My Nonprofit Reviews

I first went on an humanitarian expedition with The Hope Alliance in 2002, three years after it was created. My wife and two of my children, a son age 18 and daughter age 16 also came and brought some teenage friends who worked side by side with the older volunteers. We went to Iquitos, Peru, in the Amazon jungle and to villages downriver from Iquitos, doing health checks, providing eye exams and used glasses, and otherwise assisting in health related matters. I have been back about 5 times; my wife has been back (with Hope Alliance and some other groups as well) over a dozen times, and I believe my son and daughter have been back at least a couple of times each (with Hope Alliance and other organizations). Such expeditions make lifetime humanitarians of the participants as well as provide help to those in need. On that first trip, after a long day of work in Iquitos, we left in a bus and all the people who were at the site, perhaps a hundred, pulled apart to let the bus pass and burst into applause for us as we passed. I will never forget it, and neither will anyone else who was there. The help we provided was greatly appreciated.

There have been similar events on all later expeditions: old persons who have never been able to clearly see their grandchildren have cried when receiving glasses that allowed them to see their grandchildren for the first time; people who had immobilizing disabilities were overcome with joy at receiving wheel chairs that allowed them to get around, mostly without assistance, for the first time in years. The stories go on and on. Every expedition to the various countries helped by the Hope Alliance brings back further stories, from Haiti, Guatamala, Nepal, Uganda, Ghana, and other places. The Hope Alliance also has been providing help in rural Utah, including on Native American reservations, and, again the gratitude of the people who have been helped has been great and has affected the lives of all the participants.

A few years after that first expedition to Peru, I had the opportunity to serve on the Board of the Hope Alliance, along with other dedicated volunteers over the years. I have been proud to serve in such a role that has allowed me to help volunteers help others.