John has much experience working in the philanthropic world, and takes great interest in charitable goings on today.

Morgan’s Wonderland – the World’s First Accessible Theme Park

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

Morgan’s Wonderland in Texas is the world’s first ultra-accessible theme park. Unlike typical theme parks, Morgan’s Wonderland features a tranquil environment free from long lines and loud noises, and admission is free for individuals with disabilities.

Free Carnival Amusement vector and picture

The park is equipped with wheelchair-accessible rides, including a new zip line that offers stunning views over a fishing lake and the surrounding gardens. Since its inception in 2010, nearly 4 million guests from across the globe have visited Morgan’s Wonderland. The park recently underwent a $6 million renovation, adding a community center, a sports field, and Morgan’s Salon, an adaptive hair salon which provides hair and nail services in a wheelchair-friendly environment. Miranda Raab, who has cerebral palsy, shared her relief at being able to enjoy a stress-free haircut at the salon. “I’m able to just roll my chair up to this space right here that is open. And I was just able to get my haircut like everyone else… It’s way more relaxing than trying to go to a regular salon.”

Morgan’s Wonderland was founded by Gordon Hartman, of the Gordon Hartman Family Foundation. The park was inspired by Gordon’s daughter, Morgan, who was born with physical and cognitive challenges. Designed to promote inclusivity, the park not only offers a space where children like Morgan can engage freely, it also spearheads initiatives to enhance accessibility in businesses nationwide. Hartman’s vision for an ultra-accessible hotel underscores his commitment to creating environments that cater comprehensively to those with special needs.

Generosity at Providence College

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

A generous group of Providence College students from Raymond Hall’s fourth floor came together to give James Mogaji, a beloved security officer, the gift of a lifetime. Several months ago, the students learned that Mogaji hadn’t visited his family in Nigeria in over a decade. They decided to start an online fundraiser to reunite him with his loved ones.

Their initial goal was modest. The students hoped to raise $3,500. However, the overwhelming support from nearly 800 donations soon exceeded their expectations, highlighting the community’s admiration for Mogaji’s kindness and compassion.

In a touching ceremony on March 6, the students presented Mogaji with the money, ensuring his journey back home could become a reality. Mogaji was overwhelmed by the gesture, expressing his shock and gratitude at the unexpected kindness.

The gesture not only underscores the strong sense of community at Providence College but also reflects the institution’s ethos of care and concern. President Father Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P. commended the students for embodying the spirit of the Friars, showcasing an exceptional example of selflessness and unity.

Mogaji plans to travel to Nigeria this summer. This story is a beautiful reminder of how small acts of generosity can make significant differences in people’s lives, strengthening community bonds and fostering an environment of mutual support and love.

Puppies in the Classroom

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

In Wilmington, Delaware, a unique initiative by first-grade teacher Brooke Hughes at Hanby Elementary School, is improving student literacy. The Foster Tales Puppy Therapy program integrates foster puppies into the classroom to aid in students’ reading development. This program has brought joy and excitement to the classroom, and has also shown promising results in enhancing reading skills.

The foster puppy program began in January 2023. Hughes, who was inspired by her own experience fostering puppies during the COVID-19 pandemic, decided to bring puppies into the learning space. She immediately observed a significant positive impact on the students’ mental health and reading abilities.

The program encourages students to read to the puppies, who serve as a non-judgmental audience and boosted the confidence of the new readers. Hughes reported a notable increase in reading scores, with preliminary data indicating a 32% improvement from fall to winter. This uplift in academic performance is particularly significant against the backdrop of declining reading and math scores nationwide, a trend which was exacerbated by the pandemic.

The initiative has extended beyond academic benefits, fostering life skills such as responsibility, empathy, and compassion among students. The classroom dynamic has improved, with students eagerly completing their work in order to get a chance to spend time with the puppies. The program also involves the school community, with families volunteering to care for the puppies outside school hours, and Rags 2 Riches Animal Rescue covering the costs associated with the puppies’ care.

This collaborative effort between Hanby Elementary School and Rags 2 Riches Animal Rescue has not only provided a therapeutic and enriching experience for the students but also offered a lifeline for over 50 foster puppies, facilitating their adoption into permanent homes. The program stands as a testament to the innovative approaches educators can take to address educational challenges and foster a love for learning in students, all while contributing positively to the community and the well-being of animals in need.

This collaborative effort between Hanby Elementary School and Rags 2 Riches Animal Rescue has not only provided a therapeutic and enriching experience for the students but also offered a lifeline for over 50 foster puppies, facilitating their adoption into permanent homes. The program stands as a testament to the innovative approaches educators can take to address educational challenges and foster a love for learning in students, all while contributing positively to the community and the well-being of animals in need.

The Heart of Money

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

This year, Valentine’s Day in Denver transcends the usual expectations of romance and smiles, offering an inspiring blend of art, generosity, and community spirit. Thanks to the creativity of local artist Xander Phoenix, who ingeniously scattered 100 papier-mâché hearts across the Denver metropolitan area. These are no ordinary hearts; each is crafted from one hundred $1.00 bills, inviting the public to a unique treasure hunt that enriches the soul as much as the wallet.

Dubbed “The Heart of Money,” this art installation ventures beyond the conventional art scene, weaving a narrative that explores our relationship with money and art. Those who are lucky enough to find a heart are encouraged to either use the money, keeping the heart as decoration in their home, leaving it in place for others to find, or even gifting it to someone else to spread joy. The choice is a testament to the varied value we can find in art and generosity.

Phoenix explained, “Ultimately, my goal is to spread love and joy around Denver on Valentine’s Day…  It’s a fun way to both create and connect community around some important themes. I hope everyone who goes out looking for the hearts and those who find them have as much fun as we’ve had creating and bringing this street art installation to life.”

The initiative is also a tribute to Phoenix’s late mother, an award-winning filmmaker and activist. “The Heart of Money” honors her legacy, spreading love and joy in a city-wide celebration that embodies the spirit of giving and creativity.

Penguins Partner with Pacifier Maker

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

The Penguins Foundation has unveiled an exclusive Pittsburgh Penguins WubbaNub, a combination of a baby pacifier and plush animal, designed to be easy for infants to grasp.  This useful toy is now available for $20, with all proceeds going to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

Penguins forward Jake Guentzel has announced that he will buy the first 100 Penguins WubbaNubs as gifts, making a donation of $5,000 to UPMC Children’s Hospital. These unique pacifiers, adorned with the team’s NHL-licensed logo and a special healing heart design, are part of an effort to provide comfort to the hospital’s youngest patients. Guentzel’s Hearts of Gold program, aimed at supporting children with heart conditions, has been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guentzel said, “I look forward to meeting so many fans each year through my Hearts of Gold program… I wanted to do something to stay connected and still benefit the patients at UPMC Children’s.  The WubbaNubs are a great way to give our tiniest fans some comfort right now.”

Surprise Tip from a Fitness Community

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By JohnPosted In: ChildFund International

In a touching gesture, a Peloton community in Massachusetts upheld their annual tradition of generosity by leaving a substantial tip for local restaurant servers. Members of the Wicked Smaht Zone, a subgroup within the Peloton community, surprised Nicole Boiardi and Raisa Zan with a gracious gift of nearly $7,200 during a breakfast gathering at Red’s Kitchen and Tavern in Peabody.

In an interview on Good Morning America, founder Josh Vernon revealed that the fitness group, was formed to serve a more significant purpose. With the motto “do wicked good,” the 2,300 members encourage each other to excel not just in fitness, but in all aspects of life, extending their commitment to giving back to the community.

Embracing this mantra, the group initiated an annual charitable gathering, converging at different restaurants each year to pool funds for a special tip for servers. Originally expecting a modest dinner for about 20, the generosity spiraled as members expressed willingness to contribute additional funds via Venmo, resulting in a tip exceeding $7,000.

Expressing astonishment and gratitude, servers Zan and Boiardi decided to share the unexpected windfall with their colleagues, particularly those working behind the scenes. Vernon emphasized that the group’s philanthropy stems from the belief that individuals, regardless of their platform’s scale, can go beyond mere goodness and make a genuinely positive impact, embodying the spirit of “doing wicked good.”

Operation Healing Forces – Saving Military Marriages

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By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity, Family, Military

It is well documented that military service can take a toll on family life. Special Forces soldiers, in particular, grapple with high divorce rates. Operation Healing Forces, a charity that assists injured Special Forces veterans and their spouses, is working to change that.

Brant Ireland joined the army in 2002. He spent 6 tours in Afghanistan, suffering a devastating injury in 2013. After 20 surgeries in just two-years, he made the decision to amputate his injured leg.

Understandably, this was a terrible time for Brant’s wife, Tanya, a pediatric trauma nurse, and the couple’s two daughters. The Irelands started to drift apart. Brant explained that they lived side by side, but they were living “entirely different lives.” 

Fortunately, Tanya and Brant discovered Operation Healing Forces, a nonprofit dedicated to helping America’s Special Operations Forces and their families to restore the relationships wounded by the call of duty. Founded by Gary Merkel, Operation Healing Forces offers resources and therapeutic marriage retreats to ease the effects of military service. To date they have held more than 250 retreats, serving over 1,000 couples.

Operation Healing Forces took the Irelands on a transformative retreat to the British Virgin Islands in 2016. Surrounded by other military couples who understood what they had been through, Brant and Tany were able to rebuild their marriage.

The Irelands took what they had learned from this experience and used it to reconstruct their lives. Brant regained confidence through adaptive sports, while Tanya transitioned careers, both finding new roles within their family dynamic.

Brant and Tanya are grateful to Merkel for his support and intervention during a dark time.

Hope for those with Medical Debt

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By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity, Financial Services, Health, Poverty

In 2011, Jerry Ashton and Craig Antico, were executives in the debt collection business. The two decided to visit the Occupy Wall Street protests that were taking place in Zuccotti Park in New York City, not knowing that it would change the course of both their lives.  

While there, protestors approached them, asking if it would be possible to get a group of people together for the purpose of buying debt in order to forgive it. Ashton and Antico loved the idea, and in 2014 they created a charity called RIP Medical Debt, which buys up past due medical debt for a low price.

According to Allison Sesso, president and CEO of RIP Medical debt, “We take $1 and turn it into at least $100 of medical debt relief by acting like a for-profit debt buyer… Once we get our hands on those debts, we identify people that are 400% of poverty [or below], or if their debt is 5% or more of someone’s income.”

Dr. Steffie Woolhandler, professor of public health at New York’s Hunter College, and an expert in medical debt, explains that 20% of all U.S. households have medical debt. In fact, medical illness and medical bills are a factor in the majority of U.S. bankruptcy cases.  

To date, RIP Medical Debt has abolished more than $10 billion worth of medical bills for nearly 7 million Americans. While these are impressive figures, there is still much more work to be done, as somewhere between $80 and $120 billion in medical debt continues to exist.

In the meantime, those who benefit from RIP Medical Debt are thrilled that they no longer have to worry about their medical debt.

Local Teen Creates Philanthropic Organization

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By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity, Charity in BusinessTagged: , ,

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, 13-year-old Liem Kaplan recognized an immediate need to help the homeless population. Kaplan, who lives in Sammamish, Washington, initiated The GivingHope Project to collect donations for the underprivileged.

Kaplan reached out to various local organizations, including family members, schools, community members, and local youth movements and the response was overwhelming. Kaplan describes delivering his first donations: “The streets were quiet and abandoned. I was excited and anxious and didn’t know if people would want masks. But seeing how grateful everyone was and how excited they were to see us made me realize how important it was for me figure out how to get enough supplies to everyone.”

Since the fall of 2020, Kaplan and his team of volunteers have distributed thousands of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hand sanitizer, bagged lunches, pairs of socks and more than 20,000 masks to the homeless population in his area. They receive donations from Florida, Pennsylvania, and the greater Washington area. The GivingHope Project also continues to donate kits containing necessary food and hygiene items for both the winter and summer. 

GivingTuesday is Gifted $10 Million from the Gates Foundation

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By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity, Charity in BusinessTagged: ,

In 2012, a simple idea turned into a global movement.

#GivingTuesday began in the 92nd Street Y in New York City as a proposal for people to perform good deeds for others on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Eight years later, the concept transformed into an independent nonprofit and collaborative effort to encourage giving and celebrate kindness.

In honor of the upcoming tenth anniversary of the #GivingTuesday initiative, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $10 million to the organization. This is in addition to previous support from the Gates Foundation, which has amounted to $10.5 million over the years. Co-founder Melinda French Gates noted the importance of philanthropy, explaining that it is “the right thing to do and that anybody can do it…Anyone can be a giver. Everyone has resources to share and make the world a better place – whether it’s through time, money, expertise, or your voice.”  She hopes that philanthropy, and giving back as a whole, becomes more of a societal norm.

Asha Curran, CEO of GivingTuesday, expressed her appreciation saying that “It’s a really wonderful thing to see the partnering of big philanthropy and grassroots generosity, that those things don’t have to live in separate worlds and be viewed as totally separate things.”

Just last year, the GivingTuesday organization reported that over $2.7 billion donations were made on the designated Tuesday.

With the new grant from the Gates Foundation, GivingTuesday hopes to facilitate more giving worldwide while expanding the movement to additional countries and establishing thousands of campaigns.