Celebrating 2016 and looking forward to 2017...

2016 was another year full of great accomplishments at NPH USA - new friends, supporters, volunteers and godparents; successful fundraising and friend-raising events; joyous trips to the NPH homes; and so much more - all to transform the lives of children in need! And it is all possible through the generosity of people just like YOU! If you have yet to make a gift to support NPH USA, please consider making a donation today, and check out the 2016 highlights from each regional office of NPH USA below as well as our Haiti Initiative/St. Damien Pediatric Hospital Fund!

Northwest Region

• In the NW, we graduated the fifth (and welcomed the sixth) annual cohort of 6 young leaders from NPH to the Northwest for a year-long program of study and leadership development. We also published a report on the impact of the program on the first 26 graduates!
• The NW Associate Board for young professionals sponsored a variety of fun and successful events in Seattle, including Carnaval for a Cause, Hunt for Hope, and a Trivia Night. AB members also sponsored fundraisers at their companies, including f5, which featured NPH USA during their holiday campaign, and Microsoft, where the Devices Division sponsored a soccer tournament that raised more than $20,000.
• Support of our events grew dramatically, including our second annual NPH USA Northwest Golf Classic, and our record-breaking Gala, which raised nearly $400,000. In particular, we increased our corporate sponsorship significantly from past years.
• We welcomed 180 new child sponsors, and 13 Northwest donors contributed $5,000 each to provide a scholarship for a university student at NPH.
• Nine international volunteers from the Northwest did a year or more of service in one of the NPH homes in 2016.
• Ross Egge joined our Northwest staff team, after 11 years working on the ground with NPH in our homes, and we welcomed Jacqueline Shrader as the new Program Director of the NPH Seattle Institute.
• We moved to a new office space (same building) – come visit us!
• We raised more than $1.7 million in general funding to support our children, plus an additional $1.7 million in legacy and restricted gifts! Thank you to all!

 (photo of Paul Sandoval, AB member!)

 

Southwest Region

• Edwin Mehta joined the team as the SW Region's Development Coordinator, and Jarrett Ransom joined the team as the SW Region's Development Officer!
• The SW Region hosted all of the NPHI Staff and Country Directors for meetings and fundraisers during the National Director Weekend and also celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Fr. William Wasson’s passing. It was a wonderful time had by all!
• The SW Region hosted the Pequenos from the home in Nicaragua for three weeks of Fundraising and Events in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Danville and also had the 2016 SW Get Closer Gala with special guests Ismar and Marlin!
• At the end of October and the beginning of November we had a women’s group that travelled to the NPH Home in Guatemala where 20 women had the opportunity to experience the culture and witness the life that the children have at the home in Guatemala.

  

Midwest Region

• The pequeños from NPH El Salvador provided great music and folkloric dancing during their 18-day Pequeño Tour this past spring. The group spent most of its time in the Chicago area, staying with families in St. Michael Parish in Orland Park and Transfiguration Parish in Wauconda. They also traveled to the far reaches of the Midwest Region for a long weekend at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Lenoir City, Tennessee. We estimate over 3,500 people witnessed one of their many performances. Many thanks to our host families and local organizers. We couldn’t do it without you!
• The weather cooperated this year for our Fourth Annual Golf Outing featuring NFL Hall of Famers and other football greats from years past. We moved the golf outing this year to the stately Biltmore Country Club in North Barrington, and the new venue was everything we hoped it would be and a whole lot more. More importantly, the golf outing set a new record in terms of the amount that was raised.
• For the third year in a row, the beautiful Standard Club of Chicago was the location for the annual MW Region's Gala and After Dark events. At the Gala, the Midwest Region presented John and Cindy Shinsky with its Corazón Award, which is given to those who give their hearts to the children of NPH. John and Cindy have worked tirelessly to build and support Ciudad de los Niños in Matamoros, part of the NPH Mexico network of homes. For the third consecutive year, the Young Professionals Board of the NPH USA Midwest Region hosted the always fun Gala post-party, aptly named After Dark. A good time was had by all. Revenue for the Gala and After Dark was 10% higher than last year.
• Thanks to the organizing and running efforts of Midwest Region Board member Chris Ambroso, in the famous Chicago Marathon Team NPH USA’s runners raised $12,500 for the children of NPH!
• This year, the Midwest Region directed six trips to NPH homes in Guatemala (twice), Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and El Salvador. Participating on those trips were 135 people who were able to experience for themselves what life is like at an NPH home.

Standing outside the bishop’s residence in Knoxville, Tennessee is the group from

NPH El Salvador with the Most Reverend Rick Stika, Bishop of the Diocese of

Knoxville, in the middle.  In the upper left hand corner of the group is His Eminence

Justin Francis Cardinal Rigali.

Midwest Region sponsor Anita Lambert and her goddaughter are all smiles during

                Anita’s visit to NPH El Salvador in November.

Upper Midwest Region

• The UPMW region celebrated Volunteer of the Year Vic Roers! Vic is valued for her dedication and her enduring amount of time and talent. She shares the NPH story with everyone she meets and wants nothing more than to ensure NPH children have a stocking for Christmas. Vic has been such a supportive and helpful volunteer and is quickly becoming a regular at NPH Honduras and El Salvador! 
• Thank you to all the supports in our Upper Midwest region for making this year’s Cinco de Mayo 5k Run/Walk (our 10th Annual) such a success! We raised $18,593 and had 278 participants! Special thanks to our generous Sponsors: Summit Orthopedics, Valley Pain Relief and Wellness Center, HED Cycling, Modere North America, and Defining You Pilates and Fitness! 
• This August, members from the Upper Midwest Region’s Associate Board of Directors formed a 2016 NPH USA Summer Games event that raised over $8,000! The group created fun and original contests and competed against one another for the Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals. Way to go Associate board!  
• Thank you to the more than 360 guests who attended the 2016 Upper Midwest Gala presented by Nasseff Mechanical Contractors, which was a grand success! Through gala ticket sales, silent and live auction, games, and most importantly an anonymous match and commitments made during Fund-A-Need, we raised over $508,000 to continue Raising Children and Transforming Lives at NPH homes. We are also excited to announce 15 new child sponsors were formed. Likewise, we honored Jean Gray for his 35 years of dedication to NPH with the Rose Schaffhausen Award. A world traveler, Jean has seen the poverty that exists and destroys the potential for children. Jean has given his time, energy, and countless hours to the Fr. Wasson Legacy Endowment. Jean has embraced the NPH mission, furthered our cause and continues to cherish our NPH children.
• In 2016, the NPH USA strategic plan addressed the importance to deepen efforts in philanthropy and restructure staffing to ensure future success. Molly Boyum was announced the Vice President of Development to oversee all of the regional offices of NPH USA, and therefore her previous position, now open, allowed for the new hire of a regional director. Stephanie Pommier, new Regional Director, joined NPH in July with 19 years of nonprofit experience, a great passion for social change, and adherence to sensitivity, collaboration, and ethics in all her fundraising. Steve Schmidt, our new Development Manager, was born and raised in Shoreview, MN and joined NPH in August sharing, “NPH is a family, and I feel as though I have found my home.”  

Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Region

• Many parishes in the MA-NE Region united their church communities and joined NPH USA in helping those less fortunate this year! The generosity that poured out of St. Mary of the Assumption Parishes in Brookline, MA; The Parish of St. Anthony in Cohasset, MA; Most Precious Blood & St. Theresa Parish in Dover & Sherborn, MA; Good Shepherd Parish in Wayland, MA; Holy Family Parish in Duxbury, MA; St. Paul the Apostle in Annville, PA, and St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Herndon, VA resulted in over 90 children receiving new sponsorships this fall with more on the way!
• Eight schools in Massachusetts opened their doors and hearts to the children of NPH Mexico this fall during our 2016 Pequeño Tour. Notre Dame Academy, Immaculate Conception Academy, Trinity Catholic Academy, Dexter Southfield, Hamilton – Wenham High school, Waring School, Rockport Middle School, and Shore Country Day, all welcomed the children and generously supported them in their fundraising efforts. Thank you!
• Generous donors/supporters got together to organize events in support of NPH this year raising over $23,000 for the children of NPH. Brian Orr, Barbara Kelley, and Kara Swenson put together the Windows on the World event on the North Shore of Massachusetts. Eddie & Eileen Bernau hosted Cheers for Children at their home in Newburyport, MA. Patty Tarpey got together passionate donors and sponsors in a Cheers for Children event in Washington, DC and Deirdre & Steven Ginns, Patricia & Paul Mikus, and Charlie & Barbara Sullivan hosted the second annual Cocktails for A Cause in Hingham, MA while the pequenos were here from Mexico. Thank you to all for your support!
• The MA-NE Associate Board and Junior Board have both had a successful year with many fun events and fundraisers in the surrounding Boston area. The associate board has expanded to include members in both NYC and DC! Reuniting returned international volunteers with passionate NPH supporters! Both groups have been helping to raise awareness and funds in support of University Education for the Pequenos.
• The NPH USA Mid-Atlantic Northeast office facilitated many mission and donor trips to a variety of NPH homes this year, including Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Mexico. After seeing the direct impact of NPH and falling in love with many of the children at the homes, trip participants have become some of our most passionate advocates in raising funds and spreading awareness about NPH.

 

Haiti Initiative/St. Damien Pediatric Hospital Fund

• We celebrated a matching grant challenge this year when a very generous foundation pledged $500k per year for three years if we could find two other donors who would join them for the same amount and duration, and thanks to two additional generous donors, we completed the challenge and received the support for St Damien Pediatric Hospital!
• Fr. Rick and Jennifer Rayno, President of the NPH Haiti Board of Directors and Director of the St. Damien Pediatric Hospital Fund respectively, visited St. Louis Church and the community of Pittsford, NY in August. This generous and faithful community has been supporting St. Damien for over thirty years and raised nearly $60k this year through various efforts!
• St. Damien graduated the first group of 6 new pediatricians trained at St. Damien in October! After 3 years of training, these 6 new pediatricians are ready to take care of children’s health in Haiti. There are approximately only 300 pediatricians supporting 3 million children under 5 years of age with great vulnerability in Haiti. We have retained 3 of them for our own needs. The 4th class of 6 physicians started their training October 1st.
• St. Damien was able to offer continuous care during a 5-month strike of all governmental hospitals in Haiti from the end of March to August 2016. The hospital experienced a 2% to 25% increase across departments in the volume of the population served during the first 3 months of this strike. St. Damien proved once more that it is poised and always ready to help the Haitian community during crisis. St. Damien was recognized by the executive director of the Ministry of Health for the role it played for the country during a press conference when the strike ended.
• The heart program at St. Damien has grown significantly. 11 children received heart surgery in February 2016. A second mission scheduled for September 2016 was postponed until January 2017 due to insecurity in the country. More than 150 children were screened during 5 visits of pediatric cardiologists from the US, France, India (from an Indian hospital established at Cayman Islands). A wonderful partnership with Haiti Cardiac Alliance, Gift of Life International and a foundation from Health City Hospital in the Cayman Islands support this program. A significant proportion of children with heart defects were dying at home or at health centers as families are not able to send them abroad for needed surgeries. St. Damien is the only hospital in Haiti able to offer heart surgery locally thanks to this support our partners. One of our own pediatricians has currently completed 6 months of a one-year training in pediatric cardiology in Martinique. The program will continue to grow offering screening, surgery, and follow up care to the children with heart disease in Haiti. There are 3 surgical cardiac missions that are scheduled at St. Damien during 2017.

 

 

A safe home...

Below is an excerpt from a blog post by Fr. Christian Mathis, Chaplain at East Tennessee State University, reflecting on his experience visiting the NPH homes in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.

My experience with NPH has shown me that despite the fact that the majority of orphaned and abandoned children in these countries continue to live on the streets, there is something that is being done for the ones who are fortunate enough to find their way to these houses where they are cared for. One such example is a young man described to us by Fr. Ron. This pequeño began his life abandoned by his mother to die in a heap of garbage in El Salvador. Fortunately he was found by the man who worked at the dump who adopted him and cared for him as his own child. He grew up only to meet with tragedy once again when his foster father was later shot and killed in their home. Finding himself alone once more, he got a job riding on a banana truck, hired to guard the produce as the truck made its daily deliveries. Eventually he was lucky enough to be taken in to the NPH house in El Salvador. There he was given a safe home where he received food, shelter and education. He finished high school and college and has plans to attend medical school.

Read the full post on Fr. Christian's blog here.

Meeting Father Rick Frechette

Below is a post from Cheyenne, a student from Random Everglades School in South Florida.

(Cheyenne is pictured second over from the left.)

The man, the myth, the living legend, Father Rick Frechette, had been a mystery man for months. At the end of my junior year, me and a group of friends decided that we truly wanted to make an impact in our community. Our goal was to convince our school, Ransom Everglades School, to launch a school-wide global initiative. We planned to do this by adopting an orphanage located in Kenscoff, Haiti. The global initiative is about more than providing supplies collected during a drive or check sent from funds raised at bake sales - it is about a sustainable partnership between Ransom Everglades School and St. Helene orphanage and providing resources through campus-wide engagement. The final step in establishing the Ransom Everglades Haiti Initiative proved to be the most difficult; meeting the man who runs the St. Helene orphanage we planned to adopt, Father Rick.

When I first came in contact with Father Rick through email he expressed his gratitude but explained that traveling for him was difficult and often short noticed. I quickly realized that Father Rick did not just run the orphanage he also got his hands dirty with the daily mundane tasks of the orphanage. Although I wanted to meet with Father Rick and discuss the Haiti Initiative in detail that meant pulling him away from the children I wanted to help. We proceeded with the hopes of meeting him down the line.

Ransom Everglades School launched its first initiative and was able to raise over 750 sheets between both the lower and upper campuses. It was shortly after the first container of sheets shipped that I received an email from Father Rick stating that he planned to be in Miami. I was more than thrilled about the possibility of meeting the man I had only been able to view on video. On December 3rd, I had the pleasure of meeting Father Rick. During his school-wide address he stated that the difference between the children in Haiti and the students at Ransom Everglades was simply the structures of our lives were different. Father Rick, in less than 10 words, shed light on the need for our initiative.

One of the main principals of the Ransom Everglades School is to give to the community more than you have received from it. St. Helene and Ransom Everglades Schools are hundreds of miles apart and we share a similar commitment to community. Just as Ransom alum often come full circle to give back to the institution that gave them so much, children from St. Helene often return to the orphanage to help and contribute to the program that gave them so much.

Having the opportunity to meet Father Rick was truly remarkable. Father Rick has such a passion for his life’s work. Even in the face of disaster and peril, his spirit is one of resilience. His visit today has inspired me and the other members of the Haiti Initiative Committee to do the work that Father Rick so desperately needs help with. This marks the beginning of true sustainable partnership between Ransom Everglades and Father Rick that will contribute to his amazing legacy.

Billy Jean In Miami

On August 27th, NPH USA Raised over $10,000 for scholarships for college students at NPH Haiti. Billy Jean, a recipient, spoke about how he plans on using his education to give back to his country by providing free legal counsel to underprivileged Haitians. He has been volunteering for two years at the home where he was raised since two years of age and is helping NPH USA raise the money it needs to enable the 600 children currently at the home in Haiti the opportunity to go to college just as he did. The event also featured the photography of award-winning Haitian-born photojournalist Carl Philippe Juste, whose politically active family was forced to flee its homeland in 1965. Settling in Miami, Carl has served the Haitian community since 1991 through his work at the Miami Herald capturing the struggles of Haitians in the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. Carl’s father, Viter Juste, who recently passed away at the age of 87, was the founder and creator of Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood. 

Child Sponsorship table materials at the home of NPH USA Board Member Tomas Hauff 

From left to right: Guest 1 – Vivi Santisteban Guest 2 – Jaime Escandon Guest 3 – Marisa Chauvet 

From left to right: Guest 1 – Lourdes Martinez Guest 2 – Alfredo Benetiz Guest 3 – Monica Ledanzo 

From left to right: Guest 1- Sherman Humphrey Guest 2 – Daniela Humphrey Guest 3- Kristina Fueyo – Child Sponsorship Manager 

Bacardi, an NPH USA corporate sponsor 

From left to right: Guest 1- Theresa Rice – Board Member Guest 2 – Agueda Pol Guest 3 – Guillermo Pol 

Left to right:  Guest 1 – Tomas Hauff – Board Member and Host Guest 2 – Leah Stern – Regional Director Guest 3 – Gloria Burns Guest 4 – William Burdette 

Left to right: Guest 1 -  Kristina Fueyo – Child Sponsorship manager Guest 2 – Charles Webber & Guest 

From left to right: Guest 1 – Art Massolo – Chair of SE Regional Board for NPH USA Guest 2 – Kristina Fueyo – Regional Manager of Child Sponsorship Guest 3 – Leah Stern – Regional Director 

Left to right: Guest 1 – Maritza Jacobson Guest 2 – Rocio Pellerano – Vice Consul at General Consulate of the Dominican Republic, Miami Guest 3 –Ana Oliveira 

Artist Carl Juste with William Burdette who purchased --- "Legacy" shot in Havana, Cuba in 1996: What was once a prestigious private school for the elite now houses a state run day care for infants and toddlers. Toddlers take a look at the outside world through the vintage ironwork of the old and decaying building. 

Billy Jean takes a comedic respite following an emotional speech 

Guests sit outside of Pinecrest Estate listen as Billy Jean delivers an empowering speech about how NPH has saved his life and given hope to thousands of children in Haiti and in Central America, South America and the Caribbean. 

Carl Juste with one of his most famous pieces in the background, “The Mask” and holding “I am a Man,” shot in Memphis, TN. 

Artist Carl Juste with CJ and Madelyn Occhipinti who purchased --- "Leg Up" shot in Port-au-Prince Haiti, 2010: The Athletic Soccer player Wilfred Macena, 25, does a hand stand in jubilation after learning how to walk and kick a soccer ball again using his new prosthetic leg after several hours of being fitted. Guest 1 – Madelyn Occhipinti Guest 2 – Carl Juste Guest 3 – CJ Occhipiniti – Board Member 

From Left to right:  Guest 1 – Ingrid Vasiliu-Feltes – Board Member Guest 2 – Edison Sabala Guest 3 – Frank Donaghue – CEO of NPH USA Guest 4 – Olti Mollaymeri Guest 5 – Stephanie Hirschenson Guest 6 – Shawn Rosen - Holtzman

Long-time sponsors, the Hundt's, receive the annual Humanitarian Award!

Friends is pleased to announce we gave our annual Humanitarian Award to the Leo and Mary Lou Hundt, longtime Sponsors and great Friends! Mary Lou and Leo Hundt have been involved with NPH and Friends of the Orphans for over 25 years. They are Godparents to nine children and are in contact with 17. In the last 15 years, they have visited five NPH homes a total of 24 times. Leo served on the Friends of the Orphans National Board of Directors and was Chair of the Southeast Regional Board of Directors. They recently initiated an eye glasses mission, testing the vision of 215 children at NPH Honduras and delivering 109 pairs of glasses. They hope to expand the mission to NPH Mexico in 2013. We are eternally grateful to Mary Lou and Leo for their dedication and generosity. They have truly transformed the lives of our children and are making the world a better place. Below is a picture, Mary Lou shared with us of Farid, her godchild, that is currently finishing his year of service in Haiti.

The Hundt's with  Art Massolo, Southeast Regional Board Chair

Volunteer Extraordinaire

Below is a story shared by Southeast Regional Child Sponsorship Manager, Sherman Humphrey, about an extraordinary supporter, Natalie Duran, or as Sherman describes, Volunteer Extraordinaire!


Natalie Duran is committed to making a positive difference in the world, and has proven this through her support of Friends of the Orphans. We have Natalie to thank for connecting the Friends SE office with the Latin American & Caribbean headquarters of Federal Express (FedEx LAC). Since 2006, thanks to Natalie’s advocacy of Friends of the Orphans, FedEx has donated $50,000 to support the children of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, provided emergency overnight shipping of medicine to patients in Haiti, participated in regional events, and donated over 15,000 children’s books.


By introducing Friends of the Orphans to the Community Relations Board at FedEx LAC, Natalie put the Friends of the Orphans mission on the radar of this extremely charitable, and socially responsible, worldwide leader in shipping and logistics. Since 2006, the relationship has continued to flourished.


In 2011, FedEx invited Friends of the Orphans to partner with them for the annual FedEx Entrega program. This program, which aimed to collect over 15,000 children’s books for NPH Mexico, Guatemala and Dominican Republic, was a huge success. Over 15,000 books were collected and delivered to the three homes, in addition to an advertising and PR campaign both in the United States and abroad. In Miami, for example, FedEx presented the organization with a check for $10,000 “to encourage the love of reading in children” at a Books & Books reading event with Miami Heat player James Jones.


But Natalie’s support and advocacy of Friends runs deeper. She has also been a frequent volunteer at the Friends warehouse, helping to pack Haiti-bound containers with critical need supplies. In 2010, Natalie arranged a shipment of seventeen pallets of relief supplies from Miami to Haiti just days after the devastating Haiti earthquake (one of the first shipments of relief supplies to enter the country, from anywhere in the world!). Not only did she help to ship the pallets – she also came out to pack them!


Friends of the Orphans is extremely grateful for Natalie’s support! THANK YOU NATALIE!

Natalie directing volunteer crews while packing containers for Haiti.

Natalie on the phone, coordinating the shipment of 17 pallets of relief supplies to Haiti in the days following the 2010 earthquake.

Thank you to all our supporters like Natalie who helps to transform the lives of the children we support.


To learn more about volunteering, click here. You can also contact your regional Friends office to find out more about how you can help! 

2011 was a Wonderful Year!!!

This past year has been a truly great one for everyone at Friends of the Orphans and the children we support. Thanks to the hard work of Friends' staff, volunteers and supporters, there have been many wonderful things to highlight throughout the regions this year.

NPH Peru

As many of you know, in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Region, Friends opened a brand new regional office just outside of Boston. Our MANE office officially opened its doors in June 2011, and we have been busy meeting with both new and familiar faces in the community. We've succeeded in creating a successful Regional Board with 10 active members including board chair, Dr. Brian Orr. Our 2nd Annual Irish Hearts for Haiti event held in April was (again) a great success raising $38,000. We also held an exciting Donor Appreciation Event at the historic Fenway Park in July. Likewise, our Faces of Hope events in November went splendidly and had nearly 150 attendees! We were so fortunate this year to welcome Elzer, a pequeño from NPH Honduras, who stayed from May until August. He participated in events, spoke at various churches, schools, and civic functions, and was able to work on perfecting his English while interning at a local elementary school. Our gratitude goes out to the Henry family for hosting Elzer!

NPH Dominican Republic

Our Northwest Region has had much to be proud of in 2011 including a group of interns who have been invaluable this year! Our two Development Interns planned a very successful Family Summer BBQ event with a great turnout, and our Salesforce Intern has been there giving us weekly database support. We also hosted another amazing trip to NPH Honduras (our 8th annual!) We made so many great new Friends, not only bringing in two new tables of people to our Gala (and all our desserts being donated), but also a new mission trip in collaboration with a Montessori school in the Midwest region. Our outreach in Portland, Oregon, and Spokane, Washington, keeps gaining momentum with Faces of Hope Portland being our biggest yet, and we had many new attendees in Spokane. Our open house FUNdraisers in Portland, Spokane and Boise, Idaho were also great times for everyone involved. In Seattle we had a very special event with Jean François Seide, pequeño and member of the newly launched NPH Leadership Program, along with Fr. Rick Frechette of NPFS Haiti allowed us to raise over $62,000 for our programs in Haiti!

NPH El Salvador

Down in the Southeast Region 2011 has been a truly blessed year. In April we moved in to our new office with a view of downtown Miami, the financial district, the water and the new Miami Marlins stadium. Our 5th Annual Faces of Hope Luncheon and our 2nd Annual All the World to One Child Gala were both generously sponsored by great Friend, Chevron. Over 300 guests were in attendance for the luncheon, and this “friendraising” event, featuring special guest Clara Grove, a former pequeña from NPH Mexico, raised more than $45,000! Our gala, which was held at Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami, had over 200 guests in attendance and raised over $50,000. We also had a particularly special accomplishment this year that directly affected 3 of our children at NPH Honduras. Thanks to the great connections and efforts of one of our board members, Aid for Aids continuous to donate ARV’s medications for these 3 children to keep them healthy and provide a HUGE savings for our home (about 30k a year). We've also been lucky enough to have wonderful volunteers this year such as Danixa Lopez who has not only helped with several translations, but has been instrumental in our branding and outreach to the Hispanic community. Finally, our total in kind donations this year added up to over $5.5 million, helping provide for countless individuals in need in mainly Haiti and Honduras. Similarly, in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala, our partnership with FedEx helped to provide over 15,000 books for the children we support.

NPH Guatemala

In the Upper Midwest Region we celebrated our 25th anniversary this year, and what a year it was! We welcomed over 230 new child sponsors to our family of nearly 2,000 total Upper Midwest child sponsors. Over $400,000 was raised through various events at churches as well as our annual Gala, run/walk and triathlon events. We also held our first ever fundraising event in Iowa, which brought in over $30,000. We had great volunteer involvement this year with a total contribution of over 2,000 hours. We also welcomed two new staff members, Sara Joyce and Sue Lovegreen, who have been wonderful additions to our team. Our team has had an incredible year celebrating welcoming a baby, a marriage and an engagement! We've also been so very proud of Sean Breininger, our Regional Director, who had his “second birthday” through a bone marrow transplant this December, praying that 2012 will boast a fully successful bone marrow transplant.

NPFS Haiti

In the Midwest Region we once again conducted a very successful Gala event, raising even more funds than the year before! Gala attendees were entertained by the music and dance group from NPH Mexico, and they also heard a compelling keynote speech from Aurora Zacarias, a former pequeña from NPH Mexico. Our 2011 Pequeño Tour also went fabulously, exceeding our revenue goal. We were so happy to have the sixteen pequeños from NPH Mexico perform at various venues in Chicago and throughout Indiana, including the University of Notre Dame. We also hosted an exciting and successful donor appreciation event this year in a donated skybox at a White Sox game. For the first time in several years we conducted a donor trip out of our region. Unlike most donor trips that visit a single NPH home, this trip visited NPH homes in two different countries – Guatemala and El Salvador! Juan Manuel Pineda, a pequeño from NPH El Salvador, performed a concert for almost 500 guests in our hometown of Chicago. We've also had great support this year from Friends in our region like John Shattuck, Vice Chair of the Midwest Region Board, who arranged for six shipping containers of donated medical equipment and other supplies valued at $1.425 million to be sent to Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

NPH Honduras

Last but certainly not least, in the Southwest Region we have also had a tremendous year! We have a wonderful new donor who became involved during our Pequeño Tour and continued on to attend our Gala, sponsor a child, go on a donor tour, sponsor another child, organize a FUNdraiser for February 2012 and collect clothes and games to be sent to the homes! We are so very appreciative of all that our donors do. We also had over 150 teens and adults participate on our mission trips to Guatemala and Mexico to spend a week with their 128 Godchildren that they sponsor. In addition, we collected and delivered 104 boxes of new clothes, shoes, school supplies and sports equipment. We also had some awesome events this year including both of our Power of One events in April where Eligio Villegas Cruz, a  pequeño from NPH Mexico, was our guest speaker. Eligio graduated from the University of Monterrey in Mexico this June with a degree in International Marketing. The two events raised over $40,000 and was underwritten by Wells Fargo Private Client Services. We also secured 18 child sponsorships at these events. For our annual Pequeño Tour throughout Arizona and California, we hosted the dancers and musicians from NPH El Salvador, and as of October 19th, the event netted $281,850 and secured 101 new sponsorships with an annualized income of $52,680. These children left lasting memories with their host families and the communities they visited. We also conducted our 12th Annual Diocese of Phoenix Catholic School Mass and Cultural Day with the 11 schools that are part of our school sponsorship program and support over 70 godchildren.

NPH Mexico

It has truly been an amazing year, and we are so thankful for all our Friends like you who help us to raise children and transform lives. Thank you for all your generosity and support throughout 2011, and we look forward to 2012! Happy new year!!!

Students in Miami making a difference!

Below is a piece shared by Arleen Rosenthal, Guidance and College Counselor and a great Friend who has helped the Southeast Friends of the Orphans office in Miami, Florida connect with many high school students who are passionate about making a difference. 


Several years ago, I read about Friends of the Orphans in a feature article in my local neighbor’s section of the Miami Herald. I was struck by the organization’s mission, particularly in sending orphans who have grown up in one of the homes to college, thus opening a world of opportunity for them. This resonated with me because I have spent the majority of my professional life working with high school students as a Guidance and College Counselor. What I have noticed throughout the years is that volunteer work is perhaps one of the most significant ways that a student can begin to feel empowered and see themselves in the adult world, use their talents to enrich the lives of others and find a venue to explore their own interests and passions. And so, I began referring some of my students to our local Friends office to see how they could help this worthy cause, and in turn, grow from the experience. I must say that the devotion, creativity and enthusiasm of Sherman Humphreys, the Regional Manager of Child Sponsorship has been contagious and that each student I have referred has benefited from their volunteer efforts. Like ripples in a pond, the impact of their projects on behalf of Friends of the Orphans has involved others in our community from the home schools of the students to their own circles of family and friends. For example, the very first student I sent to Mr. Humphreys ended up involving the Language Department Chair of her high school in a letter translation project. Several orphans were sponsored by students at her school and her parents became donors as well. There are all kinds of ways to help Friends of the Orphans and volunteering provides a wonderful experience for personal growth and self-fulfillment for the volunteers while contributing to a very admirale cause.

All The World to One Child

Here is a blog post from dedicated Friend, Rebecca Kollaras. She ceaselessly supports Friends of the Orphans and contributes to the "Unofficial Friends of the Orphans Miami" facebook fan page, UFO Miami, completely made and managed by volunteers. 

As you may or may not know, I volunteer with the Friends of the Orphans. My daughter Zoe and I sponsor an eight year-old girl, Jaydy, in the Dominican Republic. She and her younger sister Paola, were abused and neglected to the point of danger, by their mother. Neighbors took them in and cared for them until the father could get custody. Unfortunately, he also was unable to care for these girls because he works at a farm, a great distance away. He decided to send the girls to the Friends of the Orphans supported home in the Dominican Republic just over a year ago. They are now cared for, happy and being educated by this 100% volunteer organization which receives no public funding.  My daughter and I write letters back and forth with Jaydy, and my father and step-mother are now sponsoring Paola, the younger sister. We plan to make a family trip to meet the girls soon.

Zoe's penpal Jaydy

I am blogging today to  request any sort of donation for the silent auction in the Friends of the Orphans 2nd annual All the World to One Child fundraising gala.  Friends of the Orphans is an international non-profit 501(c)(3) dedicated to improving the lives of orphaned and abandoned children through the support of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH), a network of orphanages, hospitals and community outreach programs in nine countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

On Friday October 21, Friends of the Orphans (Southeast region) will hold its 2nd annual fundraising gala, All the World to One Child, at Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami, FL. The evening, which will feature an unbelievable array of gourmet delicacies created by the chefs at A Joy Wallace Catering, an open premium bar by Bacardi, lively music by our host DJ, an inspirational story by our special guest Aurora Zacarias from NPH Mexico and phenomenal silent auction, will attract over 250 guests.

By donating an auction item or gift certificate, you will be making a tax-deductible contribution that will help Friends of the Orphans in its mission to provide hope to the children we serve.

Furthermore, by supporting the 2nd annual All the World to One Child, you/your business will strengthen its recognition as a philanthropic leader in our community and throughout South Florida, as our database encompasses an array of professional, diplomatic, press, entertainment, arts and community leaders.  All silent auction sponsors will have the opportunity for direct exposure at the event in the form of an item display and bid sheet, as well as recognition on a slideshow that will be looping throughout the evening. 

Happy boys

In addition, I would consider it a very important personal favor if you would consider donating to this cause. It can really be anything – trips, dinners, gift certs, books, services, jewelry, parade floats…anything that will help raise money for the charity. I appreciate your support immensely and so do the 3,700+ orphaned/abandoned kids Friends of the Orphans cares for in the Caribbean, Latin America and Mexico.

With gratitude,

Rebecca