Join in the FUN! Heroes & Remembrance Run 2017!

Calling ALL Volunteers and Supporters! HELP US honor the over 7,000 soldiers killed in action since 9/11.  Let their families know "we will NEVER forget!" 

September 9th, 2017

It's the 6th running of the Hawaii Fisher House "Hero's & Remembrance Run," sometimes called:"Boots on the Bridge." 

Dream of a Better World is back again in a big way.  This is a “free” event because these fallen service members, and their families, have already paid the ultimate price!  

But, we NEED your help!

If you'd like to donate, just CLICK on the "Support Our Troops" DONATE button.  

We also need volunteers from 6 a.m. until noon to help hand out water to the thousands of race participants. It will be an emotional, special day to honor over 7,000 fallen U.S. soldiers, killed in action since 9/11. 

Words can not describe the appreciation that we have for the dedication and unbelievable sacrifice of the men and women who's 7,000 + boots lined the Ford Island bridge. 

It is always a memorable, fun and fulfilling way to support our troops and make a difference!  

Thank you to EVERYONE for showing up and giving your support!  

  

We will NEVER forget!

If you'd like to register for the run, you can do so at Fisher House Hawaii:

Register for T-shirts and "official race registration" at: www.eventbrite.com. 

email anita.f.clingerman.naf@mail.mil or call 436-5543 or 

email Theresa.m.johnson2.naf@mail.mil or call (931) 217-0800.

Fisher House Hawaii is one of 61 locations worldwide supporting America's military in their time of need.  Annually, the Fisher House program serves more than 22,000 families, and have made available over 5.2 million days of lodging to family members since the program originated in 1990.  Fisher House is funded by public donations and you can donate to Tripler Fisher House on-line at www.DreamOfaBetterWorld.org or mail donations to: Tripler Fisher Houses, 317 Krukowski Rd., Honolulu, HI  96819.

You're Invited to Join DFAC and Dream of a Better World in 2018

Hi Everyone,
Thank you for all your enthusiasm about our work with Diving for a Cause! We love what they do, too, and plan to continue partnering with them in New Zealand and even maybe expanding globally into other areas of the world with them. It's such a win/win for everyone involved!  For those of you who don't know, Diving for a Cause takes spear fishermen and women on diving trips around the world. But this isn't just a diving trip; it's also a way to give back to the local communities. 

As a charitable organization, DFAC's main goals are:  

1) To serve impoverished communities by working with needy children, supplying food, school supplies and community improvements at no cost, and; 

2) to provide a means for spearfishermen to give back to those in need, using their unique skills."

The divers catch fish, and then bring the fish back and donate most of it to local food banks or needy families in the towns where they caught the fish. Since we have joined them, they also spend several days of their trip volunteering in the community doing work and helping

where needed. This is where we come in! Through our fundraising, they can make big changes for the local Maori kids, their school programs, the women's shelter, and for families in need. We hope you will join us later this year when we choose the projects for the 2018 excursian to Whakatane, New Zealand!

And for anyone interested in going along on this trip and fishing, please contact us and we will get you in touch with Diving For a Cause! We'd love to have one of our supporters go on an adventure with them! Here are some details!

Come join Diving For A Cause in New Zealand in February 2018, Feb 5-15

 

Find out more from their website: https://www.divingforacause.org/new-zealand.html

A Ten Year Anniversary Note

April 15th, 2017

Hi everybody, it's Hannah Button, and I just wanted to say thank you so much for all of your support. I also wanted to update our newer supporters with where we are currently in regards to our projects with Dream of a Better World.

As most of you know, Dream of a Better World was founded almost ten years ago when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. In fact, our first project was to write a fundraising cookbook to raise money for breast cancer research.  I am happy to report that she is doing well and we have not stopped volunteering and fundraising since then.  Thanks to Amazon, the book is still available and raising money  today!

Since then, we have raised over $300,000 in donations of money and needed items.  And, we have  completed over 50 projects, including at least one on every single continent. We have partnered with orphanages in Africa, South America, and Asia. We have worked with charities devoted to making safe places for abused women, tracking and conserving endangered species, establishing

homes and providing medical care for wounded or ill military families, finding shelters (an eventually, homes) for all types of animals, feeding the homeless, and everything in between. None of that would have been done without your support.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank some other very important people who have devoted countless hours to not only helping us dream big, but also by helping to pursue those dreams. Dreams of providing children with clean water, and of helping dogs find forever homes, and of injured or sick veterans receive the medical care they need while surrounded by the people they love. Dreams of a better world.

To Max and Natalie Burrous, and to Ruby and Emma Bowser. You have made our California team great, and have provided us with so many opportunities to help around your community, your state, and the world. Your love for animals and the environment have inspired us in more ways than you know.

To Elizabeth Lyons-Best, Madison Yamamura,

Shania and Rylyne Bravo, Logan Knight, and all of the other IPA volunteers. Your enthusiasm for every project we undertake gives us all hope that we can truly make the world better.  You all have some of the most giving and loving hearts to have ever existed. Your ability to see problems around you, then go out and make the change that you want to see in the world reminds me of why we started Dream of a Better World in the first place.

And of course, thank you to our entire community of supporters, volunteers and worldwide partners. You do so much to help our world, and you are always excited to see what you can do next. Our community of supporters is constantly growing, and with that, the amount of change that we can make is expanding.

Thank you for inspiring us all to be enthusiastic, generous, determined DREAMERS!

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.