Friends of Hope International, Inc.

We’ve spent the better part of the last month soaking up what’s left of Summer, entertaining, hosting visitors and preparing children for a new school year. Seasons come and go and the days are like a v***r as we move quickly through our responsibilities so that we can catch up to the next must, want or need. It’s inevitable to focus on what is in front of us but sometimes our peace is found in setting our gaze on what is beyond us. The best way to take your mind off of what ails, preoccupies or concerns you? Help another.

My grandmother was a school teacher.
Unfortunately, she’s no longer here to ask what it was like being an educator in Dominican Republic in the 1960s…
but as I prepare her great granddaughter for her second year in school, I’m certain of one thing: the tools she needs to participate in the process of being taught, will be provided- inclusive of supplies and meals.
I need not concern myself with provisions outside of her shoes and uniforms and if I may be frank, it’s a relief.
This wasn’t the case during my grandmother’s tenure all of those years ago and surprisingly, it’s still not the case there today.
All of the supplies, inclusive of the books from which the curriculum is taught, is the responsibility of the student(s) and the parent(s). As you’ve probably already deduced, this greatly truncates the opportunities of the youth in that country.
Over the next few weeks, as you prepare your friends or family for the school year, remember those for whom it won’t even be taken into consideration. Help someone take the first step out of poverty by freeing their mind.

I'm honored to be in a position to tell the story of this magical human, through the things he touched and worked discreetly to grow and flourish, but attempting to encompass admiration and respect in consonants and vowels followed by curt and strategic punctuation... Well, that is my personal Goliath.

Where does one go with these accolades and on whose eyes will they land? If I tell you that I recall this individual often and with a superior measure of fondness and admiration, will you then understand the depth of our collective despair and be motivated to move confidently in the direction of generosity and service in his memory? I can be certain of nothing but of this I am confident...

Our salvation is not guaranteed or measured by our works, but if the legacy we leave is evergreen and our fulfilled commitments continue to reach, multiply and manifest, for the better and the good of all mankind... then he will never be lost or forgotten. And we, the survivors of that grief, are at once quieted; settled by the promise of life everlasting, left to us by the spirit that is within the work, placed there by the servant. His name was Esteban. We called him Stevie.

World Service Week is here! This year’s focus is hunger and food insecurity. Pictured is a traditional Dominican dish, arroz con gandules/moro de gandules served to program participants, at a recent event. Feeding children in our youth center as well as providing staple foods to families in need, is one of many services funds as part of our poverty mitigation initiative. Consider donating today. The gift you give is exponential in scope.

eBay for Charity has partnered with the PayPal Giving Fund to make it easy for sellers to donate 10% to 100% (or as low as 1% for eBay Motors vehicles) of your item's final sale price to a certified charity.

“Life’s persistent and most urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” -Martin Luther King Jr.

Our hope for all of you on this Wednesday morning is peace. May the respite that you seek, find you. May you be reminded of the gift that is life and the force that is love.

Happy Mothers Day to all the Amazing Mom’s out there, Feliz Dia De las Madres a Todas las Madres Vacanas!! ❤️

Giving tuesday is the time to give help make a poor childs Christmas, give today!

The gift of being able to give is the greatest gift!