Something I Say Often

Since 2015, The Hope Effect has had a simple but powerful vision: to change the way the world cares for orphans. We believe children belong in families, not institutions.

With your support, we've helped hundreds of children grow up in the love, safety, and hope of a family. Each of those lives will ripple into the future, as they build families of their own and pass on what it means to belong.

But we're not just changing individual lives. Together, we’re creating lasting, sustainable change.

I say often that we are planting trees, not vegetable gardens. Vegetable gardens give an immediate reward, resulting in a harvest in the near future. Trees take years, even decades, but provide fruit and shade for generations.

While we are helping children right now, we're also planting trees that will one day shade generations we'll never meet. We are building systems, shaping policy, and shifting how governments and communities think about family.

We're already seeing that momentum grow beyond our own program locations. An organization in Oaxaca, Mexico, has run an orphanage there for more than fifty years. For the last three years, we’ve walked alongside them, sharing what we've learned as they explored what a transition toward family care could look like.

A few weeks ago, they signed an agreement with the government of Oaxaca to run a foster care program for the next three years. We're so grateful for organizations like this one who are choosing a better way for children. We celebrate with them, and we're thrilled for what it means for children in Oaxaca.

Over the next few months, we'll be sharing what we've learned from their story, real numbers behind what we've long known to be true. Family-based care leads to better outcomes for children, and it changes in ways institutional care ever could.

Because there is a better way, for every child.