Over the last few days, there has been a big focus on buying—spending money trying to get (allegedly) the best deals. The days following Thanksgiving, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday, are some of the busiest shopping days of the year.
I always find it ironic that we give thanks for what we have on Thanksgiving, and then immediately turn around and purchase more items we most likely don’t need.
Thankfully, after Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes Giving Tuesday. Today, people across the globe are celebrating and practicing generosity, and we have the opportunity to give something priceless.
This Giving Tuesday, you can provide the love of a family for orphaned children around the world!
The Hope Effect
This month marks the four-year anniversary of The Hope Effect—the nonprofit organization I launched in November 2015 with incredible support from the Becoming Minimalist community. The Hope Effect’s mission is to change the way the world cares for orphans.
In developing nations, orphans are often raised in institutional care, which can have damaging effects on children. When children are raised in institutions, they don’t receive enough personal interaction within a loving environment. As a result, development is stunted and learning abilities are delayed or lost.
The research on this has been known for decades. Yet there are very few nonprofit organizations trying to solve the problem.
Without a doubt, there is a better way. Children belong in families.
That’s why The Hope Effect is working to pioneer and expand family-based orphan care around the world. After four years of existence, because of your support, we are currently working in several locations in both Mexico and Honduras.
Our model of care mimics the family structure, with two parents and no more than 6-8 children in a household. This allows children to receive more individual attention while growing up in a stable, family environment.
Under this type of loving care, children flourish and thrive. And children like Ricardo*, a young boy in Chihuahua, Mexico, are able to heal and learn what it means to be part of a family.
Ricardo’s Story
Ricardo was abandoned at a hospital by his 16-year-old mother immediately after he was born. Without a family—without even a name—he was assigned to the child protective services in Chihuahua. For the next several months, Ricardo was cared for in an orphanage.
As a newborn in an institution, Ricardo’s physical, emotional, and cognitive development were severely delayed by the lack of connection with a family. He began forgetting when and how to cry because crying got him nowhere—there was simply no parent available to comfort him. He didn’t know how to express pain or joy, because nobody reacted to his emotions.
Thankfully, Ricardo’s life was changed through The Hope Effect’s work in Chihuahua. When he was ten months old, he was welcomed into a home and began receiving family-style care. Ricardo was loved and cared for like never before, and the healing process began.
He bonded with the family and started reacting to their love and attention. For the first time, Ricardo was gaining ground with his physical and emotional development.
But that’s not where the story ends! Ricardo remained with that family for the next 18 months, and he transformed into a loving, active, and funny little boy. Recently, Ricardo found his adoptive family and was able to bond and connect with them immediately. He recently joined his forever family and is excited about his new life!
Ricardo’s story would have been very different without the loving family-style care that got him out of the orphanage and into a family. And there are countless children like Ricardo in Chihuahua still in need of a family.
These children need heroes. They need someone to step in and change the way the world cares for orphans.
Be a Hero For Hope on Giving Tuesday
If you want to make a difference in the lives of children like Ricardo, we invite you to join us today in celebrating Giving Tuesday. You can be a Hero For Hope and help more orphans and vulnerable children find loving families.
If you partner with us today, your donation will go toward changing more lives in Chihuahua. You will be a hero to the many children in that city who are longing for the love of a family.
And in honor of Giving Tuesday, one of The Hope Effect’s generous supporters has offered to match every donation made today… up to $25,000! That means your gift—and your impact—will be doubled today. If we reach the entire match amount, our project in Chihuahua will be fully funded for an entire year and many more Ricardo’s will be cared for in a family environment.
There are two quick, easy, and secure ways to give:
- Online. Visit our Giving Tuesday donation site. (Available for U.S. and all international donors).
- Text. Text hopeeffect (make sure it’s all one word) to 444-999 and follow the instructions. (Currently available for residents of U.S. or Canada only).
The Hope Effect is a 501(c)(3) organization, so your donation is tax-deductible within the U.S. If you have additional questions about The Hope Effect, send us an email. We are passionate about our mission and we’d love to chat with anyone who would like to learn more.
Thank you so much for supporting The Hope Effect’s mission over the last four years. I can’t believe all that it has become. In fact, I will be traveling to Mexico this coming Saturday for a Christmas party with orphaned children in San Luis Rió Colorado, Mexico and can’t wait to see them again.
You truly are a hero to so many children around the world. You are changing lives, and together, we are changing the way the world cares for orphans. I hope you will join us today.
*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the child.
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