Buckner International President Albert L. Reyes said that as Buckner leadership “progressed through this (affiliation) process, it became evident to me and to others the great asset Pat Crump is. Having Pat in Dallas as a vital part of our leadership team serves all of Buckner International, but especially Buckner Retirement Services and Baptist Memorials Ministries.”

BRS Senior Vice President Charlie Wilson announced the move, which will become effective Aug. 1. Crump also will retain his title and role as president of Baptist Memorials and continue “to work directly” with the BMM Board.

Crump has served as president of Baptist Memorials since 2005. Previously, he was president of healthcare services for Baptist Memorials Center in San Angelo and resident care coordinator for Albuquerque Manor.

He earned both the Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Science in Gerontology degrees from Baylor University. Crump currently serves as secretary for the Board of Directors of the Texas Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, as well as the boards of the San Angelo Rotary Club and First Financial Bank of San Angelo. He was honored by TAHSA in 2000 with the group’s Leadership Award and in 2007 by the Baylor Alumni Association with its Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

In addition to naming Crump to his new role, Wilson named Quinda Feil-Duncan as executive director of BMM’s Baptist Retirement Community in San Angelo. Feil-Duncan has served since 2006 as vice president of retirement living for BRC and, said Wilson, “brings a tremendous wealth of experience and commitment to the mission of serving elders.

Combined, BRS and BMM serve 2,200 elders annually and operate seven Texas retirement communities in Austin, Beaumont, Burnet, Dallas, Houston, Longview and San Angelo.

   For more information, go to www.bucknerretirement.org or www.bapmem.com.

(DALLAS)—Buckner International, a global ministry serving orphans and vulnerable children, celebrated some of its most notable success stories Friday, April 16 at the Dallas Market Center as part of its annual Founder’s Day celebration.

This year, the organization celebrated 131 years of serving children and families.

The honorees included Aaron Hardin, who grew up attending a Buckner after-school program in South Dallas; Bruce and Denise Kendrick, who serve as Buckner foster parents in Melissa, Texas; Charbra Richardson, a single mom living at Buckner Family Place in Amarillo; and Celeste del Carmen Hernandez Rosales, a young adult living in a Buckner transitional home in Guatemala.

“These are some of the individuals who make all of our efforts worthwhile,” said Albert Reyes, president of Buckner International. “They are our inspiration and the reason we give our lives to this ministry.”

Aaron Hardin, who started attending the Wynnewood Community Center when he was 15, didn’t want to participate in the gang activity everyone seemed to be involved in.

“Mostly I just wanted to hang out here (at the Buckner after school program) there was just a peace here.”

Today, at 25, Aaron is working on his second college degree after graduating high school at the top of his class and finishing his associate’s degree in business. He wants to go into ministry full time and is often seen quoting Scripture or offering a gentle word of encouragement to people he meets.

Two other honored guests were foster parents Bruce and Denise Kendrick have provided home to 25 foster children in need of care and adopted one teenage son, in addition to caring for their three biological children.

“The best part of fostering,” says Denise, “is getting to see kids who may have been neglected or abused really start to blossom and the more you invest in them, you get to see their true personalities come out when they’re not hungry or afraid.”

Charbra Richardson and her two sons live at Buckner Family Place in Amarillo, Texas.

Charbra Richardson lives at Buckner Family Place in Amarillo, Texas and is studying criminal justice in hopes of becoming a probation officer for juveniles.

“When you look at your kids and they are hungry or you tell them that we have to go into a shelter or be separated, it does something to a mom and I could not deal with that,” Richardson said. “It’s great knowing that I can come here and make my kids feel at home and loved and know that I have a way out.”

The final honoree was Celeste Del Carmen Hernandez Rosales, who dreams of being a lawyer. When she was 15, she turned herself over to be admitted to the government orphanages in Guatemala. It was her only hope to receive an education, she said.

“I can finally trust God,” Celeste said. “I believe in Him. I know that because I have gone through so much, God will bless me with many things. And He has. I have a house, food, friends, an education—I don’t lack anything.”

According to Buckner’s Russia staff this morning, international adoptions are continuing without interruption. Andrei Pukhlov, director of the Buckner program, said there “has been no official announcement from the Ministry of Education regarding the suspension of adoptions.”

Numerous stories in the media today announcing the suspension of adoptions quoted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, that agency of the Russian government does not oversee the adoption program and according to other sources, does not have the authority to suspend adoptions.

“While we have not received any official word, we are watching the situation closely and we will be in touch with our families waiting to adopt from Russia,” said Felipe Garza, vice president at Buckner.

Buckner began adoptions from Russia in 1995. More than 250 Russian children have been placed with families through Buckner in the past 15 years.

Recent news events surrounding the status of Russian adoption to American families has centered on the case of a 7-year-old boy who was sent back to Moscow alone last week by his adoptive mother in Tennessee. The case of the boy, who was named Artyom in Russia before he was adopted last year, has caused widespread anger here, and Russian officials said new regulations had to be put in place before adoptions by Americans could proceed.

The U.S. State Department in Washington is sending a high-level delegation to Moscow to hold talks on reaching an agreement, and both countries have expressed hope that the matter can be resolved quickly.

Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow said they had not received official notification of a suspension and were seeking more information from their Russian counterparts.

Russia was the third leading source of adoptive children in the United States in 2009, with 1,586, after China and Ethiopia, officials said. More than 50,000 Russian children have been adopted by United States citizens since 1991, according to the United States Embassy.

Artyom, who was named Justin by his adoptive American mother, arrived in Moscow last week after flying by himself from Washington. He presented the authorities with a note from his adoptive mother in which she said she could no longer handle him.

Click here to read an update from the U.S. State Department on this issue.

Watch the WFAA Ch. 8 news story about Russian adoptions and Buckner.

Watch the CBS 11 news story about a Buckner family adopting their second child from Russia.

DALLAS — A group of Russian orphans will make the trip of a lifetime as they travel across the world to stay with American host families this August.

The program, called Angels from Abroad, provides older children a chance to learn about American culture, share their Russian culture and experience living in a family. It also helps raise awareness about the need for adopting older children, said Irina Shytova, director of Dillon International’s Russia program, available through the licensed, non-profit agency’s affiliation with Buckner.

“With more than 750,000 estimated orphans in Russia, there is a tremendous need for adoptive families, especially families for older children. About 75 to 80 percent of the children available for adoption are 5 years old or older,” Shytova said, adding that older children in Russian orphanages face a bleak future if they are not adopted.  At the age of 17, children are forced to leave the orphanage system and many fall into alcohol, drugs, prostitution and crime. It is estimated nearly 10 percent commit suicide within the first three years.

“We have the opportunity to change these children’s lives dramatically through adoption,” Shytova said. All children are between the ages of 6 and 12.

Host families are still needed for the program. Interested families can attend a free interest meeting April 6 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Dillon International Office/Buckner Children’s Home Campus in Dallas.

WHAT: Free Interest Meeting for Angels from Abroad Host Families

WHEN: Tuesday, April 6, 2010, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.

WHERE: Buckner Children’s Home Campus, 5200 S. Buckner Blvd.Dallas, Texas

RSVP: To attend, families can contact Sharon Hedrick at 214-319-3426 or email shedrick@buckner.org

Details available at www.angelsfromabroad.org.

Ed Keller, chief operating officer of the Beaumont Foundation of America, hands a $65,000 check to Buckner President Albert Reyes. “We are glad to do this for the children,” Keller said. “We are happy to bring a little bit of joy into the lives of kids who don't have a lot of it.”

By Analiz G. Schremmer

BEAUMONT, Texas—For four straight years, the Beaumont Foundation has donated money to buy clothes for children served in the Buckner foster care program.

“We are glad to do this for the children,” said Ed Keller, chief operating officer of the Beaumont Foundation of America. “We want them to have the opportunity to buy the clothing they want. We get very positive feedback from the children who benefit.”

Later, he added, “We are happy to bring a little bit of joy into the lives of kids who don’t have a lot of it.”

Laura May, who serves as the administrator for Buckner in Beaumont, said that the $65,000 donation translates to making hurt children feel valued.

“Some of our children come into Buckner with absolutely nothing; no clothes, no self esteem, no hope,” May said. “The gift of new clothes helps them know that they matter and also cheers up children who may have never had much at all.”

“We recently took one girl shopping with the Beaumont Foundation money,” May said. “And when they were about to buy the clothes, the childcare worker noticed that the sizes were not going to fit the little girl, so she asked if she’d tried them on. Well the girl told her that she didn’t know you could do that because she’d never tried on new clothes before. She said you could tell that this was really a big event for her.

“Another story,” she continued, “was one about a little boy of about 7 who ran up to me and said ‘Ms. Laura, I gotta show you something.’ He opened up his drawers and in there were all these new clothes folded neatly and he said, ‘Can you believe that everything in that drawer is mine?’ You could tell it was the first time he’d gotten to have new clothes.”

Buckner President Albert Reyes said he is thankful for the Beaumont Foundation’s continued support of Buckner.

“Our heart is always for the children,” Reyes said. “So we are very appreciative because we know that this will make a difference in the lives of some of the most vulnerable members of our society—young people who have been separated from their families.”

One shipment of medical supplies and cots will be sent by air, through the Dominican Republic and into Haiti, to benefit the children and families receiving aid at Hope Hospital in Port Au Prince, said Matt Asato, director of humanitarian aid.

“The other container will be filled with about 24,500 pairs of new shoes next Thursday, Feb. 4. We’ll be sending that container to Florida where we’ve partnered with Holy Cross Lutheran Church. They will be distributing the shoes in Haiti to orphans and families through their connections with Food for the Poor,” he said.

Asato said they will schedule subsequent shipments of basic humanitarian aid supplies over the next three to four weeks, depending on what supplies are provided by donors.

Several churches in Texas, including Crestview Baptist Church in Midland and First Baptist Church in Irving, are collecting hygiene items for Haiti to be distributed by Buckner.

“Hygiene kits and supplies are still our biggest need,” he added.

Complete hygiene kits include the following:

• Hand towel
• Wash cloth
• Toothpaste (4.6 oz or larger)
• Toothbrush (in original package)
• Bar of soap (in original package)
• Comb
• Wet wipes
• Shampoo
• Bandages (travel size or larger)
• Tissues – 2 travel pack sizes
• Feminine hygiene products (18 or more per pack)

To collect and send a kit, fill a two-gallon sized Ziploc bag with the items listed above and mail or drop it off at the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid, located at 5405 Shoe Drive, Mesquite, Texas 75149. Donors are encouraged to call 214-328-7463 to schedule a time for delivery.

To make a financial contribution for Buckner Haiti Relief, please click here.

To help support Buckner’s crisis relief work in Haiti, please click here.
To collect humanitarian aid for Haiti, click here for a list of needed items.

As the president of Buckner Foundation, Slover leads advancement efforts to support the nearly $100-million operating budget of Buckner International and its subsidiaries, Buckner Children and Family Services and Buckner Retirement Services.

As president, Slover oversees the daily operations of Buckner Foundation. He is tasked with directing the Foundation’s fund-raising, public relations and marketing efforts, establishing and building donor relationships, and managing Foundation assets to support the ministries of Buckner.

“David has done a tremendous job establishing Buckner Foundation over the past four years, and he is poised to take the Foundation even further in its role to help secure much-needed resources for Buckner’s ministries worldwide,” said Mike McDougal, chair of the Buckner Foundation Board of Directors.

Albert Reyes, the newly-elected president of Buckner International, said Slover “is a man of integrity and he is trusted by our donors to use their funds in a way that honors both the donor and the person who is served. I am looking forward to working alongside him in our quest to maximize global resources to support children and families for God’s kingdom.”

Slover, 45, formerly served as executive vice president of Buckner Foundation. Before that, he was senior director of development at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas where he directed the organization’s successful $150-million comprehensive campaign. He has more than 20 years of experience in the professional development field.

Slover earned his bachelor’s degree and master of business administration degree from Baylor University in Waco and attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. He has served on the Baylor Alumni Association Board of Directors and Baylor Bear Foundation Board of Directors.

He is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and National Committee on Planned Giving, having served as a past board member of the North Texas Chapter.  He has also received accreditation as a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CRFE) from the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Slover and his wife, Carol, have two children, Seth and Sarah. They are members of Valley Ranch Baptist Church in Coppell, where he has served in many different roles.

Reyes served previously as president of Buckner Children and Family Services, a position he has held since 2007. Prior to joining Buckner, he was president of Baptist University of the Americas in San Antonio.

Scott McIlveene, chair of the Buckner board of trustees, said Reyes was the only candidate considered to replace Hall, who was elected to the post in 1993. Reyes will report directly to the board of trustees.

“Dr. Reyes brings the perfect mix of vision, passion and intellect to the task, especially at this point in the history of Buckner,” McIlveene said. “We are uniquely poised as a ministry to move forward like never before, thanks to tremendous work of Buckner’s previous five presidents.”

Reyes, who becomes the first non-Anglo to lead Buckner since its founding in 1879, said, “I understand that with such a great honor come great challenges and opportunities.

“The orphans, vulnerable children, families, and elders served by Buckner depend on us to make their lives better,” he said. “That is tremendous honor, but also a serious responsibility.”

Hall continues in his role as CEO, also reporting to the trustees, while working closely with the staff of Buckner Foundation to secure financial support for the work of Buckner. He will also serve as a consultant to Reyes.

As president of Buckner, Reyes will manage the organization’s nearly $100-million annual budget, while overseeing the daily operations of more than 1,300 employees worldwide. Those operations include work through Buckner Children and Family Services’ domestic and international ministries and Buckner Retirement Services’ seven senior living communities in Texas.

A native of Corpus Christi, Texas, Reyes earned his bachelor of business administration in management from Angelo State University and his master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as the doctor of ministry from Southwestern. He completed his doctor of philosophy degree from Andrews University in 2009.

He served as founder and pastor of Pueblo Nuevo Community Church in El Paso, Texas for seven years before becoming president at BUA. He also served as pastor of churches in Dallas. From 1981-88, he was a manager for the National Customer Service Center for Sprint.

“Buckner as a ministry and those served by Buckner owe a great debt of gratitude to Ken Hall for the great leadership he has given the past 16 years,” Reyes said. “My vision is to build on what Dr. Hall has started – to go farther and faster with God’s help.”

Reyes and his wife Belinda have three sons, Joshua, David and Thomas. They are members of Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas.

Click here to watch a video about Albert Reyes.

Click here to read a feature story about Albert Reyes from Buckner Today.

“One of our biggest needs is for hygiene kits,” said Matt Asato, Buckner director of humanitarian aid.

Complete hygiene kits include the following items:
· Hand towel
· Wash cloth
· Toothpaste (4.6 oz or larger)
· Toothbrush (in original package)
· Bar of soap (in original package)
· Comb
· Wet wipes
· Shampoo
· Bandages (travel size or larger)
· Tissues – 2 travel pack sizes
· Feminine hygiene products (18 or more per pack)

To collect and send a kit, fill a two-gallon sized Ziploc bag with the items listed above and mail or drop it off at the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid, located at 5405 Shoe Drive, Mesquite, Texas 75149. Or to schedule a drop off, please call 214-328-7463.

Other items being collected include new clothing, shoes, socks, tents, blankets, baby food, and new medical supplies. Click here to download a complete list.

Four shipping containers are being provided by GAiN (Global Aid Network), and Buckner is filling them for distribution within the next couple of weeks. Buckner is also coordinating the distribution of medical supplies and hygiene kits within the week, Asato said.

Aid will be sent to support Gladys Thomas’s Hope Hospital, which is receiving many casualties from the quakes, as well as the children living in the Children’s Village orphanage.

Dillon International, Buckner’s international adoption affiliate, has worked with Thomas for 25 years and places children from her orphanage into adoptive families in the United States.

To give financially, donors may call the Buckner Foundation at 214-758-8050 or click here to give online.

More stories about Haiti
You can help ship aid to Haitian earthquake victims
Buckner, Dillon International Respond to Haiti Crisis