Pink House Orphanage, Dominican Republic
Donation protected
Before we dig into a plan for this year, we feel it is paramount to once again thank all of you who supported the effort the Dominican Republic’s Pink House children’s home last December. Quite literally, we could not have helped a fraction of those we did help without your contributions and effort. It was a resounding success. Thank you!
Since our visit in December 2018, during which we threw a Christmas party for all of the children in the home, we were able to fund each and every child’s pharmaceutical care for most of the year. We fell a bit short on funds last year as the prices for their medication slightly exceeded expectations and quotes. More on that later.
In more great news, we were able to drum up some additional funds from our own personal coffers to fund what we feel are worthy causes tied to the Pink House. We provided baby food for a couple months for a newly arrived child. Each child received a brand new pair of shoes. One young man has shined in his baseball talents; thus, we sponsored him to join the Dominican Republic’s Junior National Baseball Team so he can continue to grow as a person and an athlete. The home was also in dire need of dental equipment, specifically a dental drill, which we were thankfully able to procure and ship to the home. These are just wave-top highlights, my friends! The aggregate effort from everyone’s contributions unequivocally improved the lives of many, and that is incredible!
We are so fortunate to be in positions to be able to help others, even if just a little. We proved this last year as one massive group. Some of our friends and family gave hundreds, some thousands, some a few dollars. The point is, everyone gave what they could and as a result we completely changed life’s trajectory for quite a few deserving young men and women. That is powerful!
This year, the Piedra Family and our friends are doing it again! We are going to continue our support to the Pink House in Santo Domingo, DR. For those of you unfamiliar with last year’s experience, the Pink House is an orphanage that provides health care, housing, education and job training for orphans afflicted with HIV in the Dominican Republic. Many of these children are refugees from Haiti, we learned upon arriving last December. The nuns who govern the orphanage do so because they believe HIV-infected orphans represent one of the most critical social problems in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean writ-large. The Pink House is funded by donation only and the donations they receive are not enough to sustain their needs throughout the year. This is where we feel we can have the greatest impact with our dollars, our effort and our compassion.
As pointed out above, our plan last year was to fund 12 months of the children’s HIV management medication. However, we fell slightly short of that goal by a couple months as the quoted medications price in December was ever so slightly too optimistic, as the invoices we received from the outside provider was marginally, yet impactfully higher. We look at this fact as a learning opportunity. As such, we are working on dialogue with the pharmaceuticals provider, and our plan is to establish a written agreement with the pharmaceutical company, with a set price in writing with all parties agreeing, prior to funding the medication. In this way, we expect to fully fund the children’s medical care for the entire 2020 year.
Our goals in a prioritized list are:
1. Fund the medical care for each and every child for 2020
2. Ensure the Children have a Christmas
3. Respond to growth opportunities for the individual children who highlight a prospect for growth (Example: The young man we sponsored to join the national baseball team.)
Given the experience with the pharmaceutical prices from last year, we estimate medical care for next year to be no more than $15,000. We feel an additional $5,000 would allow the team to ensure the children enjoy a Christmas party again while leaving a sizable remainder for unexpected medical costs and the ability to pivot and support any growth opportunities for individual children showing potential, such as our baseball player.
As we get closer to December, we will have more in-depth discussions as to logistics and travel. Regardless, any travel costs or anything beyond the scope of our three goals listed above that do not directly support the children will NOT be funded through your contributions. The power of ever single penny donated will directly support the children. Those traveling and supporting the mission on the ground will cover the costs of travel and logistics to the mission, above and beyond our own financial contributions to the general fund.
Once again, this is a lofty goal AND we will achieve it with your help! If everyone one of my connections on Facebook were to donate just $5, we would have 75% of the goal achieved. We ask you to please consider donating what you can, even if just $5. When we achieve our goal of $20,000, we are certain we can not only sustain the lives of dozens of children who deserve to live, but also provide them opportunities to grow and thrive for the entire duration of 2020 and beyond. We need your help again, my friends! Let’s do this!
Thank you again for all your support. Once again, we look forward to sharing this experience with you all.
Since our visit in December 2018, during which we threw a Christmas party for all of the children in the home, we were able to fund each and every child’s pharmaceutical care for most of the year. We fell a bit short on funds last year as the prices for their medication slightly exceeded expectations and quotes. More on that later.
In more great news, we were able to drum up some additional funds from our own personal coffers to fund what we feel are worthy causes tied to the Pink House. We provided baby food for a couple months for a newly arrived child. Each child received a brand new pair of shoes. One young man has shined in his baseball talents; thus, we sponsored him to join the Dominican Republic’s Junior National Baseball Team so he can continue to grow as a person and an athlete. The home was also in dire need of dental equipment, specifically a dental drill, which we were thankfully able to procure and ship to the home. These are just wave-top highlights, my friends! The aggregate effort from everyone’s contributions unequivocally improved the lives of many, and that is incredible!
We are so fortunate to be in positions to be able to help others, even if just a little. We proved this last year as one massive group. Some of our friends and family gave hundreds, some thousands, some a few dollars. The point is, everyone gave what they could and as a result we completely changed life’s trajectory for quite a few deserving young men and women. That is powerful!
This year, the Piedra Family and our friends are doing it again! We are going to continue our support to the Pink House in Santo Domingo, DR. For those of you unfamiliar with last year’s experience, the Pink House is an orphanage that provides health care, housing, education and job training for orphans afflicted with HIV in the Dominican Republic. Many of these children are refugees from Haiti, we learned upon arriving last December. The nuns who govern the orphanage do so because they believe HIV-infected orphans represent one of the most critical social problems in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean writ-large. The Pink House is funded by donation only and the donations they receive are not enough to sustain their needs throughout the year. This is where we feel we can have the greatest impact with our dollars, our effort and our compassion.
As pointed out above, our plan last year was to fund 12 months of the children’s HIV management medication. However, we fell slightly short of that goal by a couple months as the quoted medications price in December was ever so slightly too optimistic, as the invoices we received from the outside provider was marginally, yet impactfully higher. We look at this fact as a learning opportunity. As such, we are working on dialogue with the pharmaceuticals provider, and our plan is to establish a written agreement with the pharmaceutical company, with a set price in writing with all parties agreeing, prior to funding the medication. In this way, we expect to fully fund the children’s medical care for the entire 2020 year.
Our goals in a prioritized list are:
1. Fund the medical care for each and every child for 2020
2. Ensure the Children have a Christmas
3. Respond to growth opportunities for the individual children who highlight a prospect for growth (Example: The young man we sponsored to join the national baseball team.)
Given the experience with the pharmaceutical prices from last year, we estimate medical care for next year to be no more than $15,000. We feel an additional $5,000 would allow the team to ensure the children enjoy a Christmas party again while leaving a sizable remainder for unexpected medical costs and the ability to pivot and support any growth opportunities for individual children showing potential, such as our baseball player.
As we get closer to December, we will have more in-depth discussions as to logistics and travel. Regardless, any travel costs or anything beyond the scope of our three goals listed above that do not directly support the children will NOT be funded through your contributions. The power of ever single penny donated will directly support the children. Those traveling and supporting the mission on the ground will cover the costs of travel and logistics to the mission, above and beyond our own financial contributions to the general fund.
Once again, this is a lofty goal AND we will achieve it with your help! If everyone one of my connections on Facebook were to donate just $5, we would have 75% of the goal achieved. We ask you to please consider donating what you can, even if just $5. When we achieve our goal of $20,000, we are certain we can not only sustain the lives of dozens of children who deserve to live, but also provide them opportunities to grow and thrive for the entire duration of 2020 and beyond. We need your help again, my friends! Let’s do this!
Thank you again for all your support. Once again, we look forward to sharing this experience with you all.
Fundraising team: Team Pink House (2)
Andy Piedra
Organizer
Sterling, VA
Alejandro Piedra
Team member