I want to alert you all to a great cause that is particularly near and dear to my family. My younger sister Rachel---whose shadow I have always lived underneath---is a magnificent human being and a first rate overachiever. The results of that combination are often overwhelming and stressful, but always astounding and meaningful.
Rachel spent a summer doing service in El Salvador during college with an organization called HELP International. During her time there, she started working with an orphanage for persons with disabilities. She felt such a strong connection to the orphanage that she and her husband, Ryan, spent the semester immediately following their wedding living at the orphanage and working there day in and day out. Upon returning to the United States, Rachel felt that it was important for the orphanage to have volunteers living there year-round, so she contacted HELP International with her idea of sending down two volunteers (ideally a married couple or a pair of sisters or something, at least one of whom speaks Spanish---anybody interested?) for a few months at a time to live at the orphanage and teach classes, entertain the residents, and just generally make their lives a little bit brighter.
When she proposed the program, HELP International said, "If you run it, you can use our name for tax and legal purposes." Ever since then Rachel has been running the program from the goodness of her own heart---you know, in all of the free time that she has as a busy high school teacher just starting her career. She's pretty amazing. It sortof makes me sick. :) My youngest sister Laura and her husband Sam spent a summer as the couple working at the orphanage as well, and we all went down to see it at that time. It is a very special place.
Rachel's program is run 100% on donations, and Rachel does all of the fundraising (along with recruiting, training, etc., etc.) on her own, which can be very stressful and very difficult to do. One of the recent volunteers used her talents as a photographer to develop fundraising materials for the orphanage. One of the products that she created is a 2010 calendar featuring 12 of the orphanage residents (one per month). She took all of the photos, and then Rachel wrote a little biography about each of the kids. The calendars have been printed in Spanish to sell in El Salvador and English to sell here in the States. They are really beautiful. (I have seen them!)
If you need a 2010 calendar, instead of going to Barnes and Noble to get a generic one, you could purchase this one, and 100% of the proceeds go directly to improving the lives of the residents at the orphanage. The calendars are $15 each or four for $50 (if you want to give them to family and friends). It would make a great holiday gift, as everyone needs a calendar, and then you could also tell your loved ones that the proceeds from their gift will be benefiting a wonderful cause. The orphanage residents are truly remarkable. They are so full of love and happiness, and they have blessed the lives of my sisters immeasurably. I can't wait to hang the calendar in our apartment, so the kids can smile at Logan, Callum, and me every day.
If you are interested in purchasing a calendar, please leave a comment here or send Rachel or myself an email, and one of us will get you the order form. Rachel can be reached at rachel.nielson@hotmail.com. If you know anyone else who might be interested, please pass on the info to them. (Or if you are interested in posting something about it on your own blog, PLEASE do. We are trying to get the word out about the orphanage!)
Here is a slideshow featuring many of the photos that are in the calendar, as well as capturing the spirit of the residents who live at the Hogar. Put it in "full screen" and turn up the volume to get the full effect of Molly's beautiful photos! Thank you for your support!
Hogar from Molly McDonald on Vimeo.
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