FriendsOfTheOrphans

Southwest Region

Notes & News |

Events |

Travel Opportunities |

Featured Friends

In 1954, Father William B. Wasson of Phoenix, Arizona, founded the first Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for "Our Little Brothers and Sisters") home in Mexico. His devotion to the care of orphans inspired an outpouring of financial support and volunteers for his humanitarian cause. Father Wasson’s family and friends in Arizona offered support by sending clothes, food and money. This led to Friends of the Orphans (then Friends of Our Little Brothers) being incorporated as one of the state’s first nonprofits in 1965.

After nearly 40 years of succesful fundraising, a fire that started in the electrical wiring destroyed the Friends office in Tempe on October 11, 2003. Thanks to the help of many individuals and organizations who donated funds, time and supplies, there was no interruption in the support provided to the homes. Now located in Mesa, the Southwest regional office encompasses the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. Annual events include The Power of One Luncheons in the Spring and the Celebration of Life Gala and Tour featuring a dance and music troupe from one of the NPH homes in the Fall.

Notes & News

Purchase a charm to support Friends!
Friends of the Orphans will receive up to 75% of your purchase from Charity Charms! Choose from lovely necklaces, bracelets and more. Click here to start shopping.

---

Friends Looking for Friends
Do you have time during the week that you would like to spend helping others? Have you ever considered being a volunteer? If so, Friends of the Orphans is looking for you! Our “friendly” office needs volunteers to help with translating (Spanish/English and French Creole/English), data entry, mailings, packing supplies to be sent to the Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for "Our Little Brothers and Sisters") homes, and other various office tasks.

Our office is located at 2222 South Dobson Road, Suite 401, (between Baseline and Guadalupe) in Mesa. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Barb Balchumas at (480) 237-3004 or bbalchumas@friendsus.org.

---

School/Group Sponsorship Program
Are you part of a class, club or group that is looking for a project that is exciting, motivating and interesting?  Sponsor a child at an NPH home!  Your students or group members can increase reading and writing skills as well as learn about culture, geography, economics and teamwork!  Plus, you can fulfill community service project requirements, all by helping an orphaned, abandoned or disadvantaged child.  Click here to learn more. 

Featured Friends

Debbie DiCarlo
In late June, I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip with the youth group from St. Patrick’s in Scottsdale, AZ, to the Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH, Spanish for "Our Little Brothers and Sisters") home in Miacatlán, Mexico. The mission of NPH is to provide a loving, supportive home for children in Third World countries who suffer from conditions of severe poverty and lack familial resources with which to overcome these obstacles. Many of the children are not orphans in the strict sense of the word but rather find themselves alone and abandoned in countries with few “safety net resources” to provide for them.

I am not new to mission trips and yet, this experience at the NPH home left me unprepared both emotionally and spiritually. I was not just a volunteer who for a week received the privilege of understanding and living the Catholic Social Teaching concept of solidarity. No, I was created anew in the daily experience of holding hands, wiping tears of happiness and sadness, reading books, tucking into bed at night, reminding to say “por favor” and “gracias,” combing hair and eating meals. I was in a real and shockingly authentic relationship with Emmanuel, Stefani, and José. And the 700 other children in the home were in this same relationship with the other 56 loving adults and teens surrounding them. It was truly nothing short of the reign of God present and glorious.

Featured Friends Archive