Happy Hearts Fund
Encyclopedia
The Happy Hearts Fund is a non-profit organization with a mission to improve children's lives through educational and sustainable programs in natural disaster areas.
, India
, Indonesia
, Mexico
, Peru
, Thailand
, Sri Lanka
, Hurricane Katrina
-affected areas of the United States. Globally, HHF is active in eight countries and has built/rebuilt 46 schools and kindergartens. Its programs benefit more than 12,000 children and 230,000 community members annually.http://www.happyheartsfund.org
in 2005 to restore hope and opportunities to children affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsnami; it received its 501(c)3 status in 2006. Nemcova was in Thailand when the Indian Ocean tsunamistruck on December 26, 2004. When she returned a few months later, Nemcova witnessed families without homes, children without parents and entire communities swept away. She was most affected by the children and sought to figure out a way to help them rebuild their lives and bring back hope and opportunity. Unsatisfied with the response of organizations that were unable to specify which children, or even which country, would benefit, Nemcova set out to create her own entity and structured it so that all administrative costs would be underwritten, thereby ensuring that 100% of all donations received would be directed to children's programming.
Over time, HHF has broadened its geographic reach and now directly supports children in Haiti
, India
, Indonesia
, Mexico
, Peru
, Thailand
, Sri Lanka
and Hurricane Katrina
-affected areas of the United States.
HHF and joint venture partner ING celebrated the opening of the Arcadio Zentella school in Villahermosa, Mexico on March 30, 2010 that they rebuilt after it was destroyed in the area's flooding in 2007. This marks the first school in Mexico to be part of the Sustainable Schools Program.
On December 15, 2009, HHF Founder and Chair, Petra Nemcova, and Executive Director, Phillip Caputo, launched the “Bring Happiness Back!” campaign at the United Nations
to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, which struck on December 26, 2004. That same day, Nemcova and Caputo also participated in the closing bell ceremonies at NASDAQ
where the “Bring Happiness Back!” Campaign was also highlighted.http://www.nasdaq.com/marketsite/marketsite-events-detail.aspx?fn=200912-close12152009.txt
The “Bring Happiness Back!” Campaign's goal is to raise awareness about the plight of children in natural disasters, especially those children who are forgotten and caught in the "gap period," between first response and full recovery.
The initial objective of the “Bring Happiness Back!” Campaign was to directly assist children affected by the September 2009 earthquake in West Java
, Indonesia. After the Haitian earthquake struck in January 2010, HHF expanded the focus of the Bring Happiness Back! Campaign to support the children of Haiti as well.
HHF’s work was highlighted as part of an ABC World News and Good Morning America
feature story in December 2009 with ABC correspondent, David Muir
.http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/petra-nemcova-speaks-healing-tsunami/story?id=9344976
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Happy Hearts Fund Vision
The vision of the Happy Hearts Fund (HHF) is to rebuild children’s lives after natural disasters.When HHF Helps
HHF initiatives are focused on bridging the gap between emergency post-disaster relief and fully restored infrastructure. While disaster relief meets immediate needs for food, shelter, water and disease control, it can be some time before governments start the process of rebuilding infrastructure and that creates a gap in the recovery process. It is during this gap that HHF steps in to help rebuild.Program Structure
HHF programs have three key components: education, technology and sustainability.- 1. Education
- HHF identifies schools in areas adversely affected by natural disasters and builds or rebuilds them allowing children to start the healing and recovery process.
- 2. Technology
- Within each school, HHF establishes a computer lab with the needed IT software, hardware and :training in order to create more opportunities for children to have better education and :employment options.
- 3. Sustainability
- HHF aims to create independence through its sustainability initiatives. HHF incubates and :fosters a community-oriented business as a programmatic companion to the new schools, thereby :ensuring a long-term funding stream for the maintenance and development of the school, and, by extension, the community.
Program Results
HHF has directly helped children in several post-disaster areas, including HaitiHaiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
-affected areas of the United States. Globally, HHF is active in eight countries and has built/rebuilt 46 schools and kindergartens. Its programs benefit more than 12,000 children and 230,000 community members annually.http://www.happyheartsfund.org
HHF Admin Expenses
All HHF administrative expenses are underwritten by its board allowing 100% of all public donations to go directly towards programs.HHF History
HHF was founded by Petra NemcovaPetra Nemcová
Petra Němcová is a Czech model, television host, author, and philanthropist. She is the founder and chair of the Happy Hearts Fund. In December 2004, she was injured in Thailand by a tsunami resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake; her fiancé, photographer Simon Atlee, was killed in the...
in 2005 to restore hope and opportunities to children affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsnami; it received its 501(c)3 status in 2006. Nemcova was in Thailand when the Indian Ocean tsunamistruck on December 26, 2004. When she returned a few months later, Nemcova witnessed families without homes, children without parents and entire communities swept away. She was most affected by the children and sought to figure out a way to help them rebuild their lives and bring back hope and opportunity. Unsatisfied with the response of organizations that were unable to specify which children, or even which country, would benefit, Nemcova set out to create her own entity and structured it so that all administrative costs would be underwritten, thereby ensuring that 100% of all donations received would be directed to children's programming.
Over time, HHF has broadened its geographic reach and now directly supports children in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
-affected areas of the United States.
Recent Developments
On April 8, 2010, HHF took part in a special forum on the Millennium Development Goals with the US Chamber BCLC at the United Nations. http://bclc.chamberpost.com/2010/04/happy-hearts-to-enter-haiti.htmlHHF and joint venture partner ING celebrated the opening of the Arcadio Zentella school in Villahermosa, Mexico on March 30, 2010 that they rebuilt after it was destroyed in the area's flooding in 2007. This marks the first school in Mexico to be part of the Sustainable Schools Program.
On December 15, 2009, HHF Founder and Chair, Petra Nemcova, and Executive Director, Phillip Caputo, launched the “Bring Happiness Back!” campaign at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, which struck on December 26, 2004. That same day, Nemcova and Caputo also participated in the closing bell ceremonies at NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
where the “Bring Happiness Back!” Campaign was also highlighted.http://www.nasdaq.com/marketsite/marketsite-events-detail.aspx?fn=200912-close12152009.txt
The “Bring Happiness Back!” Campaign's goal is to raise awareness about the plight of children in natural disasters, especially those children who are forgotten and caught in the "gap period," between first response and full recovery.
The initial objective of the “Bring Happiness Back!” Campaign was to directly assist children affected by the September 2009 earthquake in West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
, Indonesia. After the Haitian earthquake struck in January 2010, HHF expanded the focus of the Bring Happiness Back! Campaign to support the children of Haiti as well.
HHF’s work was highlighted as part of an ABC World News and Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
feature story in December 2009 with ABC correspondent, David Muir
David Muir
David Muir is an American journalist and anchor for ABC News, the news division of the ABC broadcast-television network based in New York City, New York.-Early life and education:...
.http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/petra-nemcova-speaks-healing-tsunami/story?id=9344976
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