The Story Behind Our Friends - Activists - Community Heroes!

Many years ago, these two amazing friends went into hiding with their five children, barely escaping a genocide where nearly 1,000,000 of their countrymen were murdered in 100 days.  Because both William and Ebralie were of mixed race (Hutu and Tutzi tribes), they experienced extreme discrimination, hatred and cruelty from people of both tribes.  All of William's relatives on his mother's side, 76 in total, were killed. His brother, sister-in-law and their two children, along with his sister and her four children, were all killed on the same day.  Their family went into hiding and eventually made it out of Rwanda.  

In 1999, after a long bureaucratic process, the Mwizerwa's were granted political asylum in the United States.  William is fluent in five languages, majored in Christian Communications, has a degree in Elementary Education and a degree in Conflict Resolution.  They have led numerous workshops on Peace Building and Reconciliation, even under the threat of personal injury and death threats.  Coming to the United States was an answer to prayer for the Mwizerwas, but leaving all their possessions behind, being unemployed, black immigrants with five young children did not make life easy for them.

We met William and Ebralie in 2003 and joined forces with them in a ministry that focused on helping other refugees.  At that time, we were helping William in his efforts to support and relocate the "Lost Boys" of Sudan in middle Tennessee.  Over the years, we have continued to follow them, and at times support their ongoing work with refugees in the United States.  Their organization is "Legacy Mission Villiage" (LMV), which is also a 501(c)3 non-profit.  Right now, their needs are even greater as a result of COVID-19.  They are asking for financial support for basic items such as food, clothing, diapers and everyday needs.

Please join us in this INCREDIBLE effort to support William and Ebralie's mission to help other refugees and some of the poorest of the poor in the United States.

As always, 100% of your donation received by Dream of a Better World will go directly to this project... and, in this case, LMV's mission in support of their COVID-19 response.

THANK YOU AGAIN!  Carly, Jack, Hannah and Everyone at Dream of a Better World!

CLICK TO DONATE HERE

Or, use the first DONATE BUTTON above that's labeled:

WILLIAM & LMV SUPPORT

COVID-19 Effort UPDATE

Ben & Erica - Amazing Volunteer Leaders at CHA

Here's a quick update for everyone supporting our COVID-19 food distribution efforts!  As most of you know, we ALWAYS use 100% of your donation to meet the needs of those we are tying to help!  We also search out local partners on the front lines who are doing the same.  In this case... meet Ben and Erica, volunteer leaders at California Homemakers Association (CHA).

Social Distance Meetings CHA & DBA

CHA is a 100% volunteer organization doing amazing things to help our communities in need.  Because of COVID-19, their emergency food deliveries have tripled!  Many of their members are now unable to pick up food, afford gas for their cars, are quarantined or suffering with COVID-19.  Our partnership with CHA is a direct way for Dream of a Better World to help provide food and get that food where it is needed most!

To date, we have raised $8,000 in cash and needed items!   We are SO PROUD of our donors and the on-going support they give to people in need.  We are also very, very thankful for Ben & Erica and ALL of the amazing volunteers at CHA!

Thank you all!

PLEASE keep donating when you can.   We promise your donation will make a BIG difference in the lives of the people we are helping!

We have also posted a thank you letter with photos from CHA of some of the great work they are doing to help people in our communities.  CLICK HERE for the FULL UPDATE.

(Please note that the photos below were taken recently, but prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and that EVERY precaution is now being taken to keep volunteers and program members safe!)

Organizing Food Distributions.

Volunteers Packing Food

Families Delivering Food

$5,000 MATCHING CAMPAIGN

$5,000.00 matching campaign! Let's provide food for people who need it the most!

Join us in meeting the needs of others during this challenging time. A very generous Dream of a Better World donor will match your GIFT up to a total of $5,000! 

Hi Everyone,

We are thinking of you all and hope you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. These are clearly new and different times, and all of us at Dream of a Better World are doing what we can to help others while following all of our current rules and restrictions.

Thank you everyone who has reached out and supported our efforts through this past month! We have been able to feed many families and purchase diapers, toilet paper and other needs because of your generosity.

This next month we will be partnering with a group that we know is making a huge difference to people struggling through this pandemic. It’s called California Homemakers Association and they are based out of Santa Rosa. They are a grassroots, voluntary membership organization created to meet people’s basic needs including food, dental and medical, as well as legal expenses. 

We chose them because, like us, their donations go directly to feeding people who are not getting paid and are struggling to purchase food right now. One other cool thing is that they collect excess food from Whole Foods, Andy’s, Oliver’s and other local grocery stores, as well as the Goodwill, every single Friday! And they still cannot keep up with the demand. People are hungry. Families are hungry. Kids are hungry!

CMA provides support for our valuable and necessary, but “unrecognized” workers who include day laborers, temporary and seasonal workers, in-home health care providers, independent contractors, farmers, and domestic workers. They are working hard during these challenging times to help the community get its basic needs for food and safety met. They are currently delivering food to hundreds of people each week and the demand keeps growing every day!

Every dollar you donate will be matched up to a total of $5,000.00. 

Thank you so much!

April Food Fund

Let’s make sure people have enough food to EAT!

It’s going to be a tough month ahead, that’s for sure. Let’s do our part to make sure that anyone affected by Covid-19 has food on their tables. We all need to remain calm  and healthy. We all need to have our basic needs met and we need hope.

Dream of a Better World will be providing assistance to individuals, families, and communities impacted by challenges associated with Covid-19.

If you can give, please give.

If you, or someone you know, needs food, please let us know.

We will provide support as long as we can.

We are all in this together.

                                                                          

We love you all! Stay safe!

Carly, Jack and Hannah Button

And all of us at Dream of a Better World

Evening Star Fundraiser - Helping People at End-of-Life

Dream of a Better World - a 501(c)3 Non-Profit!

Back in 2009, when we were 3 little kids who baked cookies and had lemonade stands, we never could have imagined that, years later, Dream of a Better World would have grown so much that we were able to help people on every continent and that we would still be fundraising for causes we believe in around the world!

We wanted to take a minute to say thank you to everyone who continues to support us every year as we reach out to serve and help others around the world. Specifically, thank you for showing up at our events, for sending in donations, for sharing our blog posts, for bringing us ideas and projects that we can support, and for all being a part of our dream to make the world a better place while we are here. Thank you all for sending in end-of-year donations to us even when we weren’t having a particular fundraiser because you “knew we would use it well.” And of course, we did.

But even more than all that, from a personal perspective, thank you ALL who continue to believe in us and encourage us to keep on going. We have been doing these projects since we were little kids, and it is now a giant part of who we are. We grew up looking for people to give back to after everyone took such good care of us when our mom had cancer. And it hasn’t ever stopped. Even though now we are all in college and our lives are busier, this work still means so much to us and, with your support, we hope to keep Dream of a Better World alive and constantly seeking to touch lives for years to come.

As a reminder, we still NEVER take a penny for any administration expenses. We have people who help us with our bookkeeping and office jobs, and we would like to shout out a special thank you to Friedlander, Cherwon & Capper, our CPA firm in San Rafael, who handle our non-profit accounting needs and do our taxes pro bono! We have the greatest friends, families, neighbors and supporters and we are so grateful for each of you!

Finally, you are all role models to us. You have impacted who we are and what we care about. You all have a willingness, passion, dedication, and commitment to improving the world we live in. You are amazing.

Carly, Jack and Hannah Button