Graduation Gift of Giving!

Hey guys, it's Hannah!

So my big brother, fellow dream team member, and best friend, Jack, is a senior this year, which means that he's going off to college soon! He has been by my side for the past 16 years of my life, which is pretty amazing considering how loud I can be sometimes.

He is an amazing person who has a kind and generous heart, an outgoing and awe-inspiring personality, and a motivational and determined work ethic, and he has been one of my biggest supporters for my whole life. He also has the amazing ability to bring people together, make everyone feel welcome, and turn a group of people into a community and a family with nothing more than the gifts that God (and genetics) have given to him. Despite his occasional dumb jokes, obsession with pugs, and rare midnight drum practice while the rest of the family is sleeping, he is beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the most considerate, compassionate, and caring people I have ever met. Jack and his classmate's love of community service and helping others is the inspiration behind my graduation present to the bright, loving, and intelligent individuals in Island Pacific Academy's graduating class of 2016.

This IPA class is very giving, and has always been involved in community service activities and supporting their fellow students, so I want to raise funds to donate in their name to different organizations that Jack and his IPA classmates care about. But... SHHHH... I'd like to keep it a surprise as long as possible!



If you'd like to make a donation, it will be used for projects on Oahu including:

- Waianae Ridge Watershed
- The Hawaii Meth Project
- Oahu SPCA
- The Mauloa Food Bank
- Fisher House at Tripler Hospital

As always, thank you ALL for your ongoing support.  If you'd like to help with this SURPRISE PROJECT... please join in, by using the IPA Gives Back DONATE button on the upper right.  100% will go to charity!  Thank You!

Dream of a Better World Partners with Diving For a Cause in New Zealand

Here's a quick newspaper article to share more results from 2015.  Our friends and partners "Diving For a Cause" are an amazing group of adventurers who always take time out to care for the communities they visit and the world we all live in.  Here's what they have done with your help in a Maori community in New Zealand. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to work with them and they are amazing! It was especially nice because their New Zealand boat captain, Joe Burke, and his wife Kura and their kids, have been Dream of a Better World supporters for many years!  Thank you Burke family!


Here's a link to their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Diving-For-A-Cause-137285866332675/

 

Thank You for Another Great Year With Dream of a Better World!

We want to "THANK YOU" for helping Dream of a Better World in 2015.  Together we have made a difference in the lives of children all over the world.  Your support has delivered food to at-risk families, comforted and encouraged our sick and wounded military and veterans and their families, and have fed and cared for orphans on three continents.  And, thanks to ALL OF YOU, we have been able to help abandoned and endangered animals and our environment.

We know that picture is worth a thousand words and that one of the best ways to thank you is to share the results... so here are some of the many real results from 2016!

With Gratitude & Love, The Dream Team Kids!

Ps. We are signing off for a few months to catch up in school, write college applications and dream up more projects for 2016!

A Special Thank You to Island Pacific Academy and Na Lio Kai Pony Club

The 4th Annual Operation Holiday Heroes (2015) was a HUGE success.  Over 130 gifts were delivered to the sick and injured residents and families of Tripler Hospital's Fisher House.  Thanks to our fellow Island Pacific Academy students and Hawaii's Na LiKai Pony Club for raising money, collecting needed items and wrapping, delivering and sharing gifts this year!

Lindsay, Hannah & Alexa

Na Lio Kai Pony Club, founded in 1993, has a mission to provide a program for youth that teaches riding, mounted sports, and the care of horses and ponies, thereby developing responsibility, moral judgment, leadership and self-confidence. Thank you Na Lio Kai for your efforts and for sending representatives: Lindsay Grimshaw, Hannah Button & Alexa Sabatini.

Kim - Back from UCLA!

Jack & Carson in action!

This is the second year that Island Pacific Academy (IPA) has pitched in to help us make a BIG difference! Thank you to fellow students, staff and former students... Kim Uehisa, Carson Lofton, everyone who donated or wrapped gifts, and Carly, Jack & Hannah Button.

Manager Anita Klingerman & residents of Fisher House.

Lots of big SMILES!

For more information or additional photos, here's a link:
Operation Holiday Heroes 2015

We received a last minute call for help from a wonderful organization needing gifts for teens!  Glad we could support North Shore's Operation Toy Box that provides hundreds of toys and gifts to children in our community!

Seven Continents 2015

Dream of a Better World invites you to make a difference on ALL seven continents this holiday season.  Join us in celebrating by GIVING the gift of health, warmth, shelter, protection and perhaps even life itself.  GIVE the gift that helps kids and families rise from the depths of poverty and despair.  GIVE… give ANYTHING you can… and you will help change the world, literally.

This year, by CLICKING on the "WHOLE WORLD" button in the right side panel, we can split your donation and distribute it to a project on every continent.  Your gift will literally reach around the world to spread goodness and hope to those in need!  Or, you can donate to your favorite project or continent by simply clicking on their individual "DONATE" button.

Our projects range anywhere from buying back packs and school supplies for kids that can’t afford them, to helping with a vegetable garden for an orphanage in Peru. Or, even to help save the Whale Sharks in the Galapagos and Antarctica to protect them from poachers. And, we are all saddened by the recent terror attacks in France, and with your help we will be assisting the victims of this terrible crime!  

We are super excited to deliver every gift that goes towards these great projects and we well be sure that every penny goes towards its designated cause.  Together, we can make a difference again on EVERY continent.  

Thank you for your on-going support!  Love, Hannah, Jack & Carly

If you'd like to find out more about each project and all 7 continents, you can click on the "Continent" links below:

North America

Operation Holiday Heroes 2015  

Fisher House Hawaii -Honolulu

Goal – $1,000.00

For supplies and holiday gifts for wounded veterans and their families.

South America

Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos - Peru

Growing vegetables at the orphanage in Peru

Goal –  $487.00

For a gardener, agricultural water access and plants

Asia

Maria’s Big House of Hope 2015  

Goal: $1,100.00 
For a specialized "Zipzac II" wheelchair for kids (extra funds will be used to purchase nebulizers at $60/each)

Africa

Our Own Home Uganda – 2015   

Goal : $2,000.00

For a traditional holiday celebration for 62 HIV+ kids at the orphanage.  Celebrating 6 years of incredible partnership!

Antarctica & Environment

Save the Whale Shark through the research efforts of explorer Jonathan Greene and the Turtle Island Restoration Network.

Goal: $1,000.00 
To help end poaching and Whale Shark population decline.

Australia & New Zealand

Diving for a Cause  - Whakatane, New Zealand

Goal - $700.00

For backpacks filled with school supplies for kids and needs for women, all living in a battered women’s shelter.

Europe (Fully Funded)

Victims of terrorism
$500.00 Goal Achieved!
As of 12/3/15, this project has been fully funded.  Any additional donations will go to provide assistance to families of recent domestic terrorist attack.