“Epic.” “Incredible.” “The hardest challenge I have ever done…for a great cause.”

Those are just some of the words used by The Hope Effect hikers to describe their recent Rim to Rim to Rim hike of the Grand Canyon. Sounds about right – the journey was more than 50 miles, and they set out to accomplish it in one day! That’s pretty impressive in and of itself, but even more awesome? This inspiring group used the hike to benefit The Hope Effect!

In addition to training and preparing for the hike, the team raised money to make a difference in the lives of orphaned children around the world. Altogether, they raised $7,000 for The Hope Effect! These generous gifts will help provide family-style care for children in Mexico and Honduras. Check out our projects page to learn more!

Ready for a recap? Read on! 

The team of 16 individuals assembled at the Grand Canyon the afternoon before the hike. Although many of the hikers were local to Arizona, two of the hikers traveled from out of state (shout out to Jay Medailleu from Massachusetts and Keith Wilkinson from Colorado – thanks making the trip out!) to participate. How awesome to have representation from so many different places in support of The Hope Effect!

The next morning, the team set out at 4:00 a.m. to get a head start on the day while it was still cool. Arizona weather in April can be unpredictable, and they knew this day would be HOT – temperatures would rise into the 90s (some locations would reach 100 degrees!) during the middle of the day. Yikes!

The trek took them down the south rim of the canyon, up the north rim, and all the way back again. Not only is that 54 miles of hiking; it’s also about 20,000 feet of elevation change! Definitely a challenge…but it came with some beautiful scenery! Check out pics of the journey below.

Thanks to their hard work and training (and some major grit) the hikers persevered through the sun and heat, and everyone made it back safely! The larger group split into smaller teams along the way, with the total finish times ranging from about 17 hours to 25 hours. Talk about endurance!

We are so proud of these guys – and so grateful they combined their love of the outdoors with their passion for making a difference. We’re also incredibly thankful to the generous people who gave to The Hope Effect in support of these hikers. These gifts will have such an impact in the lives of children around the world!

To the team of The Hope Effect hikers – thank you for your courage, determination, and enthusiasm. Together, we are changing the way the world cares for orphans!

P.S. Feeling motivated to use your passion to help kids in need? Awesome! It’s super quick and easy to create your own campaign and begin raising money to make a difference in the lives of children. And the good news is, you don’t have to hike the Grand Canyon! Anything goes…you can donate your birthday, hold a garage sale, run a race, or whatever else sounds good! And all along the way, we’ll be there to answer your questions, provide support, and cheer you on!

2019 is shaping up to be a big year! Thanks to you, we’re gaining ground in Sonora, Mexico, as we work to pioneer family-style care in San Luis Río Colorado. And now, we’re excited to announce the first of our new projects this year…

The Hope Effect is now in Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras!

We’re thrilled to be partnering with Legacy of Hope Foundation, an organization currently providing family-style care in Santa Rosa. We’ve known the awesome people at Legacy of Hope for quite some time, and they are doing great work with foster care in Honduras. By joining forces, we’ll be able to provide loving, family-style care for even more children.

How You’re Making a Difference!

So what does our work in Santa Rosa look like? We’re glad you asked!

No matter their background, orphaned children often find themselves in transition. With this partnership, The Hope Effect will be providing a family-style environment for children as they wait for foster and adoptive families to become available.

This transition home is the only resource of its kind in Western Honduras. Your generous support allows the kids to have the personal attention of a foster parent, along with access to quality education, nutritious meals, top-notch psychological and medical care, and more!

The children you invest in will remain in this safe, loving family environment until a more permanent home is identified. That might be a few weeks, months, or possibly even years. But through it all, the kids will experience the love, support, and stability of a family.

Learn More and Get Involved

Want to see your support in action? Watch this quick video and check out the amazing family-style environment you’re providing for these kids in need.

To learn more and make a difference in the lives of of these children, visit the projects page on hopeeffect.com. There, you’ll find opportunities to get involved in this specific project. We’d love for you to be a part of the great work going on in Santa Rosa!

Thank you so much for your continued support and generosity. None of this would be possible without you! Together, we are changing the way the world cares for orphans.

My family and I love going to movies. We enjoy hanging out together at the theater, and we all love eating the popcorn (maybe just a little too much). Like many of you, we’ve become fans of the superhero flicks that have been flooding the silver screens. Without starting a Marvel vs. DC debate, I have to be honest. For us, Marvel is leading the way in this area…as proven by our advanced ticket purchase for the 3+ hour coming attraction. Marvel is the only company to inspire such silly devotion in our family.

But recently, while we were munching on popcorn and sipping soda before a movie began, we saw a preview for the new DC movie Shazam. My daughter Mia, who we adopted from Thailand a few years ago, turned to me and gave me the thumbs up. It’s our little sign that we would be seeing the movie when it came out.

A few days ago, we made it out to see Shazam, and we were not disappointed. Sure, there was some unnecessary swearing and a few adolescent fantasy references, but the overall message of the movie leads me to give it two thumbs up.

Without giving too much away, 14-year-old Billy Batson only needs to shout out one word to transform into the adult superhero Shazam. Most of the movie is about Billy discovering his new superhero abilities and learning how to harness them. However, it was his backstory that caught my eye and heart. You see, Billy is a foster child.

For the last few years, I’ve had the privilege of leading The Hope Effect as we strive to change the way the world cares for orphans. Most orphans around the world don’t have the opportunity to live in a family environment like Billy. Many countries don’t have systems in place to provide family-style care for orphans. As a result, millions of children are being cared for in institutional settings, causing long-term psychological, emotional, and developmental damage.

We as a people can do better. At The Hope Effect, we are convinced children thrive when they are cared for in a family setting as they are waiting to be reunited with their biological parents, placed with extended family, or welcomed into a forever adoptive family. Take a look around our website to learn more about our work and discover how you can get involved and make a difference.

Ultimately, Billy not only discovers he is a superhero…more importantly, he discovers a family inside his foster home. This family – led by a loving couple who were foster children themselves – is full of other kids just like Billy. Within this family, Billy realizes what we want all the children we work with to realize. We all have a superhero inside of us, and with the love and support of a family – SHAZAM! – we can become who we were created to be.

“You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need is a book.”   ―Dr. Seuss

Over the last year and a half, we’ve been looking for ways to provide hope to the orphans living in the government-run DIF facility in San Luis Río Colorado (SLRC). Because of your generous support, we’ve been able to work closely with the children as we seek government approval to provide family-style care. And recently, we were able to bring hope, some adventure, and a little magic…in the form of a new library for the kids!

Our super handy and creative staff built a bookshelf (the awesome one that looks like a tree!) to serve as a central piece of the library, and many other organizations and individuals contributed books and shelves to make it all come together.

Once it was finished, the DIF staff held a ribbon cutting event to celebrate the library’s opening. Not only did we get to attend and enjoy the festivities…we actually got to help cut the ribbon (that was unexpected, but I think we came through)! The kids had a great time – and so did we. Check out more pics of the event below!

We are so thankful that we are able to bring hope and joy to these children right now while we work toward approval to provide family-style care. And to us, the event was another great example of how far we’ve come in our relationships with government officials and the DIF staff. Your support has allowed us to have a consistent presence in SLRC and build these important relationships. At this event, we not only chatted with the DIF president and mayor’s wife (who we’ve been working with for a while), but we also got to meet the mayor for the first time!

We had the opportunity to speak to the mayor about our work and the importance of bringing family-style care to SLRC. He was very receptive, and we are meeting with him again soon to share more about our vision. So awesome!

This is great timing…support for family-style care in Sonora is growing! A few weeks ago, we traveled to Hermosillo (the capital of Sonora) to have further conversations about getting approval to provide family-style care. After a great meeting with government officials, we’re looking forward to the next steps! We are awaiting the release of Sonora’s policies and procedures for family-style care, which could come as soon as April. And – fingers crossed – that will hopefully be followed by our approval! We’ll keep you posted!

As always, thank you for your continued support – you are making a difference!

The Hope Effect team with the president of the San Luis Río Colorado DIF and DIF staff members.

Last week, The Hope Effect was personally invited by the president of the San Luis Río Colorado DIF (who is also the mayor’s wife) to attend an event to learn more about the organization and its new leadership.

For a bit of background, the DIF is the government organization that provides family services in Mexico. It provides services for the vulnerable people in society – orphans, the elderly, families in need of daycare, etc. Because it provides so many services, there isn’t an exact equivalent in the U.S., but for our purposes, we often equate it to Child Protective Services.

This event was an awesome opportunity to learn more about the different services DIF provides and connect with the top civic organizations and nonprofits in the city. But the coolest part? The Hope Effect was the only nonprofit mentioned during the presentation! The mayor’s wife announced to the crowd that they are partnering with us as we advocate to bring family-based care to SLRC!

And that’s all thanks to you – what a testament to your accomplishments in SLRC over the last year! Your support has enabled us to build a relationship with DIF and care for the orphans currently living in the government-run institution – and now the president of the SLRC DIF is championing our cause to bring family-style care to the orphans in this city.

This is huge – her support will help tremendously with our next steps of getting government approval to provide our model of orphan care in the state of Sonora. We’re so excited about our progress and so thankful to you for making it possible!

Much more to come from SLRC this year! But in the meantime, check out pics of the event below…and give yourself a high five for the great work you’ve done!

Earlier this week, The Hope Effect hosted its second annual Christmas party for the children in the government-run orphanage in San Luis Río Colorado (SLRC), Mexico. It was a wonderful event that allowed us to bring hope to the children and continue to build our relationship with the new SLRC government.

Prior to the party, our incredible partners at Tortoise & Hare Sports organized a fundraising drive to provide presents for the children. They raised $800 to cover all the costs of the party and gifts for the orphans! Thanks to their generosity, we were able to provide a new pair of shoes, socks, a small toy, and a bag of candy for each child. And of course, it’s not a party without food and dessert…so we brought tamales and cupcakes as well. We are so thankful for everyone who donated to make this event happen!

 
As always, it was awesome to have the opportunity to interact with the children. They were thrilled to hear their names called individually to come receive their special gifts! As we continue to work through the long process to obtain government approval to provide family-style care in SLRC, we are thankful we are able to show love to these orphans right now. And we are grateful for your continued support that makes it possible!

We were also very encouraged by our conversations with the SLRC government at the event. Over the last year, we’ve been working hard to build and maintain relationships with government officials and the SLRC DIF (Mexico’s version of CPS). Due to a recent election, many of the city and DIF leadership positions changed hands, so we’ve been trying to get to know the new leaders.

The new head of the DIF in SLRC (who is the wife of the newly-elected mayor) attended the Christmas party, along with her chief of staff and a few additional employees. We had great discussions, and they were very supportive of our proposed model of orphan care. The chief of staff actually said she agrees that the orphans need to get out of institutional care and into families! That’s a HUGE step in the right direction!

It’s amazing to think how far we’ve come since our Christmas party last year. One year ago – at that party – was the first time we were able to go into the DIF facility and interact with the orphans. Over the past year, thanks to your generosity and support, we were able to work much more closely with the DIF. Because of that, we are optimistic about receiving government approval and starting to provide family-style care in SLRC in 2019…and we look forward to sharing updates along the way!

Thank you for partnering with us – you are making such a difference! Together, we are changing how the world cares for orphans!

This year, one of our main focuses has been bringing family-style orphan care to the city of San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico. Thanks to your support and partnership, we’ve made great progress in 2018!

As we work through the process to obtain government approval to provide family-style care, we’ve built relationships with government officials and organizations, and we formed a partnership with the SLRC DIF (Mexico’s version of Child Protective Services). We’ve also been able to work with and bring hope to the orphans currently living in the city’s government-run orphanage. 

Working with those children has highlighted the urgent need to get these kids in families. We’ve learned their stories and seen firsthand the impact that institutional care is having on them. 

One of the little girls in the orphanage, Rosa* (on the left in the photo above), came to the DIF facility shortly after she was born. She’s now almost four years old and she just started preschool. For a while, Rosa had some extended family – her aunt – visiting her a few times a year. But for whatever reason, her extended family can’t adopt her, and those visits have stopped over the last eight months. Now, we are the only people from outside the orphanage who come to see her.   

This little girl has lived almost her entire life within the walls of the orphanage. And while the staff of the DIF facility does the best they can, Rosa has had no parental interaction and has never known the love of a family. Rosa has always been cared for by a rotating staff, and she’s been through three different SLRC mayors (which means new orphanage leadership) and multiple staff changes. 

Rosa needs to get out of the institution and into a family. As she gets older, she is statistically less and less likely to be adopted. But because of legal issues and paperwork holdups, this little girl is technically not even eligible to be adopted. 

This is why we do what we do – why we need to change how the world cares for orphans. Because of kids like Rosa. Because every child deserves a family.

If you want to make a difference in the lives of children like Rosa, we’d love to partner with you! #GivingTuesday, an international day of giving, is coming up on November 27. All donations raised on that day will go toward our work in San Luis Río Colorado. And one of our generous supporters has offered to match every donation made on #GivingTuesday…up to $20,000! That means you can double the impact of your gift! If we reach the entire match amount, our project in San Luis Río Colorado will be fully funded!

We are so grateful for your support. We dream of a day when every orphan is in a loving family environment…and we can’t do it without you! Together, we are changing how the world cares for orphans!

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE HOPE EFFECT ON #GIVINGTUESDAY!

*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the child.

It’s hard to believe it’s already the end of October, which means the holiday season is just around the corner. Thanksgiving will be here before you know it, followed by two of the busiest shopping days of the year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Then, immediately after we spend those days searching for deals, we have an opportunity to give back…on #GivingTuesday!

#GivingTuesday takes place on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and it’s the kickoff to the giving season. #GivingTuesday is a global giving movement that celebrates generosity and encourages individuals, organizations, and communities to give back!

This year, we invite you to use this day to change how the world cares for orphans and help provide family-style care for children around the world!

In years past, we’ve been so amazed by the generosity of our supporters on #GivingTuesday, and we’re so excited to participate again in 2018! This year, donations raised will be used to complete our goal of fully funding our project in San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico.

One of our main focuses this year has been bringing bring family-style care to SLRC. We’ve made great strides in building relationships with government officials and organizations in that city, and we are working to obtain government approval to provide family-style care. And thanks to your generosity, we’ve been able to show love and bring hope to the orphans currently in government care.

At the same time, we’ve continued raising funds to cover the operating expenses of the family-style care we are working to provide in SLRC. We are SO CLOSE to being fully funded, and you can help us get there in 2018! Your donation to The Hope Effect on #GivingTuesday will help support this important initiative.

We are also thrilled to announce that one of our generous supporters has offered to match every donation made on #GivingTuesday…up to $20,000! That means you can double the impact of your gift…and if we reach the entire match amount, our project in San Luis Rio Colorado will be fully funded!

Thank you for your continued support and generosity – we can’t do any of this without you! Together, we are changing how the world cares for orphans!

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE HOPE EFFECT ON #GIVINGTUESDAY!

Former S.L.R.C. DIF Facility Director Aracely Arroyo Hernández with Efecto Esperanza Director Raquel Leal de Ornelas.

In 2018, The Hope Effect has been working to bring family-style care to San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico. Currently, orphans in S.L.R.C. are living under institutional care provided by DIF, which is Mexico’s version of CPS.

Throughout the long process of obtaining government approval for family-style care, we’ve worked to build and maintain a relationship with the DIF employees in S.L.R.C. Late last year, we hosted a Christmas party for the orphans, and in 2018 we built beds for many of the children living in the DIF facility. Over the last several months, thanks to your generosity, we have continued providing essential items like shoes and clothing for the children.

As we built our partnership, it became clear the DIF director and staff members truly care about the children. However, while the facility provides for the basic physical needs of the orphans, being raised in an institutional environment often results in lifelong negative effects on children. For example, inconsistency in caregiving due to a rotating staff or employee turnover might lead to children not receiving enough personal interaction within a loving environment.

This issue is highlighted currently in S.L.R.C., as the DIF facility is currently undergoing major staffing changes. In the city of S.L.R.C., the mayor’s wife automatically assumes the role of DIF President. That means whenever a new mayor is elected, the leadership of DIF changes.

Recently, a S.L.R.C. elected a new mayor, so DIF has a new president who is bringing in a new staff. Although we are confident the new president and staff will be caring and attentive to the children, the staff change presents difficulties for everyone involved.

Institutional orphanages already typically have a rotating staff caring for the children. There aren’t primary caregivers giving consistent love and attention the way there would be in a family setting. Now, the orphans in S.L.R.C. will need to adjust to an entirely new staff, which can be traumatic and upsetting.

In addition, The Hope Effect will need to build new relationships with the leadership and staff. We’re not quite starting over, because we’ve worked so closely with the facility and the children all year, even receiving multiple awards for our service. But the new leadership will be relatively unfamiliar with our organization and our goals, so we’ll work hard to maintain our partnership with the DIF facility in S.L.R.C.

We’re so grateful for the previous leadership and staff of DIF who partnered with us over the last several months. In fact, the previous director of the DIF facility in S.L.R.C., Aracely Arroyo Hernández, has agreed to join The Hope Effect team! She’ll be working with us and providing after school programs in the DIF facility, and we are excited to continue our partnership with her!

Ultimately, although this transition presents its challenges, it reinforces the importance of bringing family-based care and stability to the children in San Luis Río Colorado. We are optimistic and excited about our progress in this city, and we look forward to keeping you updated along the way!