By Jenny Pope
Buckner International

DALLAS – It was the Friday before Christmas and the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid was packed with families, excited children, toys and food. Dozens of volunteers were beaming from ear to ear and Christmas music was humming as each family proceeded through the well-organized receiving line. Gift cards, turkeys, shoes and toys soon filled their arms.

Albert Reyes edged among them, walking alongside a young mother and talking in Spanish. As the noisy room began to swallow their conversation, he showed increasing concern. Tears were knocking the brims of his eyes as the mother explained her condition – she was sleeping on the floor in a friend’s apartment, along with her four children. She needed a mattress. Read the rest of this entry

DALLAS – The Board of Directors of Buckner Foundation named David M. Slover president Jan. 22.

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.

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DALLAS — Albert L. Reyes was elected as the sixth president in the 131-year history of Buckner International Jan. 22, succeeding Kenneth L. Hall, who remains with Buckner as Chief Executive Officer.

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.

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DALLAS – Buckner International is collecting medical supplies and aid to send to Haiti’s earthquake victims, including an orphanage and hospital supported by Dillon International.

“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)

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Tragedy hits Buckner family -- In a 2007 file photo, Buckner houseparent Marco Orellana (center) sits in the living room of the Buckner Boys' Transitional Home No. 1 in Guatemala City with wife Claudia, daughter Paola (now 5), son Marco Jr. (now 3), and transitional home resident William. Orellana was killed Friday evening by carjackers in an incident Buckner Children and Family Services President Albert Reyes called "a tragedy for the entire Buckner family."

By Russ Dilday
Buckner News Service

GUATEMALA CITY – A much-beloved houseparent at a Buckner Guatemala-operated boys’ transitional home was killed Friday evening in an apparent carjacking.

According to Amed Bendfeldt, country director for Buckner Guatemala, Marco Orellana, 30, was shot by thieves as they attempted to steal his car while Orellana was on a personal errand. Orellana was rushed to a hospital, where he died from his wounds.

Orellana served at the Buckner Guatemala-operated Boys’ Transitional Home No 1 along with his wife Claudia since it opened in 2007. The home is one of two boys’ transitional homes in Guatemala and serves as transitional housing for five-seven boys who are moving from orphanages to independent adult life. Buckner has operated ministries to children and families in Guatemala since 2002. Read the rest of this entry

Buckner is collecting new tents, blankets, personal care items and first aid kits to ship to Haiti earthquake relief efforts. We're collecting at the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid from 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. weekdays. In-kind donors are encouraged to contact the Buckner Center of Humanitarian Aid to schedule drop-offs by calling 214-328-7463. The Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid is located at 5405 Shoe Drive, Mesquite, Texas 75149.

Buckner is preparing four containers of humanitarian aid to send to Haiti, where a 7.1-magnitude earthquake killed thousands Tuesday evening, and we need your help to make it happen. Buckner, through its international adoption affiliate Dillon International, provides adoption services and humanitarian aid in Haiti.

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AFP / Getty Images / Daniel Morel

Buckner and its international adoption affiliate, Dillon International, announced Wednesday that the organizations will collect funds to bring medical relief following the Tuesday earthquake that rocked Haiti, killing thousands.

Deniese Dillon, executive director of Dillon International, said donations were being sent to Dillon and Buckner to be forwarded to Gladys Thomas’s Hope Hospital, which has received many casualties from the quakes.

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By Analiz G. Schremmer

(NAIROBI, Kenya)—A group of Buckner orphans in Kenya learned about oral health during a seminar led by a group of short-term mission volunteers in December.

Photo courtesy of Heather Pollard

Ken Stilwell, a dentist and his wife, Linda Stilwell, a dental hygienist talked to the children about the importance of caring for their teeth. The Stilwells were part of a team of individuals who came together for the trip.

The couple gave the children disclosing pills to teach them about tartar.

“Wherever the teeth stained pink, it meant they had tartar there,” said Jessica Garcia, mission trip leader.

“The caregivers said they all went to their rooms at night, chewed on their disclosing tablets and really brushed their teeth,” Garcia said. “They are all orphans and they’ve never had examples outside of their caregivers of how to do this kind of thing, and sometimes it’s hard for caregivers to give them enough one-on-one attention.

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By Analiz G. Schremmer

WACO, Texas — Sugar and spice and Russian adoption—twice.

Sarah and Natalie, ages 6 and 7, became part of the Bull family in April 2009, but already their English is perfect.They giggle and tickle each other and play with dolls and Hello Kitty as much as any other little girl. And their new mom, Melinda Bull, said they were always happy girls.

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By Analiz G. Schremmer

AUSTIN—Dr. Lillian Brown can’t sing with her voice, so she does it with her piano.

Brown, 89, said that when she moved to Buckner Villas in Austin, she had nowhere to place her piano, so she donated it in memory of her father, Rev. E. E. Wheeless, who had served as pastor at Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin.

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