Today's Inspiring Youth - Our New Zealand Partner

  

Thank YOU from ALL 7 Continents!

A great BIG THANK YOU for helping out in 2016 and supporting us over the past 9 years!

It’s been another great year!  Thanks to all of you, we have been able to accomplish so much around the world.

We have contributed thousands of hours of volunteer work, passed along many hundreds of donated goods, and have raised over $300,000 in donations over the years.

In 2016, we have:

Raised nearly $28,000 to complete a project on every single continent!  And, passed along thousands of dollars worth of food, clothing, blankets, and gifts for needy kids and families.  

Thanks to all of YOU, once again this year, dreams have come true helping kids, families, animals and our planet!

For the fourth year in a row, we have been a lead sponsor, fundraised and volunteered for the Heroes and Remembrance Memorial Run for fallen soldiers on Ford Island Bridge.


Through schools and our local community, we have teamed with Target Stores for a scavenger hunt to collect supplies and needs for the homeless population on Oahu.

Planted a meditation garden for the Triple Hospital's Fisher House.  

And, our 5th Annual "Operation Holiday Heroes" supplied the families of sick and injured residents with Christmas gifts and needed supplies.

Helped our partner, Diving For a Cause (DFAC), care for Maori children living in a shelter, providing backpacks with books, writing tablets, pens, markers, crayons and other school supplies.  Also, helping to meet the needs of the women currently living in this shelter, a secret and safe place to help these courageous women to heal.

Also, helping to supply equipment to teach Maori children diving, ocean and environmental skills through our long time friends and Dream of a Better World supporters, Joe & Kura Burke at MUSA Diving.


Purchased tools to help clear invasive plant species from the Waianae Mountains Watershed Partnership.  Helped send Kahuku High School students to the National Science Competition in Nashville.

Raised funds and collected pet supplies and food for our local animal shelter.

 

 Collected over 400 stuffed animals for kids impacted by child abuse and neglect on Oahu.

Restocked the Mualo'a Foundation's food pantry for hungry and food insecure families ...twice!

Thank you for your on-going support!  None of this could have happened without ALL of YOU! 

Please check out our final project of 2016, The 7 Continents Project! listed on this Blog.

If you'd like to send financial support, you can do so through Paypal RIGHT HERE or CLICK on the  DONATION BUTTON (Right Side Bar) for the continent of your choice!

With Love, 

Hannah, Jack and Carly, AND all the kids who have joined us at Dream of a Better World... where "You're never too young, or too old to make a difference!"

 

Seven Continents Project 2016

Thank you for partnering with us to change the WORLD!

Dream of a Better World invites you to make a difference on ALL seven continents once again 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 from buying backpacks and school supplies for Maori tribal kids in New Zealand, helping with a PE and art program for an orphanage in Peru, to planting saplings for a reforestation project in China. We are helping to save the Whale Sharks in the Galapagos and Antarctica to protect them from poachers. And, this Christmas will be our 5^th annual “Operation Holiday Heroes” where we will provide gifts and other needs to the wounded and sick soldiers and their families living at Fisher House. 

Our family and friends were all saddened by the unexpected and tragic loss of our dear friend, Hannes Arch, from Austria, and we are going to help the needy kids from his European hometown who he loved to support. He will be missed, but we want to keep his generous spirit close to our hearts this year. 

The kids at the orphanage in Africa are hungry for the first time since we first met them over 7 years ago, so we are raising funds for their food this next year. Specifically they need protein, so that’s what we are getting them for Christmas! Any remaining funds will go towards a Christmas celebration for the kids.

We are super excited to deliver every gift that goes towards these great projects and we promise that every penny you donate 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 and the Dream Team!

If you'd like to find out more about each project, you can visit the "Continent Tabs" on our home page, or click on the "Continent" links below:

North America Goal - $3,000
Our 5th Annual Operation Holiday Heroes 2016  

 

Fisher House Hawaii - Honolulu

South America Goal - $1,000
Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos - Bolivia 
PE equipment, art supplies and hygiene supplies for the kids living in the orphanages.

Asia Goal - $1,000
Orangutan Foundation International- Borneo

Help protect the environment, as well as the habitat for endangered orangutan and many wild birds in Southeast Asia.

Africa Goal - $7,000

Our Own Home Orphanage - Uganda.  Celebrating 7 years of incredible partnership! They need PROTEIN! Fundraising to provide more protein and rice, to help improve their diet.

Antarctica Goal $1,000
Turtle Island Restoration Network
Help SAVE the diminishing Whale Shark population through the research efforts of explorer Jonathan Greene.

Australia Goal - $2,000
Diving for a Cause - Whakatane, New Zealand.   School supplies for needy kids, a marine program in a Maori school and helping women in a battered women’s shelter in New Zealand.

Europe Goal - $1,000
SOS Villages for Children in Austria.   Helping abandoned, destitute and orphaned children requiring family-based child care. In memory of an amazing man and our good friend - Hannes Arch. 

12,000 Teddy Bears Showed Up

Another WOW!  It's Our Turn Now and #IPAGivesBack to the rescue. 

Remember that Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii had many of it's stuffed animals stolen this year just before their Annual Teddy Bear Drive. So, #IPAGivesBack collected 400 stuffed animals and showed up to volunteer.
We did not realize that when the word got out.... drum roll please... over 12,000 stuffed animals showed up, doubling their total donations from last year!  This was SO MUCH FUN, that we can hardly wait for next year!  Here is another super nice note about the event, from one of our volunteers, Shania Bravo.

Shania - “I was told prior to the event that there would be a lot of stuffed animals, but seeing the amount in real life does not compare the its description. The pile of stuffed animals was enormous. Originally, we only intended to drop off the stuffed animals that we had collected at IPA, but we stayed additional hours to help.

My favorite feeling was seeing so many people coming in to donate, whether it was one animal or bags of it. Being able to see a bunch of strangers come together to support one purpose is astounding and heart warming. This is another event that I want to continue participating in annually.”

Thank You Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii!

On a serious note, thank you for our volunteers and the HUNDREDS of IPA families and other friends who donated and helped collect 400 stuffed animals!  This was a blast, but it is also serious business. We have learned that once every minute, a child somewhere in

Thank You #IPAGivesBack!

America is abused. Physically. Sexually. Emotionally. But the most upsetting statistic of all is how often abuse is witnessed and ignored. But an abused child never forgets. And neither does Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii!  Here's a GIANT shout out to their awesome work!

#IPAGivesBack - Students Help Local Kahuku High School Students Go to National Science Fair!

 

Wow! 10,000 Showed Up!

A huge success! This is our 4th year and the Heroes and Remembrance Race is always such a privilege to sponsor.  Thanks to ALL of you who donate and volunteer, we have supported Fisher House and this event with over $20,000 in donations and many, many man-hours during the last 4 years!  It is a very emotional event, and it helps to remind us that over 7,000 men and women have given their lives in service to protect our freedom, just since 9/11. This year #IPAGivesBack showed up before sunrise to help prepare for the event. We supplied and passed out water bottles to the runners and then arranged the boots into a memorial for the public to come and visit on 9-11. 

Rylyne Bravo, an #IPAGivesBack volunteer, sent us the nicest note about her experience.  I will finish the blog with her special thoughts about the day.

From Rylyne - This was the most effective and emotional type of volunteering that I have ever done. We woke up really early at four o'clock so we could get at to the Memorial on time. On the way, there were more than 7,000 boots that lined the road, everyone made for a solider that died in action since 9/11. It was extremely sad to hear Hannah, a volunteer for around four years now, to tell us that the boots are getting closer every time. 

It helped me realize the value and sacrifice that others go through to keep our country safe. One of the higher ranking members of the military or navy also reminded all of us of how important it is that these sacrifices were not in for nothing. He said that there is a boot for every person because all of them matter and should never be forgotten. The boots are made to border a long track where people are able to run to honor the soldiers. Some would run, some would walk, and some would simply sit next to a boot because they used to know the person who wore it. During the race, we were able to pass out water to all the amazing participants.

After, we collected all of the shoes with the help of other schools and volunteers. This really helped me see how kind and caring the people of Hawaii are. It only took and hour or so to collect all 7,000 boots because we all worked together."

Thank you Rylyne and all of the volunteers, donors and participants!  Here are a few more photos of this incredible, memorable day!

Ps. - We will be back at Tripler Hospital's Fisher House this December for our annual Holiday Heros Event! We'll get the word out to you all!