Fire and Ice Gala for Hope Endowment Presented by Methodist Sugar Land Hospital
Hope Endowment is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which fundraises for three specific orphanages or group homes for impoverished children in India. All children are provided with housing, food, clothing, medical, education and social services as needed. The children that are served are between the ages of 3 to 18. The Hope Endowment currently supports 180 children across the three homes.
Why now and why India? India will soon overtake China as the most populated country in the world. Currently more than 30% of the world’s births are in India and in total 16 million children are born every year (one child every 2 seconds). These children face a dim future as 37% of the population is below the poverty line and 40% of the population is illiterate. Over 50% of the children are also malnourished. Many of these children are abused, sold into prostitution or exposed to drugs. The children that come to the Hope Endowment sponsored orphanages are either found abandoned, picked up off the street by local police or come from nearby overcrowded orphanages. Some are even brought in by parents or relatives too impoverished to care for another child.
(Photo) Top: Left to Right: Chris Siebenaler, CEO; Niraj Patel, MD.; Swapan Dubey, M.D.; Lowell Stanton, CFO; Bottom: Left to Right: Leena Taneja, Director of Physician Relations; Janet Leatherwood, CNO; Molly Philip, RN; Minal Vyas; Nicholas Desai, M.D. and Becky Chalupa, ACNO (Not pictured- Parin Shah, M.D.)
What started as one person's mission and promise to take care of orphans and impoverished children has blossomed into a full-fledged non-profit serving hundreds of children in India. The work began in 2004, Dr. Niraj Patel, a Sugar Land physician partnered with Molly Philip, an Emergency Room Nurse to provide on-going support for Shepherd Children's Home in Kerala, India. The Home, based in a small cottage, housed three young boys and their caretakers. After demand for services increased in the community, the Home was expanded to a new two story structure that was completed in 2005 and serviced 60 boys and girls, and the planned expansion served 100 children by 2010. In 2005, Dr. Patel asked Ms. Philip to explore ways to expand the Home's services outside of Kerala. In 2006, two facilities were established in Gujurat: a Home in Rajkot currently serves 20 children and a Home in Dumda near Surat houses 52 children. The need for these services has outstripped the current facilities and plans are underway to expand the capacity of both of these homes. Because of this need, the Hope Endowment was created as an official 501(c)(3) in the United States and simultaneously the Hope Endowment Trust, an NGO, was created in India to better serve these children.
The Fire and Ice Gala – presented by Methodist Sugar Land Hospital – is scheduled for Friday, August 26, 2011 at the Marriott Sugar Land Town Center Hotel. What makes Hope Endowment so unique is all private donations will go directly to the children’s care in India. The founding members of Hope Endowment have pledged to cover all administrative costs.
“We are honored to join Hope Endowment in their mission to empower children in India to transcend poverty by providing a safe, caring, compassionate home and prepare these children with education and social development,” said Chris Siebenaler, CEO at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital.
Hope Endowment deeply thanks the Methodist Sugar Land Hospital for being the presenting sponsor for the Fire and Ice Gala. This event would not be possible without their support.
Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available. To purchase Gala tickets or for more information, contact Minal Vyas at 713-876-5110 or hopeendowment@gmail.com. Additional information and to donate online can also be found at www.hopeendowment.net.
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