THE DELIA FOUNDATION

Dear Friends of the Delia Foundation,
 
As I write this from my office in Arizona, my thoughts turn to our invaluable team in Romania, the US, and the UK… to our community supporters in Barlad, Romania …. and to all of our benefactors around the globe.  And I think of how, together, we can provide support at this difficult time to the vulnerable children we serve who reside in communities with little resources.
 
Since opening the doors to our Delia’s Friends Learning Center (formerly called Vibrant Kids) last February, we have been supported by old friends and embraced by so many new ones.   We celebrated our first anniversary by moving into a larger facility that gives us the capacity to provide educational services and wellness programs to so many more orphaned children in need. Starting last week, in keeping with government regulations and to protect the kids and staff, we closed the Center through at least the third week in April.
 
While we are physically isolated from one another, our team of teachers and a psychologist are continually checking on the well-being of the children as we expect this unprecedented time to result in food insecurity for many families living in the rural villages. Our teachers continue to work on lesson plans for the future as we know that when the corona pandemic subsides, the children will be there, ready to jump right back to learning with us.  
 
While we have accomplished so much in one year, we are a young organization and need to ensure that we can meet our obligations. In particular, we are committed to continuing to pay the salaries of our dedicated staff.
 
We have so many plans for 2020 and there is no end to what we can achieve together.  Please consider making a donation so that when re-open, our program is not only stable, but continues to grow. Many of our supporters have asked about opportunities for sponsoring a child. I am pleased to be introducing our new sponsorship program, which you can find more about here.
 
As always, I am available to answer any of your questions.  Thank you for being one of Delia’s Friends.

​The look I will never forget, the look that I still think about in my dreams, the child that was alone. She had no name to most, abandoned due to her individual needs. Cleopatra had the best caregiver at the children's hospital by day, but by night she lied there alone with no one to hold her, love her, fight for her health needs. I was a Global Volunteer, a magnificent group, and amazing volunteers. The couple who run the program care deeply for the children at the orphanage and fought hard for volunteers to come. Volunteers come a few times a year to hold and care for special needs orphans.  After volunteering a few years and seeing Cleo when I would arrive,  I would leave with a broken heart. I received word a few days after coming home that Cleo had passed away. I inquired this past year about where Cleo was laid to rest, and it seems she was buried in her home village. Peace has come to beautiful Cleopatra.