From the earliest days of The Hope Effect, we have had conversations surrounding the approach we will pursue for our family-style homes. We searched for words or phrases that would help clarify our intentions and set the bar high for our future. As is often the case with brainstorming sessions, the list grew long and complicated. However, one simple question seemed to sum up our conversation: If any of our children were being cared for at one of our homes, would we be pleased with the care they are receiving? 

The answer to that question prompted six orphan care standards that would eventually define our values: 1) Family, 2) Excellence, 3) Spirituality, 4) Preparation, 5) Sustainability, and 6) Innovation. Over the next several weeks, we will expand on each standard in greater detail. First, we’ll explore the importance of family.

Family

Because family is the most effective model for development, we seek to mimic the family in all strategies. Traditional orphan care solutions around the world too often function like “institutions” rather than “the family unit.” In order to maximize budgets and space, institutional care focuses on meeting basic physical needs.

To be fair, they do this very well. While not the best solution, orphanages have helped children get off the streets, out of dangerous situations, and onto a better path for the future. And our recent experiences partnering with the DIF (Mexico’s version of CPS) in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico, have proven that orphanage directors, staff members, and supporters truly care about the children.

However, in recent years, studies have shown the lifelong negative effects on children who are reared in an institutional setting. Therefore, given the choice, I can’t imagine many parents who would want their children to only have their basic needs met in a larger institutional care situation.

If my wife and I, God forbid, could no longer care for our kids, we would of course want their basic needs met. But more than that, we would want them to be part of a family! We would want our kids to be raised by people who would love them as they would their biological children. We would want our kids to feel safe and secure. And we would hope our children would be valued for their uniqueness and individuality, while receiving help to develop their strengths and overcome challenges.

At The Hope Effect, we are seeking to change the way the world cares for orphans by offering children the opportunity to be part of a family. Rather than constructing large buildings that house a high ratio of children to caregivers, our goal is to provide smaller, single-family homes. Each home will house six to eight children and two parents. In this way, we mimic the family in all orphan care solutions. Not only is this what we would want for our children, but a family is what every child needs and deserves.

If you’d like to help change the way the world cares for orphans, we would love to partner with you! To make a difference in the lives of children around the world, click here support The Hope Effect!

Thank you for your partnership and generosity. Be on the lookout for future blog posts featuring the remaining values of The Hope Effect!

***

An earlier version of this post was published in August 2016. 

A few months ago, The Hope Effect hosted a Christmas party in San Luis Rio Colorado for 89 orphans in the care of the San Luis DIF (Mexico’s version of Child Protective Services). Thanks to our generous supporters, we were able to provide gifts for all the children, and it was the beginning of a great partnership between our organization and the San Luis DIF.

It was also when we learned that 24 of the children in that facility didn’t have beds and were sleeping on the cold floor.

At The Hope Effect, we are passionate about changing how the world cares for orphans – and passionate about helping orphans in any way we can. We are currently pursuing options in San Luis that will allow us to provide long-term solutions that mimic the family – two-parent, family-style homes that create stable environments where children can thrive. But in the meantime, we are going to care for these children NOW, in any way possible.

So last Saturday, we traveled down to San Luis along with volunteers from two Arizona gyms – El Jefe CrossFit and The Den @ Jen’s – with the goal of building 24 beds for these kids in need.

Working with over 1,000 pounds of lumber, this incredible team of people was able to build 26 beds (two more than planned!) during the course of the day. We even had the opportunity to place them in the DIF facility and see the reactions of the children!

Naturally, some of the children immediately tried jumping on the beds (what else are beds for?) while others just sat on them, excited to have something of their own. What an incredible opportunity to give these kids not only a place to sleep, but the knowledge that they are cared for and loved.

We can’t say thank you enough to our amazing team of volunteers. These weren’t professional builders…most of the team didn’t have any construction experience (although all that time in the gym came in handy!). The volunteers are just wonderful people with generous hearts who gave their time to make a difference in the lives of these children.

We are excited for the next steps in San Luis. This Thursday, we’ll be delivering blankets, towels, and washcloths generously donated by members of Journey Church in Peoria, Arizona.

If you would like to be a part of this important work, you can help us take this project one step further by providing an orphan with a pillow. Currently, there are 55 children in the DIF facility without this simple means of comfort – and you can change that! To purchase a pillow, click here.

Thank you so much for your partnership and support. Together, we can make a difference in San Luis, and ultimately, change how the world cares for orphans.

The Hope Effect team is growing…we are excited to welcome two new members to The Hope Effect family! Check out their bios below!

EMILY MERRITT

Emily Merritt joined The Hope Effect in January 2018 as our Administrative Assistant, bringing several years of administrative experience. Emily has been doing admin work “forever,” so she will be a great asset to the team!

Emily has been married to her husband Max for almost 20 years, and they have two daughters, Ashlyn (16) and Alisha (12). Emily and Max adopted Alisha from Korea when she was 8 months old, so the adoption and orphan care causes are close to their hearts! In her free time, Emily enjoys doing CrossFit and spending time with her family. They do a lot of traveling, as her oldest daughter is a competitive archer and her youngest recently took up cross country running!

HILARY PEELE

Hilary Peele is excited to join The Hope Effect as the Communications Specialist. She brings more than 12 years of communications experience in various disciplines, including corporate communications, television and radio broadcasting, public speaking, and freelance writing. Hilary is grateful for the opportunity to combine her passion for communications with the amazing mission of The Hope Effect!

Hilary lives in Peoria, Arizona, with her wonderful husband Justin. They have three very energetic sons, Daelen (5), Easton (3), and Nolan (1), who affectionately and accurately refer to Mommy as “The Boss.” In her spare time, Hilary enjoys running half marathons, going to Disneyland, and running half marathons through Disneyland while dressed up as Disney characters. She is also actively involved in her church and sings on the worship team.

We are so grateful for our private donors and corporate sponsors who cover all of our administrative costs and salary expenses – allowing 100% of your gifts to be used directly for orphan care. Learn more here.

Welcome Emily and Hilary! We’re looking forward to a great 2018!

At The Hope Effect, we want to change the way the world cares for orphans. That won’t happen overnight, so we are also committed to caring for orphans right now – wherever they are, in any way we can. And sometimes, we like to party!

Earlier this week, The Hope Effect had the incredible opportunity to host a Christmas party in San Luis, Mexico for children under the care of DIF (Mexico’s version of CPS). Thanks to your generosity and support, we were able to purchase presents for every child in DIF custody – more than 89 kids! Each present contained a pair of shoes and several pairs of socks and underwear. And we didn’t forget the other essentials…cupcakes, juice, and candy!

It was amazing to see the kids’ excitement as they ran up to receive their gifts when their names were called. A great partnership with DIF employees allowed us all to provide a wonderful experience for the children.

That’s a key element of what The Hope Effect does – partnership. If we want to change the way the world cares for orphans, we need to work together. The employees of DIF are doing the best job they can with what they have, but we know there is a better way, and we want to help.

Currently, the DIF facility we visited is home to more than 50 children, all age 12 and under. (Once the children reach age 13, they are moved into other gender-specific buildings.) Multiple children share a bedroom, so there are about 8-11 kids per room. Some of the rooms have beds, others just have mattresses on the floor, but regardless, there are not enough beds for all the children. In one of the bedrooms, there are seven beds for 11 girls. A staff of more than 40 people is required to care for the children, and staff members rotate in and out based on their schedules.

The staff is doing important work, and we are so thankful for the care they are providing. The facility is clean, and it’s clear the workers truly care for the children. But these kids are longing to be part of a family, and that’s why The Hope Effect is trying to change the way the world cares for orphans. We are working to provide solutions that mimic the family, with two-parent, family-style homes. These homes will create loving environments that promote stability and offer opportunities for children to thrive.

But in the meantime, we are going to care for kids who are in need – however we can. In early 2018, we’ll continue our partnership with the San Luis DIF by building beds for all of the children in the facility. We are excited to continue supporting these children, and we look forward to working together to find better solutions.

We’d love for you to partner with us as well. If this cause touches your heart, we would greatly appreciate your support.

 Support The Hope Effect!

Help us finish the year strong, and join us for an exciting 2018!

Two years ago, with the help of some amazing friends, we launched The Hope Effect to help change orphan care around the world.

Since then, we have raised over $350,000, built a family-style home for orphans in Honduras, opened our first international office in San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico, and hired the Director for our Efecto Esperanza campus. All while using 100% of your donations directly for orphan care projects.

Tuesday, November 28th is #GivingTuesday. And we are excited to announce that we will be using funds raised on that day to organize and lead a Family Based Solutions Conference in Sonora, Mexico for orphan care professionals, government representatives, and community leaders in 2018.

If caring for orphans is something that excites your heart and you would like to play a role in bringing about more family-based solutions, 100% of your donation on Giving Tuesday will support this important conference.

There are two ways to give:

1. Celebrate Giving Tuesday with us on Facebook. These donations will be matched.*
2. Donate through The Hope Effect website.

*As an added bonus, donations given through The Hope Effect Facebook page on #GivingTuesday will be matched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Here is some important info to help us maximize this opportunity:

1. Maximum amount matched is $50,000 for The Hope Effect.
2. Maximum match per donation is $1,000.
3. The Gates Foundation is matching THE FIRST 2 million donated on Facebook. Therefore it is important to make the donation as close to 8am ET as possible.
4. There are no processing fees on Facebook for the #GivingTuesday campaign.
5. Donations must be made on The Hope Effect Facebook page through the DONATE button.

Worldwide, millions of children grow up without a family. Unfortunately, that number continues to increase. Every day, 5,000 more children in the world become orphans due to poverty, AIDS, death, or abandonment. And every 2.2 seconds an orphan ages out of an existing orphanage—entering a harsh world without the support and direction most children are provided. Because of these sobering facts and the numerous studies that show the traditional, institutional models of orphan care can be detrimental to the children they seek to serve, The Hope Effect is seeking to pioneer new short term and long term solutions to care for orphans. In the short term, we are seeking to build family style homes structured to provide immediate care for children in crisis. Each home will be filled with loving parents who are trained and ready to embrace each child that comes into their home. Through our supporting network of professional doctors, psychologists, counselors, and specialists, we provide the best care possible for these children from hard places. Our director serves both the children and the parents ensuring the best possible care is being offered and all local and state requirements are being met. As powerful as this family style model can be, it is limited by the amount of houses and the amount of resources we can raise. Therefore, long term solutions will need to be addressed. By building relationships with city and regional leadership in government, churches, and other like minded NGOs, we champion the need for orphan care on a local level. Aided by our track record of quality orphan care in the community, we partner together to address the systemic issues that lead to the need for orphan care and empower others to see the value in helping every child find a family. While each context is unique, these long term solutions will include strategies for poverty alleviation, education, foster care, and adoption. We have always dreamt big for The Hope Effect. The challenges are vast, but we are convinced the work is necessary, and definitely worth it. We cannot do this alone. We need the support of local government to change laws where necessary. We need pastors and priests to tap into the spiritual heart of each community. And we need people like you to invest in this new model of caring for some of the most vulnerable children in the world. Please consider a one time donation to help us with our next project and a monthly contribution to support our leadership and administrative efforts to see this innovative dream become a revolutionary reality. Together we can change how the world cares for orphans.

The Hope Effect values education, self-discipline, work ethic, and service to others as essential foundations for kids to succeed in life. I was fortunate to be part of a large family growing up. There were 6 children—5 girls and me. My parents worked tirelessly to provide for us a roof over our heads, in a quiet neighborhood, with a good school just over the back fence. We were involved in sports, pushed to excel in school, raised to be independent, encouraged to work hard and contribute to our local community. As I reflect on my childhood it is easy to be amazed at what my parents accomplished. Each of us was so different and yet my parents ensured each child was treated as if we were the only one. In my younger years, I was pigeon toed. Instead of my feet facing perpendicular to my legs, they turned in causing me to walk funny and limiting my mobility. As a child, I remember the long drive to the specialty doctor and shoe store to get me outfitted with braces and undergo treatment. I never heard him complain about the cost or the time it took away from his day. Instead, he would tell me as I geared up that I could do anything I set my mind to. In so doing, he turned those negative circumstances into positive teaching opportunities. My dad is not one for sharing emotions, so I can’t know for sure. But I often wonder how he felt when I signed the papers accepting my Division 1 scholarship for cross country. I might have been born pigeon toed, but my parents must have known I was born to run. Without their efforts, who knows what my life would be like today. Like many of us, I took for granted most of what was afforded me as a child: parents, family, nutritious food to strengthen my growing body, a quality education, and access to health care and physical therapy. We often overlook the significance of these blessings—especially when they have been ours since birth. But if you are a parent, you know the sacrifices and the intentional choices you make every day to mold, develop, and steer your children into the best possible future. When a child is orphaned, often times, this part of parenting is lost. If an orphaned child is lucky, their basic needs will be met. But very few will reap the benefits that come from being in a family with parents who are doing everything they can to prepare them for the best possible future. That’s why, at The Hope Effect, one of our top values is to structure our care like a family. We are seeking to lovingly prepare children who enter our care with the same amount of effort each of us take with our own children. We seek to provide the best education possible, instill self discipline and a strong work ethic, secure the right healthcare each individual needs, and model the importance of living life in service to others. These are the foundational blessings needed to thrive in the future. And we seek to provide all of them for every child.

From the earliest days of The Hope Effect, we have had conversations surrounding the approach and quality we will pursue for our family style homes. We searched for words or phrases that would help clarify our intentions and set the bar high for our team and our future. As is often the case with brainstorming sessions, the list grew long and complicated. However, one simple question seemed to sum up our conversation: If any of our children were being cared for at one of our homes, would we be pleased with the care they are receiving? The answer to that question prompted six orphan care standards that would eventually define our values: 1) Family, 2) Excellence, 3) Spirituality, 4) Preparation, 5) Sustainability, and 6) Innovation. Over the next several weeks, we will expand on each standard in greater detail.

Family.

Because family is the most effective model for development, we seek to mimic the family in all strategies. Traditional orphan care solutions around the world too often function like “institutions” rather than “the family unit.” In order to maximize budgets and space, institutional care focuses on meeting basic physical needs. To be fair, they do this very well. While not the best solution, millions of children over the years have had their situations dramatically improved thanks to the generous and selfless work of orphanage directors and their supporters. They have helped children get off the streets, out of dangerous situations, and onto a better path for the future. However, in recent years, studies have shown the life long negative effects on children who are reared in an institutional setting. Therefore, given the choice, I could not imagine many parents who would want their children to only have their basic needs met in a larger institutional care situation. If my wife and I, God forbid, could no longer care for our kids, we would want their basic needs met, but more than that, we would want them to be part of a family! We would want our kids to be raised by people who would love them as they would their own biological children. We would want our kids to feel safe and secure. And we would hope our children’s uniqueness would be affirmed, strengths developed, and challenges helped to overcome. At The Hope Effect we are seeking to change the way the world cares for orphans by offering children the opportunity to be part of a family. Rather than constructing large buildings that house a high ratio of children to caregivers, we are building smaller, one-family size, structures. Each home will house six-eight orphaned children and two parents. In this way, we mimic the family in all orphan care solutions. Not only is this what we would want for our children, but a family is what every child needs and deserves.

They have finished setting the main trusses on the family home in Honduras. As the new school year begins, the interior of the home will begin completion.

Our Honduras project is progressing well in Siguatepeque and according to construction projections, should be complete this summer! Your generous donations made this home possible. Thank you. Douglas Barahona, the National Director in Honduras, reported that the concrete floor will be poured this week (mid-April). After the floor, we will begin to construct the walls with color block and install the metal roof structure. We are also beginning to import some of the materials not available in Siguatepeque for the interior. If everything goes as planned, the house should be complete by the end of June! The house parents will then move in shortly after to adjust to their new home before the children are placed with their family. We will continue to provide you with updates over the coming months as together, we provide homes for the vulnerable and change how the world cares for orphans.