Changing A Destiny

💗 Meet Salma! 💗

This smiling face is Salma, and she is 8 years old. She attends Changing A Destiny Academy in Kenya. Her favorite color is pink, and she loves playing with dolls.

Salma's family's monthly income is only $24.00. It's hard to imagine supporting a family on just $24 per month.

We are looking for a sponsor for Salma. Sponsorship is only 83¢ per day or $25 per month through automatic giving. You can also sponsor her for an entire year with a one-time gift of $300.

Your sponsorship helps provide:
📚 Education and school supplies
🍽️ Two meals each day
👕 A school uniform
✝️ Spiritual learning about Jesus
🏫 A safe place to learn and grow

If you feel led to sponsor Salma, please send an email to [email protected], send a Facebook message, or call 414-861-8749.
If you would like to sign up today, click the donation link and put Salma's name in the payment notes. I will then contact you with additional information.

Thank you for helping us change a destiny, one child at a time.

❤️ Kathy Kohl
Changing A Destiny



https://changingadestiny.org/donate/

Changing a destiny is posted in Savannah, Ga.

Please welcome & get to know our newest sponsor of the Art, Wine & Beer Walk on September 26, 2026 at 4 to 6:00 pm. 🍷

Hi Everyone!

My name is Jenn Reesman, and I am excited to introduce myself as a Realtor with Shorewest, REALTORS® serving Burlington, Waterford, and the surrounding communities.

While I'm new to the real estate industry, I'm certainly not new to serving people. My background in public service has taught me the importance of trust, communication, and building meaningful relationships. As I begin this new chapter, I'm committed to helping buyers and sellers navigate the real estate process with confidence and personalized support.

I am honored to sponsor this year's Art Wine & Beer Walk with a Craft Market area. I love the idea of supporting an event that brings our Waterford community together. I look forward to meeting local residents, business owners, and fellow wine enthusiasts while celebrating everything that makes our area such a great place to live.

Whether you're thinking about buying, selling, curious about the market, or simply want to say hello, I'd love to connect!

📞 262-989-9499
📧 [email protected]
🌐 yourhomevalue.shorewest.com/[email protected]

Cheers to community, connections, and new beginnings! 🍷🏡

🖼️ 🧶 Looking for Artists and crafters for our Fall event in downtown Waterford!!

See application attached.

Changing A Destiny has joined a new community called “Celebrate Our Town”

Cindy the owner came into the studio on Monday & did a two hour interview with me.

I had no idea she was going to write up an article and posted on their business page. Check it out.

I just love reading people‘s perspective on our ministry & it brought a tear to my eye reading it.

Thank you Celebrate Our Town

We appreciate your support to local & international families!

Go GOD!

Matthew 7:7

Changing A Destiny: One Woman's Faith, One Child's Story, and a Mission That Is Transforming Lives Across the World

By Cindy Nicoletti, Founder of Celebrate Our Town

Every once in a while, I sit down with someone whose story leaves me speechless.

Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing Kathy Kohl, co-founder of Changing A Destiny, one of Celebrate Our Town's newest nonprofit partners. What I thought would be a conversation about a local charity quickly became one of the most inspiring stories of faith, obedience, and transformation I have ever heard.

Some organizations provide services.

Some organizations provide hope.

Changing A Destiny is literally changing destinies.

It All Started With One Little Boy

As Kathy shared her story with me, I found myself captivated by the incredible chain of events that led to the creation of this ministry.

In 2017, Kathy traveled to Kilifi County, Kenya, on a mission trip. While there, she met a baby boy named Raymond.

Raymond's life began under heartbreaking circumstances.

Shortly after birth, he was abandoned in a dumpster with his umbilical cord still attached. By the grace of God, someone heard his cries, rescued him, and brought him to a hospital. Eventually, Raymond was placed in an orphanage.

When Kathy met him, she immediately felt a connection.

"I couldn't stop thinking about him," Kathy told me.

After returning home to Wisconsin, Kathy stayed connected through her dear friend Nicole, who lived in Kenya and continued visiting Raymond regularly. Nicole would send photos and videos so Kathy could watch him grow from thousands of miles away.

Then one day, while looking at a photo of Raymond being held by Nicole's husband Tom, Kathy felt God place a question on her heart.

"What if they adopted him?"

Kathy shared the thought with her Bible study group. Together they prayed.

Then something extraordinary happened.

One woman in the group offered to pay the adoption expenses if Nicole and Tom agreed to adopt Raymond.

With tears in her eyes, Kathy realized God was opening a door.

When she finally approached Nicole with the idea, she discovered something remarkable.

God had already placed the exact same desire on Nicole and Tom's hearts.

Today, Raymond is a thriving young boy surrounded by love, opportunity, and family.

In an incredible full-circle moment, Kathy reconnected with Raymond in 2023 and continues to watch him flourish. Even more beautiful, Raymond's adoption became the spark that ignited a ministry now impacting hundreds of children and families.

As Kathy and Nicole witnessed the challenges facing children in Kenya, they knew God was calling them to do more.

Many children in the region face unimaginable hardships. Without education and support, they become vulnerable to poverty, trafficking, criminal gangs, slavery, and forced marriages at a very young age.

Kathy and Nicole believed every child deserved the opportunity to learn, grow, and discover God's love.

That belief became the foundation of Changing A Destiny Founded in 2020, the ministry's vision is simple yet powerful:
"Changing A Destiny is dedicated to instructing students and families in the ways of God's Word and of His love, mercy, and forgiveness; and to planting seeds of faith in Kilifi, Kenya, and neighboring communities through education, Bible studies, and friendship."

What God Has Already Accomplished

What began with one rescued child has grown into something truly extraordinary.

Through faith, prayer, generous supporters, and God's provision, Changing A Destiny has established:

• 2.5 acres of land in Kenya

• A church and Sunday school shelter

• A 105-foot-deep fresh water well

• Eight classrooms

• 126 enrolled students

• Breakfast and lunch provided during the school week

• Fourteen local staff members serving the children

These aren't just buildings.

These are opportunities.

These are futures.

These are lives being transformed.

Changing Lives Here at Home Too

What impressed me most during my conversation with Kathy was that Changing A Destiny isn't only serving internationally.

They are deeply invested in our local communities as well.

Through partnerships with Life Choices, they provide free essentials and support to women and families facing difficult circumstances.

They partner with many other local non profit organizations carefully building help and hope for those in our communities in need.

Additionally, they collaborate with local businesses and host fundraisers throughout Waterford and surrounding communities, strengthening the fabric of our neighborhoods while helping families both locally and abroad. Their impact truly extends from Waterford to Kenya and everywhere in between.

While so much has already been accomplished, Kathy shared that there is still tremendous work to do.

The school continues to grow, and ongoing support is needed for:

• School supplies and educational resources

• Technology and computer equipment

• Student desks and classroom furnishings

• Playground equipment

• Their future kitchen and cafeteria project

• Daily meals for students

Most importantly, there are currently more than 80 children who still need sponsors.

For just $25 per month — less than 83 cents per day — a child receives:

• Placement in school

• Two meals a day

• School uniform

• Books and educational materials

• Christian education

• Mentorship and support

• Hope for a brighter future

Think about that.

Less than the cost of a cup of coffee can completely change a child's future.

How You Can Help Change A Destiny

There are many ways to become involved:

Sponsor a Child

Just $25 per month helps provide education, meals, uniforms, books, and Christian learning opportunities.

Support Their Giving Tree Program

• $30–$50 provides notebooks and pencils for 10 students

• $150 provides a student desk and chair set

• $150 helps purchase food preparation tables for the kitchen

• $300 helps purchase a computer for the IT Learning Center

• $250–$500 helps fund playground equipment

• Donations toward the future kitchen and cafeteria project are greatly needed

Donate Shoes Year-Round

New or gently used shoes may be dropped off at:

KK Photography
300 E. Main Street
Waterford, WI 53185

At Celebrate Our Town, we meet incredible business owners, community leaders, and nonprofit organizations every day.
But occasionally we encounter a mission that reminds us what happens when ordinary people simply say "yes" to our Creator's calling. Changing A Destiny is one of those missions.

What began with a baby rescued from a dumpster has become a ministry transforming lives, strengthening families, educating children, and sharing God's love across continents.

Kathy Kohl and Nicole have shown us that when faith meets action, destinies truly can change.

Thank you, Kathy, for taking the time to share your story with us. Your compassion, dedication, and unwavering trust in God's plan are inspiring beyond words.

Celebrate Our Town is honored to partner with such an extraordinary organization and help spread awareness of the incredible work being done both locally and internationally.

Together, we can help change a destiny.

One child.

One family.

One future at a time.

For more information, sponsorship opportunities, or to make a donation, visit ChangingADestiny.org.

Contact Kathy Kohl:
414-861-8749
[email protected]

PLEASE help us help others.
A single act of generosity could change a child's destiny forever.

Changing A Destiny is asking for your help on behalf of Shawn Whitman, a Changing A Destiny Board Member, and her brother, Chris Hanlon.

Recently, Chris was cleaning his gutters and trimming a tree when he suffered a serious fall. As a result, he has undergone back surgery and is unable to work for the next three months or longer while he recovers.

Chris and his family have faithfully supported Changing A Destiny since 2020.

Now it's our turn to help them during this difficult time.

If you would like to help support Chris and his family, donations can be made by cash or check.
Checks can be dropped off at:
KK Photography
300 E. Main Street
Waterford, WI 53185
Please make checks payable to: Cindy Hanlon
Memo: Chris Hanlon
Or
Go Fund Me link below…
Or
If you would feel more comfortable donating online through Changing A Destiny, you may do so through our donation page. The options are Venmo, Cash App or Debt Card 3% fee.

Please put “Chris Hanlon" in the payment notes.

ChangingADestiny Donation link below.
https://changingadestiny.org/donate/

🙏 Most importantly, please keep Chris and his family in your prayers as he recovers.
Praying for complete healing, strength, and provision for Chris in Jesus' Name!

https://gofund.me/3ff247d39

Donate to Support Chris’s Recovery After His Fall, organized by shawn whitman My brother Chris suffered an unfortunate fall from his roof while he was cleanin… shawn whitman needs your support for Support Chris’s Recovery After His Fall

Do you have old crayons?

Let’s help local children.

We’re extending our Crayon Recycling program through June 15th!

Bring your old, broken, or unused crayons — wrapped or unwrapped — to the Waterford or Rochester Public Library and help give them a second life.

Collected crayons will be turned into new crayons and donated to children’s hospitals across the U.S.

A small donation can make a big difference for children in need. Thank you for supporting the Waterford Lions Club and this meaningful community project!

Waterford Public Library & Rochester Public Library