About us
Mission Statement
Friends For Global Change, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency which was established in 2011 in Miami, Florida by a group of friends who wanted to help communities in need. FFGC focuses on pooling resources and working with local organizations to ensure that items and funds which are collected are distributed directly to those who need it most. Friends For Global Change, Inc. supports multiple international and domestic projects, and has a footprint in Nepal, Haiti, Colombia, Peru and the United States.
History
Friends For Global Change started in 2011 after some of its founding members took a trip to Nepal. Prior to the trip, the group had identified a handful of children's organizations in Kathmandu who were in need of clothing and basic hygiene products. The group decided to hold a collection, which resulted in over 400 pounds of clothing being collected. The group flew to Nepal and was able to distribute these items to the kids, which made a lasting impact and caused them to decide to set up FFGC. Since 2011, FFGC supports two orphanages in Nepal, with a total of 40 children. They have also built a school in the remote village of Ladkeshwor, and have helped raise funds to help a young boy who had a severe skin condition caused by malnutrition and no access to medical care which caused his skin to turn white and scaley.
In 2015, Friends For Global Change decided to expand its reach. FFGC started supporting local projects in Miami, Florida and began participating in activities that engaged local shelters where displaced children were living. Some of the activities include supporting monthly birthdays for groups of kids living in the shelters and hosting holiday parties for kids displaced due to family situations. Also in 2015, Friends For Global Change decided to expand its reach into Haiti. FFGC identified two orphanages in Haiti, which serve a combined 350 children, including several which have mental and developmental disabilities. The group has made several trips to the island to spend time with the children and to deliver over 1,000 pounds of donated items. FFGC also worked with one of the orphanages to secure donations of solar panels so that they could be installed, thus providing ongoing power to the building where the children live.
In 2016, Friends For Global Change was a part of relief efforts that assisted flood victims in Peru. FFGC collected and sent over 1000 pounds of donated items, including clothing, medical supplies, and hygiene items which was distributed by an organization based in Peru who had a distribution network that could access those in the most affected areas.
In 2017, Friends For Global Change decided to once again expand into Colombia. FFGC will be making its first group trip to Colombia in the coming year to visit an organization that serves over 165 children in a village outside of Bogota.
