Dear ProNiño family and friends--

We have received word that one of the children at the foundation—Jose Fernando—was hospitalized recently for acute kidney failure. Fernando lives at Amor y Paz on the Las Flores campus. He is now out of the hospital and is recovering rapidly, with continued medication and a prescribed special diet. We appreciate and ask for your thoughts and prayers as Jose Fernando continues in the recovery process.

We wanted to share the 2015 Angel Tree Project video with you all in case you didn't catch our Facebook post earlier. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Angel Tree Project, here's a quick breakdown:

1. The project was started 5 years ago by volunteer and fundraising all-star, Tabitha Lazenby to ensure that every ProNiño child had a present to open on Christmas
2. Similar to Angel Tree Projects in our local communities, Tabitha gathered volunteers and donors to put together a backpack for each child at the foundation, filled with gifts, sweets, toiletries and other necessities
3. This year ProNiño USA partnered with the Angel Tree Project to expand our fundraising capabilities and together we raised enough money to cover the costs of a trip to the Joya Grande Zoo for all of the children as well as a huge party at the Railroad Museum to celebrate the holiday and open their backpacks

Interested in giving next year? Check back in November to learn more about participating in this amazing fundraiser! You can also learn more about monthly giving and supporting our cause year-round below! Enjoy the video :) 

At the onset of this year's Annual Christmas Fundraiser, I had the opportunity to chat more with Tabitha Lazenby, the original coordinator of Project Angel Tree, with whom ProNiño USA has partnered this holiday season. Much of what we needed to accomplish involved discussing the more mundane but no less important aspects of a fundraiser—budgets, logistics, planning, etc., but as our conversation went on, it became more and more clear to me that the stories and details of this project must be shared and celebrated, as the work of the Angel Tree coordinators and volunteers is truly amazing. 

After her initial visit to ProNiño with a fellow Delta flight attendant and former Board member Laura Long, Tabitha started her Angel Tree Project to ensure that the children of ProNiño had gifts to open and a reason to celebrate at Christmastime. Much like traditional local Angel Tree programs during the holidays, Tabitha gathers wish lists, clothing and shoe sizes, and other basic information on each of the ProNiño children and reaches out to her local community to find sponsors. Each sponsor purchases the items on their Angel's list and fills a school backpack full of these Christmas goodies for the children to open at Christmastime. Year after year Tabitha and her fellow collaborators have found sponsors for every child residing in the ProNiño centers, many of whom have never even travelled to ProNiño or Honduras before.

We wanted to share some photos of the boys in their spiffy new school uniforms and thank all of those who donated to this year's first ever Back to School Fundraiser! Keep an eye out for more information on our upcoming Annual Christmas Fundraiser in the next several days! 

We are very excited to share a bit more on the new Director of Fundación ProNiño Honduras, who has shown in the last couple of months just how wonderful an addition to the ProNiño family he will be. Ramiro lives with his wife and 13 year-old son in Santa Rita, a city just south of El Progreso, where the ProNiño centers are located. On directing the ProNiño Honduras (PNH) program and working with ProNiño USA, Ramiro shares, "I would like to earn PNUSA confidence, work with transparency, have a honest communication and with professionalism. I have several project[s] going around in my mind, [and] I want to express those projects as soon as I can, [as] my goal is [for] PNH to be self sustained in a close future." We are so grateful to have him on board and we look forward to sharing more with you all as we learn of new projects and developments at the centers! 

Reverend Joseph Maurizio, Jr. of Johnstown, PA , previously charged with 8 counts of sexual molestation of minors and possession of child pornography, was convicted on 5 counts by the US. District Court, Johnstown, PA.

Maurizio traveled to ProNiño between years 2000 to 2009 under the guise of promoting charitable work for the ProNiño organization. When allegations about sexual activity surfaced in 2009, ProNiño USA took immediate action to ban Maurizio from the ProNiño property and swiftly pursued justice by contacting and cooperating with the FBI and later with the United States Department of Homeland Security.  In 2014, Maurizio was jailed where he remained without bond until the trial.  ProNiño USA worked tirelessly to bring charges and a conviction  against the accused. On September 22, 2015, the guilty verdict was announced, justice prevailed, and this sad, devastating chapter in the ProNiño history has ended.  

It is with heartfelt emotions and boundless appreciation that ProNiño USA gives thanks for our courageous board members and on-site employee who waged a battle of immense, lengthy proportions to protect the rights and welfare of our boys.  PNUSA moves forward committed to protecting the rights of not only the ProNiño boys but also children worldwide. The Honduran Fundación ProNiño Board and the ProNiño staff have taken actions to secure their property and thoroughly screen and supervise volunteers so that no similar action nor any improper behavior will ever occur in their facility again. We continue to educate, safeguard and counsel our boys. 

Respectfully submitted,

ProNiño USA Board of Directors

Each year Fundación ProNiño faces the financial burden of purchasing school uniforms for the boys and girls that reside at the centers. In Honduras most every school has some type of uniform—including uniform shirts and pants, boxers, t-shirts, belts, socks, and physical education uniforms—and for the nearly 100 children at ProNiño things can add up pretty quickly! For the month of September we will be hosting a Back to School Fundraiser to alleviate Fundación ProNiño of this financial burden and cover the costs of purchasing uniforms for the kids. We've set a fundraising goal of $6,900, and we are hoping for your donation of $35 or more to cover the cost of one full school uniform set. To learn more about this fundraiser you can go to the Back to School Fundraiser page here, and click the button below to Donate Now! We appreciate all of your support with this fundraiser and we hope to meet our goal by the end of the month! 

This past Saturday night, an alumni of the Foundation Proniño Centers became a local hero here in the Lake Yojoa area of Honduras.

Cristian Manzanares who graduated over 3 years ago successfully from our program after being in the foundation more than 10 years, saved a man's life. Not just any man, a Honduran Congressman named Gerardo Martínez, the representative from the department of Comayagua!

The congressman went out on a Waverunner at around 4pm from Honduyate, a marina and hotel where Cristian is currently employed at Lake Yojoa. At 8pm Cristian was called back to work and sent in a small boat with another employee to search the lake—at night—for any sign of the congressman.

Meet Jairo, our newest family member at Fundación Proniño! He's from Lempira, Honduras, and he's 12 years old. Our Sponsorship Coordinator, Kevin Cestra, asked him why he was at Proniño and he answered "because I have no family." Kevin's response: "You have a family now, a big family of brothers, sisters, tios and tías, and we'll take care of you." He smiled and let Kevin take the picture on the right. 

We are looking for someone who would like to sponsor Jairo! This is an incredible opportunity to make a difference in this child's life with a relatively small but important financial contribution. 

We always say without our Sponsorship Program we would not be the organization we are today and it's true! We could not be more grateful for our sponsors. For just $35/month or $420/year, our sponsors help cover the cost of education, clothing, food and medical needs for these children. Our updated and newly integrated payment platform allows new sponsors to choose which plan option is right for them: monthly or annual subscriptions, online or via mail. 

Most importantly, at ProNiño USA we are proud to say that your contributions are going straight to meeting the needs of these kids. It's certainly one of the beautiful things of being a nearly 100% volunteer-run, smaller non-profit organization. Click on the link below to learn more about our Sponsorship Program and let's get Jairo sponsored!