Friends of Thai Daughters Inc

How terrifying that young girls can be trafficked and treated like commodities but thankfully Friends of Thai Daughters are providing shelter and education for these girls until they reach 18 years of age, and where many then continue on to college and other further educational pursuits. This is a charity that you can trust with all your heart and was created many years ago by my two dear friends Jane and Patty ������

FOTD is doing very important work for a very needy sector of girls in Thailand. They endeavor to protect, educate and lift young girls at risk who come from communities that offer no opportunity for betterment.
While I am not a major contributor, I have seen what any amount of money can do to make a positive difference for the education and future lives of these girls.
The founders are seriously and personally committed, which is evidenced by their dedicated, hands-on involvement.

I am so thankful for the beautiful work that Friends of Thai Daughters is doing to help heal and empower cast away children. FTD goes above and beyond to improve and uplift the lives of the girls they save. The work we are doing together now is having a positive ripple effect and is rewriting the story and the lives of not only the girls but entire villages. I am honored to be a part of growing this organization and to grow the ability for people to know their self worth, to be free, empowered and to thrive! Peter Lombardi - Architect

Friends of thai daughters continues to empower & educate young women who would otherwise become victims. Their grass roots approach works !

Friends of Thai daughters is an exemplary organization founded by the two most generous people I've ever had the pleasure to meet and call my friends. Jane and Patty, the founders of Friends, have made a great, deeply personal commitment to this amazing charity which I visited in May of 2018. I traveled to the remote villages in Thailand which are victimized by the human traffickers. My team distributed needed prescription eyeglasses we had collected from optometrists in Manhattan. I was moved by the rapport Friends had established with the villagers. This was ground zero - where Jane and Patti and their amazing team had rescued girls and given them a passport to a real future at the beautiful Friends campus in Chiang Rai. The girls I met enjoyed the safety and comfort of a wonderful campus replete with a variety of amenities, comprehensive education and, a path to a new future. Today, Friends is constructing a new, state of the art campus which will allow them to nurture and protect even more girls. Simply put, Friends of Thai Daughters is quite literally saving young girls from slavery and giving them a remarkable pathway to success. I will remain a faithful supporter and hope that many others will join this highly noble cause.

I have had the wonderful pleasure of learning about and supporting the Friends of Thai Daughters for about 10 years. FTD has grown into an amazing, well run, and effective organization that has made, and continues, an outstanding impact on the sex trafficking and abuse of young, vulnerable, Thai girls.
I now have the added pleasure, and honor, of being a new Board Member of FTD and look forward to my continued support as getting many others individuals to do the same. It is truly a cause that everyone should be supporting.

Barry A. Kean

Being both a mother and a grandmother to young women makes this endeavor all the more important to me.
It is truly an honor and a privilege to be part of this inspiring organization. These ladies are eternally grateful for any help they receive and really enrich your personal life with their polite and sweet dispositions.
Friends of Thai Daughters has taken a really heartbreaking problem and turned it around to allow these girls an education and a sense of community and building self esteem.
I really have no more words as to how important this organization is, and how responsible they are with the funds they receive.
Thank you for including my family by extending yours.
With much love and gratefulness, Andrea Giles

I know the founders and this is not just a job or hobby for them. This is a mission. To make sure girls and young women are not marginalized and trafficked so they can lead safe and dignified lives. This benefits not only communities but the whole human race but change has to start at the community level which is what this non profit does so well. Oftentimes, absence of opportunity in the lives of these girls is why they are forced into sexual servitude and this is what this organization provides: opportunity through education and meaningful work which allows them to be productive and chart their own way.

A strong believer in child advocacy and women’s empowerment, I am so inspired by the resiliency and bravery of each Daughter. Working with the Daughter Leadership Team of Friends of Thai Daughters (FTD) has illuminated the ways FTD is continually working to empower vulnerable girls to become valued Daughters, educated women and independent adults. FTD deserves to be supported, acknowledged, and rewarded for its important mission and work based on providing love and community for our Daughters.

I'm writing to express how impressed I continue to be with the Thai team that manages Friends of Thai Daughters' Sunflower Houses in Northern Thailand. Their compassion, competence and kindness are truly transforming lives.

I was fortunate enough to volunteer this summer with FTD. It was a huge step out of my comfort zone but the girls made me feel at home. This organization truly provides a family atmosphere for the young girls. The feeling of family is incomparable and FTD found a way to give these girls that bond/love. The resilience of the young women astounded me every day and I will always look up to them. What a beautiful experience in such a beautiful place. FTD will always have a place in my heart.

Thank you for supporting us in studying at the university. We will try our best and we will never forget those who helped us. We love you and we will make our dreams come true. Thank you so much Friends of Thai Daughters. ❤❤❤

FTD has been doing great work for years. Soon, they will have helped generations of Thai Daughters.

Spending time in Thailand with the daughters and with the founders puts into perspective the work that FTD is doing. A great foundation focusing on the future of these girls.

I first learned of FTD in 2017. In 2018 I was fortunate to spend 10 days at Sunflower house, living and working directly with the founders, volunteers and with the girls, teaching them basic carpentry skills. This organization is truly love in action, and I was so inspired to see the dedication of everyone involved- and an empowerment model that truly works. The girls have a safe, loving, nurturing home that provides education, emotional support and an extended family, and gives these girls and young women access to a world with a future they can embrace and confidently step into. I can't wait to return.

Friends of Thai Daughters is an organization that provides education and a family environment to young girls at risk of being trafficked. FTD provides an opportunity for young girls to mature and experience life unlimited, free of fear. The girls are encouraged to dream, love, support and encourage each other to be the best person that they can be.

I have been a supporter of FTD for a long time and have seen how love and kindness can change lives.

FTD is a team of extremely dedicatated people who work tirelessly to ensure the well-being of young people at risk of being trafficked. I have seen the amazing transformations of so many young women due to the love and emotional support from Jane and Patty and all involved with Friends of Thai Daughters ❤️

I have known of Friends for Thai Daughters for about 4 years. I’ve been lucky to meet some of the girls who have visited the US and spoken to them about their personal journey, their current lives at their “loving homes” in Thailand, their sisters, caregivers, and Jane and Patty.
Their work, devotion, focus, responsibility and will to help these girls in danger of being trafficked is completing.
Friends for Thai Daughter is a wonderful non for profit organization doing beautiful things to save a vulnerable population of innocent young girls.

I recently had the humbling experience of meeting Friends of Thai Daughters founders Jane McBride and Patty Zinkowski and some of the young women whose lives they've changed. The work they do is awe inspiring. It is important, and it is pertinent.
The young women who have found a home and family with FTD are given a future.
This is a charity I not only support, but one I tell my friends about. It is real people doing good work everyday.

FTD is an outstanding NGO working at the grassroots level delivering high level educational programming to young girls who otherwise would have zero chance of an education. Beyond that, FTD's model ensures an intensive, comprehensive, long-term solutions to move orphaned, disadvantaged, marginalized children from abject poverty to financially stable, educated adults able to "pay to forward" to their families, their communities and the next generation. This non-profit runs on integrity and honesty. This organization should be replicated globally. FTD operates two Sunflower "safe" houses in N.Thailand. Each house provides a loving, family-oriented home setting which aims to heal, nurture and empower its residents to change from victim to advocate to leader. With the third generation in the house there are many success stories to prove that FTD's small-scale home model really works. NOT an institution but a real home for kids who come from broken families and often violent upbringings. KUDOS to FTD and its loving caring competent passionate staff!

For the past 5 years I have had the fortune of working with Friends of Thai Daughters. After nearly 25 years working with non-profits, I can say that this is one of the real deals. Donors are one degree of separation from the Daughters and encouraged to visit the program to see first-hand how their donations are transforming lives. There are no silos, turf or politics in this organization - just people drawn together because they are seeing the difference this program has made in so many lives over the years. Its been a wonderful life experience and I look forward to continuing on as a volunteer and donor. Here's to many more years!

I had the opportunity to visit Friends of Thai Daughters' program in Thailand last year and came away very impressed. The girls and young women are clearly happy, healthy and kind. They help each other with homework and chores, they want to help their families (if they have any) and they are focused on their future. FTD's outreach efforts in their villages and communities is educating people about the truth of human trafficking and helping to end this horrible exploitation of children.

I joined this charity as a volunteer in the Chiang rai sunflower house and I adored my time with the girls and everyone involved with this charity. FTD has a great family feel with such specialized help for each and every girl.

One needs only to read the wonderful success stories of the girls and young women who are the much-loved and nurtured daughters of Friends of Thai Daughters. Their personal, hand-written letters to the donors and the many other people involved in the organization are testimonies to the transformative nature of the wonderful residential and educational opportunities that FTD has made possible for them. One of the most impressive and distinctive features of FTD's annual fund raising events is the presence of many of the girls who live in the Sunflower Houses in Thailand . Their trip to the USA provides a most gratifying "up close and personal meet and greet" for them and especially for the supporters and donors of this wonderful organization. FTD's life-saving work is actually and clearly evident in the girls' energy, optimism and promise . One can only imagine the ripple effect these young people will have as they carry forth their talents, hopes and compassion to their communities and to the world! Thank you, FTD; your work makes miracles happen!
Joanna Hochman

For this organisation i have only wordings, that "God Loves Those Who Love With The peoples" And if God loves with you means God is with you then necessities are nothing all within reach either we are individual or an organisation. Because God is with you

I attended this organization's fundraiser in the Boston area in June at the urging of a friend, and was very impressed by everything I saw. Not only was the enthusiasm of all the volunteers infectious, but it was clear they are doing a lot more than simply cheerleading for the organization. They are actually doing work that directly impacts the lives of girls in danger of being sold into slavery. I am confident that the donation I made is being spent as I intended, and making a difference in the lives of girls who deserve a chance.

This is an amazing organization making an enormous impact on the lives of girls born into abject poverty in Northern Thailand, part of the "Golden Triangle," of human trafficking. I have had the humbling opportunity of meeting many of the remarkable young women Friends of Thai Daughters has helped.
L. lived with her drug addled mother, and was forced to beg food from other villagers to eke out meals for herself and her siblings. She had no identification papers, and so would never be able to go to school. Through a lucky twist of fate she was introduced to FTD, which not only provided her with her first pair of shoes at age 12, but gave her a safe roof over her head, three healthy meals, education, and most importantly, love and security. Today she is a college graduate and an accomplished artists whose work has appeared in galleries from Bangkok to Boothbay Harbor, Maine.
M. is a college graduate who now runs the FTD Sunflower House, passing the lessons she learned to the next generation of girls.
K. has started her own translating business in Chiang Mai, A. leads a book group for young FTD girls, and P. is an au pair working for a family in Washington D.C..
The list goes on. Young girls who had no hope of an education, no hope of escaping a life of prostitution, no hope at all - whose lives have been transformed. They have been provided with the gift of stability and love. They have been allowed to study, to expand their horizons and see a world outside the dirt floors and endless poverty of their villages. They have been given a future.
FTD does not have a big payroll, an oversized fundraising operation, or professional marketing. What they have is a committed group of volunteers willing to help raise any amount of money they can, because they know that even $20 can make a difference.
Get to know FTD. Become a part of an organization not just talking about changing lives, but actually doing it.

I met the founders in 1989. I was 15. They took such a good care of me every time i came to visit, with simplicity and love. they are faithful and reliable people. I've met some of the daughters too. They send adorable letters ( hand writting ) to keep in touch and keep us updated with FTD. Merci Ladies for the good work...for giving them back their legendary smile. G. Frog

A great organization. Girls, many from impoverished tribal families living along the northern border of Thailand, are prime targets for being sold into the sex trade. For a lucky few, FTD has provided a place to live, a chance to grow up with an education. We met some of these pre-teen age girls when they were first rescued by FTD. Now 10 years later we were honored to see them again as college graduates. These girls have not only been saved from being trafficked but are now leading productive lives. Also, they have not lost contact with their families or communal roots and they are doing much to help the girls that are coming along in the program behind them. FTD is great organization. The model and philosophy they have put together should be emulated by many more groups.

I first learned about Friends of Thai Daughters through its co-founders Patty Zinkowski and Jane McBride. Patty was volunteering for the land trust I directed.

I've worked for many NGOs over the years including the Girl Scouts, Special Olympics and a women's center in the Peace Corps. When it was time to move on from the land trust, I didn't know if I wanted to work with another non-profit/NGO unless it was the real deal - free of politics and really making a difference.

I found that in Friends of Thai Daughters.

You are one degree of separation from the lives you are transforming. FTD is changing lives, one at a time. Its heartwarming, its real and its making an unbelievable difference in the lives of these girls.

An enthusiastic supporter of FTD since 2006 when I went to Thailand and met Mee, Pui and Khai, the first three "daughters." The organization does a superb job of providing a safe, supportive and loving environment for at-risk girls, allowing them to achieve their once seemingly impossible education and life goals. Many of the program graduates now serve as mentors/models to their younger "sisters" and have developed deep bonds that will last a lifetime.

I have worked with and donated to Friends of Thai Daughters for many years. Their mission is truly inspiring and their success has been notable. A wonderful organization!

I have been involved with FTD since it first started. I have watched the first daughters grow from shy teenagers to confident, college graduates. These young women are wonderful role models to the newest generation of young daughters just now joining FTD. It is a testimony of the education, love and support that the FTD family has provided that continues to spread happiness and safety to so many in need.

FTD is a non-profit with integrity and a mission to help some of the poorest kids on the planet. From inception to today the volunteers, Board, and staff both in country and globally have worked as a team to promote long-term, comprehensive and intensive support of Girls in Thailand. Great organization doing tremendous work for its size!

FTD is a unique nonprofit in the service it provides for impoverished and endangered young girls in Thailand. It not only is a rescue and protective shelter but offers a loving and nourishing family environment with education, emotional support and opportunities for achievement beyond high school. Having met and hosted several of FTD success stories and knowing the founders and management, I feel very confident in providing support for this unique and extremely effective charity that empowers mostly tribal young girls. A lot of bang for the buck.

Great organization with dedicated founders, directors and volunteers who spend all monies raised on educating these young women. Very impressed as the original girls have now graduated from university and have jobs.

Have followed and supported this organization from its inception. So pleased with the work they have done and to see how wisely our donations have been used to improve the lives of these "Thai Daughters".

Friends of Thai Daughters was created in 2002 and received non-profit status in 2005. Founders have successfully created a model of educating poor, hill tribe, girls from the Mekong sub region of South East Asia. Through the creation of Baan Tantawan (Sunflower House), located in Chiang Mai, Thailand, they offer safe housing, life skills and a fully paid education from elementary through university level. They assist with identification and nationality status issues.

In 2011, a second Sunflower House was built on the Thai/Myannmar border to offer safe housing to orphaned refugee children. A small classroom is scheduled for construction in early 2012 and sceduled for completion March 2012.

Friends of Thai Daughters is a U.S. based 501(c) 3 non-profit. There are no paid staff, only volunteers. Money raised through letter writing campaigns, friends, family and foundations goes directly to the project.