Sponsored by Help for Orphans International
Below is a list of some of our short and mid-term programs. It is by no means the only ways we help, but the listed programs are convenient, affordable ways individuals and groups can help out.
Operation Backpack
Help for Orphans International (HFOI) places a great value on education. Children are our future, and a society that is educated is less likely to be oppressed. We started Operation Backpack to ensure the kids at our partnered orphanages have basic school supplies. Each backpack has all the necessities – notebooks, writing utensils, rulers, etc.
Ways to help:
• Gather your friends and have a backpack stuffing party. We can give you tips on getting others to donate items or money for all your supplies.
Healthy Smiles
HFOI’s Healthy Smiles Program not only provides dental care to our partnered orphanages, but also encourages local dentists to help with future and consistent dental care for the orphans. We encourage our volunteer dentists and their staff to take volunteering trips to partnered orphanages, where they can provide dental care to the orphans and educate them on the importance of oral health care. Healthy Smiles also provides the orphanages with oral healthcare kits for their orphans.
A few ways you can help:
• Have your dentist contact us. They can sponsor an orphanage by donating oral healthcare products, going on volunteering trips, or donating financially.
Operation Perfect Day
Help for Orphans International developed Operation Perfect Day to give orphans a day of festivities. These orphans do not ask for much, and the smallest things provide them with happiness. Operation Perfect Day is tailored to each orphanage. Some have been done in conjunction with holidays, and others are just random Perfect Days. Our staff coordinates with our volunteers, as well as government and non-government organizations to provide these very special days for the orphans.
Ways you can help:
• Contact us for upcoming Perfect Days. We can provide you with a list of items and the quantities needed for that orphanage, or provide you with a dollar amount needed for us to buy those items.
• Donate new, unopened packs of crayons, markers, and paper. They can always be used.
• Donate any dollar amount to help create a Perfect Day for the kids. You can specify your donation for Operation Perfect Day.
Below is a video of a “Perfect Day” Easter Egg Hunt sponsored for an orphanage in Haiti.
Shoe Box Gifts
Need a fun group activity that brings camaraderie? HFOI’s Shoe Boxes Gifts can help! The shoe boxes are filled with fun things or things they need, such as dolls, small toys, craft projects, pencils, oral hygiene products, etc. Make it more festive by decorating them or wrapping them up. Every child likes to open presents, and these kids don’t receive many.
How to participate:
1. Get a group together and contact HFOI.
2. Choose or find out which orphanage currently needs shoe boxes. We’ll give you a step-by-step checklist on how to pull it altogether, with tips on fundraising and mailing. We’ll even give you the 411 on the number of kids that orphanage has, a list of items they need or want, even a breakdown of gender and ages (if needed).
Clothe the Children
Children grow out of their clothes and shoes so quickly. Help for Orphans International provides school uniforms, clothing, and shoes to the children at our partnered orphanages. Many of these children walk barefoot or in flip flops, and have only 1 or 2 outfits. Depending on the area they’re in, closed-toed shoes can protect their feet from sharp objects and diseases that can be caught through walking in dirty environments. We try to provide the orphans with 5 sets of uniforms, 3 sets of casual clothes, and a change every 6 months.
Ways to help:
• Contact us to sponsor an orphanage. We can give you a breakdown of gender and sizes needed for that orphanage.
Give a Flock
Help for Orphans International is about sustainability and getting orphanages to be able to support themselves. Give a Flock is a program developed to help our partnered orphanages raise chickens to feed their orphans and staff. It is also a good way for them to create income to support the daily operations of running their orphanage.
Ways you can help:
• Donate here to give a flock to an orphanage and get a free t-shirt
www.giveaflock.org
Voluntourism – Trips for Good
There’s no better way to travel than by immersing yourself in the culture. Voluntourism with Help for Orphans International allows you to do just that! You’ll have plenty of time to see the sights, make new friends, hang out with the locals; all while making a difference in the lives of kids who could really use some love and help. HFOI can tailor your (or your group’s) trip based on your interests. All the orphanages we have partnered up with have been visited by our staff or volunteers at length. We always try to establish lasting relationships with the locals, so your experience can be as authentic or touristy as you’d like. Your volunteering times and activities can also be tailored to your interests or areas of expertise. Some of your trip may even be tax-deductible.
Ways to get involved:
• Join us on one of our upcoming volunteering trips to Kenya, Haiti, Honduras, or Indonesia
• If you already have travel plans, but would like to add some volunteering, please contact us. We may be able to connect you to one of our partnered orphanages.
We can customize a volunteering trip for you, your friends, family or group. We set everything up for you, from accommodations and transportation, to sight-seeing tours and volunteering times.