Bonus #3 - Champions of Charity: Tammy Cannon: Working from the Heart

OVERVIEW:

Jason A. Duprat, Entrepreneur, Healthcare Practitioner and Host of the Healthcare Entrepreneur Academy podcast is launching a new quarterly bonus series. In these episodes, Jason will interview inspirational leaders who are making a difference in the lives of others through their charity, foundation or nonprofit work. In this debut episode, Jason speaks with Tammy Cannon, Founder and Executive Director of Project 143 (P143), an international orphan hosting program. Tammy discusses the hosting process, the struggles the children face and P143’s fundraising efforts. 

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Tammy founded P143 based on her desire to help orphans and loving families find a connection. At the program’s launch, there were 143 million orphans around the world, which inspired the name.  
• Tammy talks about the different countries they’ve connected with, which includes the Ukraine, Latvia and Columbia. She also shares how orphans are selected for the program and how families are matched.
• Some factors the organization considers are the resilience of the children and their desire to travel and interact with host families. 
• Tammy partners with different adoption agencies to allow families the option of adoption after hosting a child. She also forges connections with each country’s governments and their embassies for the Visa process. 
• Tammy explains how the language barrier has been a challenging yet fruitful opportunity for both the children and the host families. 
• P143 provides support for older children in the orphanages. This includes helping them as they grow to become young adults, move out of the orphanage and find a permanent home. 
• The financial areas of need for P143 include host fees, transportation fees, paperwork, insurance and scholarships.  
• P143 ensures host families are supported through counseling so they understand the background and possible traumas the children may have faced. 
• Tammy shares a story about one of her early host families and how this continues to inspire her in her leadership role for P143. 
• The organization does fundraising to support the specific needs of the orphanages. This includes buying games, personal protective equipment and even building a swimming pool and a kitchen! 

3 KEY POINTS:

1. P143 provides host programs allowing children and host families to connect. They also partner with several adoption agencies and international governments if host families decide they want to adopt after they host. 
2. Growing up in an orphanage is a difficult life and some children suffer from trauma.  P143 provides the children with life skills and also offers counseling to the host families on how to care for the children with love and understanding.
3. The organization is a nonprofit and volunteer-led. One key area of financial need is the scholarship program.  

 

TWEETABLE QUOTES

“They’re not orphans by choice. They’ve had a tough time, they’ve been overlooked for some reason, and the older they get, the more overlooked they become.” - Tammy Cannon

 

“What we’re attempting to do is remove the stigma of an older child adoption…what we’re trying to do is give these older kids a face, a name and a personality.” - Tammy Cannon

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Project One Forty Three Website - https://www.p143.org/

143 Million Reasons Blog Website - https://143millionreasons.org/

 

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