraiser, we would love to talk to you.