Monday, April 11, 2011

Rebecca (Neuenswander) Welsh

Recently I learned about Rebecca Neuenswander Welsh while doing some Internet surfing. Her story is compelling … While travelling abroad Rebecca was horrified to witness orphans begging for food in the streets of the cities she visited. The faces of these young children burned into her memory and even after returning home to the USA she could not get the faces out of her mind. As a martial arts instructor she worked with young children every day and took the initiative to develop what she called a “compassion curriculum” to teach her US students about orphans. In short, it was her students here in the USA that came up with the idea for a fundraiser for orphans in Mexico. HALO was founded because children helped children. And, let’s face it, HALO was founded because Rebecca took action and for that she is a gutsy woman!
 
HALO, according to the website, is a team that is comprised of “….individuals who have made a decision to serve and make a difference in the lives of desperate children around the world. From graphic designers to public relations experts to artists, HALO is able to reach our mission because of each person who is part of our team.” To date they have over 100 volunteers and interns.

“The HALO Foundation is committed to enhancing the living conditions and providing art therapy for orphans worldwide. HALO provides American youth with opportunities to learn philanthropy and volunteerism by seeing the world through the eyes of the less fortunate.”

Spending a few minutes today to look at Rebecca’s work and the HALO website would be time well spent. I commend Rebecca and the entire team at HALO for daring to care and for daring to take action on something that deeply touched her!

Visit http://www.haloworldwide.org/