2018 Highlights from NPH USA!

2018 was another wonderful year at NPH USA, and thanks to the support of our dedicated staff, board members, volunteers, sponsors, and donors, we have a lot to celebrate. Check out highlights from each region, as well as our national office volunteer program and St. Damien Pediatric Hospital in Haiti below!

Northwest Region

• 2018 marked the 30th anniversary of NPH in the Northwest region. While we celebrated all year long with our NW community, wrapping everything up with our Circle of Friends Gala was truly something special. Fr. Rick Frechette, from NPH Haiti, inspired us with his speech on the importance of responding to the needs of children with a spirit of “paz y bien” (peace and all good things) despite the challenges we face. We were also delighted to have a number of founding NW office members celebrate with us! 
• This past July, we were thrilled to have a group of 38 people fly south to NPH Honduras. The visit to Rancho Santa Fe was a wonderful immersion into life at the home, allowing us to see firsthand the extensive services and opportunities NPH provides. One day, a number of fleeting hours on the ball court were shared by the children, staff, and NW group. Tennis and soccer balls flying overhead, this play-day was a chance to meet new faces with the fun of bracelet-making, drawing, competitive sports, jump rope, music, and more! Merlin Antunez, who is a former Pequeño, introduced us to The Holy Family Surgery Center, where he is the head surgeon. The facility is impressive and very well-equipped to serve not only the NPH home, but the greater Honduran community. At the end of each day, we shared reflections of the moments we noticed or shared with the children and staff that we would take with us. We can’t wait to return!
• Our NW region is fortunate to be celebrating the exceptional leadership of a number of board members this year. Lee Grever was our 2018 Regional Board chair. He and his wife Annika hosted a Seattle Institute Student from the DR, where they first met and volunteered, while also leading and supporting our board throughout another exceptional year. Jessi Traughber and Paul Sandoval are the co-chairs of our Associate Board, who have led fearlessly and been motivating through a transition-year of the AB. We also celebrate Rachel Prusynski, a member of our Regional Board and founder/former member of the Associate Board, who was recognized by Seattle Met magazine with the Light A Fire 2018: Extraordinary Board Member award for her work and dedication to NPH and our work in Haiti!
• The Northwest welcomed a new Development Coordinator, Anna Masako Hanson, to the office this year. A recent graduate, she is thrilled to join not only a marvelous team, but also the entire NPH community, and we are thrilled to have her! Her energy, dedication, and passion are infectious to the whole team. She is happy to have met and now sponsor an amazing girl in Honduras during the summer immersion trip. 
• In August, with the continued financial support from the MAPFRE Foundation and other local partners, the NW welcomed an amazing 8th cohort of The Seattle Institute. We welcome Ricky (NPH DR), Moy (NPH Guatemala), Fany (NPH Honduras), Liamar (NPH Nicaragua), and Rafa (NPH Peru) to the NW region! We are looking forward to hearing their stories and seeing how their leadership skills develop over the course of the year.   

 

Southwest Region

• Nella Terra Cellars was an amazing partner to our SW team in 2018. We hosted 65 people at Una Noche Bajo Los Estrellas on October 4th, and pequeños from the NPH Mexico folkloric music and dance troupe performed. Nella Terra Cellars was so gracious with their space and libations. Supporters raised nearly $3,000 and 12 new godparents were welcomed into the NPH family that evening!
• This year with the hard work of volunteers, the Denver Professionals Board was created! They successfully hosted their first trivia night and the second annual Get Closer Colorado dinner, tripling the number of attendees, introducing 4 new godparents to the NPH family and raising over $7,500. If you are interested in attending our events or joining our board, please reach out to our office at infosw@nphusa.org.
• We had some amazing volunteers dedicate their time and energy to making our year a success. Special thanks to Debbie Whims, Cheryl Cook, Dolores Cuellar, and Tish Denney. Each of these women are incredibly dedicated to NPH and always welcome the opportunity to help.
• Many SW supporters invited us into their homes this year by hosting a NPH House Party! They sponsored the parties and invited their friends and family to learn more about NPH’s mission and child sponsorship program.
• Thank you to our amazingly supportive Tucson community who helped us raise over $50,000 and connected 8 children with new godparents. Thank you especially to St. Philips in the Hills Episcopal Church and the Consulado de México for their amazing partnerships.

Upper Midwest Region

• In 2018, the Upper Midwest Young Professionals Board hosted a new event raising over $18,000! It was a masquerade-style dance in downtown Minneapolis called Dance Your Masque Off! Donations from the event were used to sponsor a university student named Jameson from NPH El Salvador. Over 100 people attended, and this exciting event will now take place annually. Thank you to everyone who contributed!
• In May 2018, Serena Steele joined the Upper Midwest team as our Development Officer. Serena is a Michigan girl who loves to travel and spend time with her husband, Mark, and dog, Breslin. Serena is responsible for expanding our fundraising reach beyond the Twin Cities. In September 2018, we also welcomed Abby Saunders as our new Development Coordinator. She is also a Minnesota transplant, originally from Wisconsin and is getting married at the end of January! Abby will oversee the 5k Run/Walk, volunteer efforts, and child sponsorships. Congratulations to Natalie Hursey for her promotion to Development Manager. Natalie oversees the Young Professionals Board and growing our fundraising efforts in the region.
• One of our long-standing events, our annual Cinco de Mayo 5K Run/Walk was the most successful it’s been in the past 3 years! The event had over 200 participants, 12 corporate sponsors, 40 volunteers, and raised over $18,000 for NPH Mexico’s medical program. Congratulations to the 5k committee!
• An enormous thank you to ALL of our 2018 supporters who helped the Upper Midwest Region to raise $2.3 million! Your financial and volunteer efforts do not go unnoticed. A special thank you to two significant individuals whose financial support goes above and beyond what any words of gratitude can express - Wayne Dirkman and Helene Houle - your financial support, love and prayers for our NPH kids to reach their fullest potential is greatly appreciated.
• Branching out into Wisconsin, we had our first NPH event in the Eau Claire area at Modicum Brewery. Dr. Edwin and Steve O’Mahoney from NPH Honduras spoke and made personal visits to many Honduras connections in the Minnesota/Wisconsin area. In Iowa, Regional Board members, David and Ruth Miller hosted a fundraising house party at their home raising over $12,000. In Minnesota, Regional Board President, Vic Roers hosted a fundraising gathering “Taste of NPH” raising over $5,000.

 

 

Midwest Region

• Famous sportscaster and friend of NPH, Bob Costas, emceed the 2018 NPH USA Football Legends Classic in the Midwest Region that raised almost $240,000! The stately Biltmore Country Club in North Barrington, Illinois was the setting for this event and will be the location of our 2019 outing on August 12th!
• The region's first ever Viva La Familia Gala, with its exciting colorful and Latin vibes, raised more than $220,000 for the children of NPH. We rented out the entire space of Latinicity, a Latin-themed food hall in downtown Chicago’s Theatre District, and a good time was had by all. Local and national TV and radio personality, Lou Manfredini, was our emcee.
• All eight members of Team NPH USA crossed the finish line during the 2018 Chicago Marathon and raised more than $15,000 for our cause. This is the largest amount Team NPH USA has raised for the Chicago Marathon yet!
• Longtime friend of the NPH USA Midwest Region and former employee of NPH, Father Ron Hicks, became Bishop Ron Hicks on September 17. ¡Felicidades, Monseñor Ron! 
• The Midwest Region directed seven trips to NPH homes in which 158 people participated. Visiting an NPH home is a great way to see how your charitable contributions are being spent. It’s also a great way to learn and experience NPH before becoming a donor!

 

 

 

Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Region

• Participation in our Youth Ambassadors and NPH Club programs in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast region continues to grow and contribute to our overall community engagement and outreach goals. Our 2nd Annual Love Without Limits had over 30 youth volunteers. The Duxbury youth committee hosted a very successful ornament fundraiser. And our Youth Ambassadors have continued to share NPH with their family, friends, and communities through social media, events and fundraisers.
• Miguel Polo, a university student from NPH Dominican Republic received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music and spent a few weeks this summer in Boston with us!
• It was a great year for events in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast region. We hosted our first event in Rochester, NY and our 2nd annual Oysters for Orphans event in Duxbury, MA. Our Irish Hearts for Orphans Benefit Dance was also a success, and we cannot wait to celebrate the 10th anniversary in 2019!
• We are overjoyed from another successful Pequeño Tour and are confident our school and parish visits will lead to continuous NPH experiences, topping our 11 immersion trips and 182 visitors to NPH Guatemala and NPH Dominican Republic in 2018!
• This year we welcomed some new faces and announced staff promotions in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast region. Casey Rector was hired as the new Development Coordinator. Elizabeth Caletka was promoted to Development Manager, and Tempie Thompson joined our team as the Regional Director!

 

Southeast Region

• The Southeast region’s annual event, Spring Fling 2018, was held in early June in Miami as a reception for NPH USA donors and new supporters, with special “apoyo” from the Dominican-American community in the Miami area. It was a fun evening of food and drink, with networking among the guests. There was also a short program featuring comments by Alfredo Benitez, an Hermano Mayor, and many heart-warming stories about NPH homes in the Dominican Republic and other countries.
• University student Zebastian Alzamora from Miami worked with his fraternity brothers on behalf of NPH USA at a student-supported, fundraising event on campus that focused on organizations involved in social issues. From October 25-26, 2018, a group of Drake Fraternity brothers at Austin College, in Sherman, Texas, manned the NPH USA booth to promote the mission and tell the story about the kids in all the NPH homes. The Drake Fraternity fundraising was a great success!

National Office Volunteer Program

• Translators volunteered 850 hours and translated 3,700 letters in our national office in 2018, and general volunteers volunteered 550 hours for a total of 1,440 hours!
• We were fortunate to collaborate with student translators and volunteers from the British International School of Chicago, South Loop and the Cross Country team from Malcolm X College in Chicago.
• In March last year, we mailed 3,500 report cards, and in October we mailed 3,000 report cards from the children to their sponsors!
• Alexandria Corriveau, a former International Volunteer, joined our team of volunteers at the national office as a Spanish translator after completing her year of service at NPH Honduras.
• On December 9th, 25 volunteers joined us as we prepared 7,000 Christmas cards to be mailed to sponsors!

 

 

St. Damien Pediatric Hospital in Haiti

Tom Caruso, Financial Advisor, introduced the mission of St. Damien to his clients this past year in a great show of friend-raising for the cause! Renee DeVinck shared her nursing expertise in the Maternity Ward and ICU at St. Damien during two separate visits in 2018!  Angelo Rose, Lawyer and Musician, along with the Haiti’s Rain Committee he put together, hosted a private movie screening and benefit concert in his hometown of Rochester, NY to support our St. Damien Pediatric Hospital Fund! Will Agee is a filmmaker who helped build awareness about St. Damien with his documentary, The Land of High Mountains. Our medical partners of the St. Damien Collaborative lent their expertise for training and guidance and generously initiated fundraising efforts for the hospital. Our faithful church partners and committed friends who organize fundraising efforts year after year again helped support St. Damien. Thank you to St. Louis Church in Pittsford NY, St. Luke’s Church in Westborough MA, and the Friends of Haiti Committee in St. Helena, CA. Thanks to all our St. Damien supporters who provide so many deserving children with compassionate medical care and hope for a brighter future. You are a gift to the NPH St. Damien family!       THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO MADE 2018 ANOTHER PHENOMENAL YEAR AT NPH USA. It is only through your partnership and support that we can truly transform the lives of children in need. Help us continue to grow our family at NPH and reach even more children by making a donation to our mission today - there's no better way to celebrate!