https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/blog daily 0.75 2021-12-30 https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/blog/christmas-in-ecuador monthly 0.5 2024-06-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616325727936-EAV14YW4ABGSZS61GCL1/Christmas+1.jpg Blog - christmas in ecuador https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616325763669-5ZY8XHFKHYSPJ6BLNIWR/Christmas+2.jpg Blog - christmas in ecuador https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616325824608-SXONADVUUPL3D2J5PYXM/Christmas+3.jpg Blog - christmas in ecuador https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/blog/ot6268z3p0uwxml541f3w0z6a8uvjb monthly 0.5 2024-06-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616325900600-8TCTDM6T9WW1KXAT5CWO/Andrea+1.jpg Blog - andrea’s story https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616325921785-7N11JXMKNRNYSQKS4A26/Andrea+2.jpg Blog - andrea’s story https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616325939919-BC3WUKYO47S0RSZA8TKZ/Andrea+3.jpg Blog - andrea’s story https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616325962579-26GIVJMNANDDU26Y74WQ/Andrea+4.jpg Blog - andrea’s story https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/blog/bryans-story monthly 0.5 2024-06-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/47d22513-ef01-42c7-9565-63439570c23a/Bryan+3%3A2.jpeg Blog - Bryan’s story - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/4dd92b79-32b4-4dcd-ae52-b324087b2f5c/Bryan.jpeg Blog - Bryan’s story - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/e226e935-4a28-4ac2-90ad-7bd1e127e41f/Bryan+3%3A1.jpeg Blog - Bryan’s story - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/a4acd6b8-b8be-489a-a13e-0366048c9576/Bryan+4.jpeg Blog - Bryan’s story - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/33bea215-0148-4da0-b0eb-df713a4ae7b3/Bryan+5%3A1.jpeg Blog - Bryan’s story - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/16efdcfc-5ad0-43d0-9110-21c9cff27dcd/Bryan+1.jpeg Blog - Bryan’s story - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/f1458976-8221-4233-9bd4-db00117608ac/Bryan+2.jpeg Blog - Bryan’s story - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/58871763-fcc7-40bb-9135-772b2f7de415/Bryan+5%3A2.jpeg Blog - Bryan’s story - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/home daily 1.0 2022-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/5f75833d-6f6f-49a3-8f53-1bdeb5544006/Homapge+hands+heart.jpeg Home Mission Statement Hands For Humanity is a nonprofit, charitable foundation reaching out to meet the needs of underserved children and families primarily from Ecuador. Hands For Humanity volunteers work in partnership with local service and medical groups to enhance quality of life through medical programs, local service projects and cultural and educational enrichment opportunities. https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/about-your-donation daily 0.75 2022-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/d6bbc441-b0b9-4fa1-a498-88defd3b9278/Pie+chart.jpg About Your Donation https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/faqs daily 0.75 2022-05-06 https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/travel-formsandtips daily 0.75 2022-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616324177230-PN4XDUJAO3Q2K2UFVEQC/Raindbow+1.JPG Travel Forms & Tips Banos, Ecuador https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/planning-your-trip daily 0.75 2022-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616167500218-CH07457FMZEC826MX3A6/Church.JPG Planning Your Trip - portoviejo, ecuador Located on the eastern bank of the Portoviejo River in the Pacific lowlands of Western Ecuador, Portoviejo is the commercial and political hub of the Manabí Province. The fertile areas of the Portoviejo River valley allow for the successful cultivation of a variety of produce, including coffee, onions, peppers, tomatoes, mangoes, bananas and other exotic tropical fruits. In addition to being the economic center for local agriculture and the timber industry, commercial activities in Portoviejo include the manufacture of pillows and mattresses filled with kapok – a type of cotton obtained from the seed pods of the Ceiba pentandra tree. Ecuador.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1619970910790-SS88NGSI1SGQSXAHN2W5/hammock.jpeg Planning Your Trip https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1619971153052-M25H5KJDR62T8GOFMJAL/Orphanage.jpeg Planning Your Trip https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1619972653594-5CTG3L0PNN6APGJR75W7/Oro+verde.jpeg Planning Your Trip https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1619972712329-MSYCJ7HFP6AY9KM7GLF9/princi.jpeg Planning Your Trip https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/about daily 0.75 2022-05-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616252445401-NERI1FPB70IYZ7V9PJJY/vaccine+1.jpg About - about Hands For Humanity is a group of caring, dedicated volunteers working with and supporting underserved children and their families in Ecuador. We are a Minnesota based non-profit that provides medical relief and assistance with community projects in Portoviejo, Ecuador. Our organization was founded in 2002, four years after Co-Founder and Executive Director Kate Welp adopted her daughter from Ecuador. To give back to the community, Kate answered a need to deliver and administer vaccines in Portoviejo, Ecuador while working with a local organization called the San Lucas Foundation. At the time, she assumed it was a one-time trip. It was her way of showing gratitude to a country that had given her a tremendous gift. She had no idea it was just the beginning. This rewarding experience led to the founding of the volunteer-based organization Hands For Humanity. Although our trips and projects may look very different from that first one where she traveled alone, our vision remains the same. Lending aid and assistance to the most vulnerable. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616161083277-BFR7T2X1B0SY6T4ITPSD/About+2.jpg About - our mission Our primary mission is to meet the needs children and their families in Ecuador. We can accomplish this many ways. Noralma's closet- supplying children with basic necessities. Diapers, formula, newborn clothes. Volunteer trips- we travel with a group of volunteers to the community of Portoviejo. We partner with local leaders to see how we can best serve. We partnership with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and bring children to Mayo to receive life saving care. Provide scholarships to young students that otherwise may not have the opportunity to attend college. GALS- Girls Achieving Lifelong Success. We are helping some well-deserving young teenage women transition into adulthood. Hogar de Belen- We partner with the Sister at this orphanage to help improve the quality of life for the 50 plus children who reside there. Check out our Projects page to see what we are actively working on and what your donation would go towards! https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/volunteering daily 0.75 2022-03-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616243621264-NV6SKSCLOQCDLVTE9SXC/Mountain.JPG Volunteering Papallacta, Ecuador https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/the-team-1 daily 0.75 2023-02-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616169243699-JJMIF68C3O9NTQITRH4O/Kate+W.jpg The Team - Kate welp executive director HI, my name is Kate. I am Co-founder and Executive Director of HFH. My journey started many years ago when I cared for a patient from Ecuador. It was with the assistance of his family that we adopted our daughter Maya in Dec of 1998. I wanted to give back to this beautiful country that gave my husband and I such an amazing gift. With the support and encouragement of Louise Randall and Gino Poggi, together we founded HFH in 2001. Running the foundation is one of the most difficult things to do and one of the most rewarding. After 20 years, we are still going strong. Changing lives one child at a time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616169518180-LRCT8J2395CFTVSI250V/Smaro.jpg The Team - smaro spandonidis social media committee Hello there! I am a registered nurse and work with Kate Welp and Kate Hudson and learned about the organization through them. I took my first trip with Hands For Humanity in 2019 and loved it so much that I wanted to be involved even when I wasn’t present in Ecuador. Cue the creation of the social media committee in 2020! I collect content to share on our Facebook and Instagram pages, create posts for the page and helped create our new website. I try to stay creative in ways that our volunteers in the US can stay connected to our family in Ecuador, and am always open to new ideas and suggestions! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616169412487-PRYZ50VGX8X4DZFM5LC6/Kate+H.jpg The Team - kate hudson board member Hi, I’m also Kate! I’m a registered nurse with a passion for travel and healthcare. I went on my first HFH medical volunteer trip in 2016, returning again merely weeks later to assist with immediate recovery needs of a devastating earthquake. It was the combination of these two trips so close together that pulled Ecuador, and especially this foundation, into my heart. Since then, I have made supporting HFH part of my being. I joined the board in 2017, working closely with our Ecuadorian counterparts to support both the college scholarship students as well as the CPR program. I also enjoy diving into any other exciting project that our team can dream up. “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” - Mother Teresa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/b7ad0314-1f57-4787-a5e2-ffc9dff5dd76/56951229_2370682632995815_8785605210287374336_n.jpg The Team - Noralma andrade ecuador logistical coordinator Hi. I´m Noralma Andrade. I joined Hands for Humanity 18 years ago when my friend Gino and my sister Liliana asked me if I wanted to help as a translator for doctors and nurses that were coming to the San Lucas Foundation to perform surgery. Gino and Liliana were already volunteering here in Ecuador. I have only gotten more involved with Hands for Humanity since that first trip. Besides translating, I also helped with the logistics and coordinating for the family members of the medical professional volunteers that joined the trip. While the doctors and nurses were at the clinic, I would usually take their families to the Orphanage “Hogar de Belen” to work on the projects there. Currently, I am in charge of “Noralma’s Closet” which consists of buying things that are needed for babies and small children. Since the first day of volunteering, the friends I made I now consider family. Even my own family members have become volunteers. I thank God that He put friends like Kate, Beth and Ann in my life, as I see them as my sisters now. Thank you all for volunteering in our country, your financial support and helping those that need it here through Hands For Humanity. May the Lord bless you always. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616169364298-M2A04HE6S4SULVPW50GP/Jorge.jpg The Team - Jorge board member Native to Portoviejo, Ecuador, I started volunteering at San Lucas Foundation and Hands For Humanity at the young age of 15 as a medical interpreter during HFH's annual mission trip to Ecuador. This experience spurred my passion for translation and volunteering, culminating in pursuing my degree in Translation and Interpretation. Through HFH, I met my wife, Shelley and in 2010 ultimately moved to Rochester, MN. I continued to actively volunteer with HFH throughout the next decade and officially joined the board in 2018, where I provides valuable support, guidance and insight. My family and I are actively engaged in advancing HFH's mission and serve the Ecuadorian community. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616169304962-YMAD5L90CK1TUZ63XJ7F/Beth.jpg The Team - beth tracy board member Tobias Keene, D.D.S. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Tobias Keene brings a bit of unabashed Southern hospitality to all his patients. He moved to Washington, D.C. over thirty years ago as a freshman at Ivy College. Right after graduation, he attended World University’s School of Dentistry. Before opening Keene Dental in 1994, he worked for free clinics and some of the finest practices in the District. He is part of the 123 Dental Association and stays up-to-date on the latest dental discoveries. When not striving to keep his patients happy and healthy, he’s enjoys hiking with his family in Rock Creek Park. https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/projects daily 0.75 2022-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1ae436ac-1859-45b1-832b-db7c3c6a049c/Scholarship+Photo.jpeg Projects - scholarships Founded in 2008, the scholarship funds offered by Hands For Humanity are meant to help students who recognize the importance of education and hope to serve the communities in which they live. Recipients are selected based on need, commitment to education and leadership potential. The cost for a student to attend college in Ecuador has increased dramatically in just the past few years. Compared to college tuition in the United States, costs are minimal but out of reach for many young students living in Ecuador. Tuition expenses for four years of college in Ecuador costs anywhere from $2,000 to $8,000. There are also additional fees and out of pocket expenses along with the tuition that should be considered, which Hands For Humanity scholarship funds also help to offset. We love to match donors with recipients, where a donor can sponsor a student’s entire four years. This allows a relationship to form and build between the sponsor and student and can be an incredibly rewarding experience. However, we also accept donations of all sizes that can be put toward the general scholarship fund. All donations are tax-deductible. With the help of generous donors, many students in Ecuador have been able to receive a university level education that they might not have otherwise had. This is an example of the ongoing relationship between the community of Portoviejo and Hands For Humanity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616171305844-KGREA3XYUNO8OSLPIQB3/Noralma%27s+Closet.jpg Projects - noralma’s closet In February of 2021, Hands For Humanity was informed by the sister’s at Hogar de Belen orphanage that their backup emergency stock of baby clothes was empty. We responded by sending funds to fulfill these immediate needs, and our very own Noralma (click on our “About” page to meet her!) went shopping to purchase the essential items. Getting the babies what they need AND supporting the local economy, double whammy! From this, an idea that had been brewing came to fruition. We never want to receive the message that newborns being born into the orphanage do not have the basic necessities to keep them safe and healthy again, so we started Noralma’s Closet. Our goal is to always have the supplies in stock at the orphanage to welcome any newborn into the world. With the initial fundraiser through Facebook, we were able to raise $515! We are still filling immediate needs at the orphanage, but continue to work towards our goal of always having the necessities in stock. https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/contact daily 0.75 2022-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1616241687260-CZGKQTRO87O659GAHHM4/Sunset.JPG Contact - Contact us. contact@handsforhumanityusa.org 2053 Silver Creek Court NE Rochester, MN 55906 https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/words-from-past-volunteers daily 0.75 2021-05-02 https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/traveling-ecuador daily 0.75 2022-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/8fdca424-6d4b-4c0c-93b6-c0a96eeaeee1/River.JPG Traveling Ecuador - traveling ecuador Starting at the capital of Quito stretching to each corner of the country, Ecuador has endless beauty to offer. The highlands in the North, Amazon rainforest to the East, the coast on the west, the Galapagos Islands, and everything in between all offer countless adventures to be had. Many of our volunteers have extended their own trips in addition to the volunteer trip. We recommend traveling after the volunteer portion so you are fresh and energized to work with us! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1640965336682-961UZTZP9291NMC7LZIG/Banos%2BTravel.jpg Traveling Ecuador https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1640966426260-T0TK09F9DDIGM51XARJA/Puerto+Lopez.jpeg Traveling Ecuador https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1640965650463-SF5VFL93T7OHLUY6H3TN/Amazon.jpeg Traveling Ecuador https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1640965509912-KBZCJLK03E4N7VFWC9U5/Galapagos.jpeg Traveling Ecuador https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/1648604628337-54KK7UVW36YE21QX43SB/Quito.jpeg Traveling Ecuador https://www.handsforhumanityusa.org/home-1 daily 0.75 2022-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fb29baeae75416646644155/5f75833d-6f6f-49a3-8f53-1bdeb5544006/Homapge+hands+heart.jpeg Home Mission Statement Hands For Humanity is a nonprofit, charitable foundation reaching out to meet the needs of underserved children and families primarily from Ecuador. Hands For Humanity volunteers work in partnership with local service and medical groups to enhance quality of life through medical programs, local service projects and cultural and educational enrichment opportunities.