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The Collette Foundation received a warming Christmas card this year from our Peruvian site, Hogar de Mercedes de Jesus Molina Orphanage. Partnering with the Peruvian Hearts, the Collette Foundation has been able to support orphaned girls along with providing a daily lunch program allowing for disadvantaged children in the area to receive a hot meal.

The card was directed to our site ambassador and tour manager, Kevin Ferguson. He kindly translated the card to share the kind words.

Season Greetings and thanks for all the support we received from you every time you come to visit our home. Also, the girls join this greeting and send you their fond memories, especially those who are finishing high school in May and are grateful for everything that you have done, because you’re always like a father and a friend that they will never forget. With all these feelings and wishes you a nice Christmas and Happy New Year filled with God’s blessings.

- Hermana Yudith

Upon sharing the Christmas card, Ferguson recalled how much he cherished his time spent at the foundation site.

 “The girls are growing up in front of my eyes and I still cry (after countless visits) when I leave those kids,” he said.

We love how invested our ambassadors and teams become in their sites and are grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside the Peruvian Hearts to support Hogar de Mercedes de Jesus Molina Orphanage.

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I just received an email from Kevin, our Peru Team Ambassador, showing his appreciation for all those who participated in last week’s 2-day book fair which raised money to purchase desperately-needed books for the girls at the Hogar de Mercedes de Jesus Molina Orphanage — our Peru Project!

Buenas dias!

I would like to thank all of you who participated in last week’s Book Fair at the Rhode Island office. “Kudos” especially to Beth Myette from the Collette Foundation’s Team Peru for her instrumental work in making this a success.

Last evening, on the Peru: Ancient Land of Mysteries tour, we visited the Hogar de Mercedes de Jesus Molina home, just outside of Cusco. The four Sisters that take care of the two-dozen children there were thrilled to hear what the Collette office was doing to support the girls at the orphanage.

With these attached pictures, I wanted you to understand the profound impact that you have made on these girls.

Thank you for opening your hearts last Thursday and Friday. The book fair was a tremendous success and Team Peru couldn’t be more proud!

Sincerely,

Kevin

For those of you weren’t able to attend, you can still purchase books online until 6/24! Thank you again to all who participated!

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Christina Darling and Sara Strickland, two Collette Vacations employees, recently had an extremely heart-warming experience when touring through Peru. Visiting Peruvian Hearts – a highlight of their trip and a Collette Foundation site — really left an impact.

Upon their arrival at the all-girls orphanage, they were greeted with warm hugs. The girls held their hands, and told all the travelers in the group their names, age and their goals. Sara and Christina reflected that the girls were so open and honest, so sincere… and the experience was just inspiring. These children aspire to be something – to be successful – and they were really excited to show that.

During a tour of the facility, Christina and Sara were able to see just how these girls live everyday. All the girls were so excited to show everyone around the orphanage- even to just show the visitors where they sleep at night. Then the fun began.

The afternoon was full of singing, dancing, pictures and gift giving. The main gift that was given to the girls were shoes and socks. Something so small, that we take for granted everyday made these girls so happy and appreciative. Both Christina and Sara agreed that it was an amazing experience to have taken part in and they so honored to have been able to meet the girls and be touched by their stories.

In just one week, Team Peru is hosting a can’t-miss Book Fair! The goal of this event is to honor a love of reading right here… and share it with the girls at the Hogar de Mercedes Girls Orphanage — our project in Peru! All proceeds go to buying desperately-needed books for our wonderful girls.

WHEN: Thurs, June 14 9:00 to 5:30 & Fri, June 15 9:00 to 5:30

WHERE: Collette Vacations’ headquarters | Training Room “A”

WHAT: You’ll find books for all ages. Contributions will also be accepted. Parents, bring your child’s summer reading list; you might just find some of those titles at the fair for a great price.

Can’t attend? No problem! Check out this link to participate online! There is free shipping on all on-line orders… just click on the “shop now” tab.

So stock up on your summer reading and support this amazing orphanage! To learn more about this event, click here.

Thanks for all your support!

-Team Peru

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Team Peru is excited about our upcoming Book Fair!

WHEN: Thurs, June 14 9:00 to 5:30 & Fri, June 15 9:00 to 5:30

WHERE: Collette Vacations’ headquarters | Training Room “A”

WHAT: We are hosting this book fair, which promotes literacy for children, to raise funds and awareness for the Collette Foundation’s Peru Project! In fact, all proceeds from the book fair will benefit the Hogar de Mercedes Girls Orphanage! An amazing selection of books is headed our way! At the Book Fair you will find the latest and finest titles for kids, as well as books of interest to parents. Mark your calendar, and stock up on great summer reading!  We are also accepting contributions to our book collection for The Hogar Orphanage. The Book fair is a great way to get everyone excited about reading. Here’s a brief video that will motivate students to read all summer:  http://bookfairs.scholastic.com/bookfairs/cptoolkit/rwrvideo2012.htm

Team Peru thanks you for your support!  All proceeds go directly to the purchase of desperately needed books for the girls!

See you at the Book Fair!

-Team Peru

Exciting news from Peruvian Hearts! Danny Dodson, the Executive Director there, just wrote to me to tell us that our latest grant has pushed their great organization over the $500,000 mark for donations collected since its inception.

We have loved our partnership with Peruvian Hearts since the Collette Foundation’s own inception five years ago. Our clients enjoy visiting the orphanage, interacting with the children, employees have long-standing relationships with the staff there (evident in the entry from last week from Kevin) and we’re looking forward to many more milestones!

A lot of people consider Peruvian Hearts the Collette Foundation’s “first project” and in many ways it was. After all, it was a fateful trip to Peru for Dan Sullivan and members of the Collette team that sparked the idea to do more to give back to the kids around the world, in the communities we visit. I personally am just delighted that the Collette Foundation discovered the foundation, Peruvian Hearts – because it really is a perfect fit and a great experience.

I’ve been the ambassador for Peru for a few years and it’s honestly been a highlight of my career. Being a part of Peruvian Hearts has been an amazing journey. I’ve gotten to see some of the sweet kids at this orphanage grow up. I’ve seen countless passengers from our trips happily interact with them, often finding ways to continue to help the kids, long after they’ve returned home.

So what’s new? On a recent trip to the orphanage, I got to see a new basketball court/soccer court that was erected which the kids love. There are a few boys there now too. The newly improved computer room looks great too!

The kids were very excited to see our group, and everyone was dancing.

I showed Sister Graciela the USBs that we brought this time for the kids and they were THRILLED!!

I can’t wait for my next trip back.