At the present we are featuring two youth projects that are helping orphans and orphanages.  The first is Youth for Africa.  A group of youth helping orphans and orphanages in Africa.  The second is a teenage girl (featured below on this page) that is working to help Haitian orphans.

Teenage Girl Establishes Charitable Organization to Benefit Haitian Orphans for Super Sweet 16 Birthday Party

Feburary 12, 2008, Scottsdale, Arizona:  While most 15-year old girls are planning parties with their friends for their 16^th birthday party, Shaelyn Mercer has instead decided to raise money to benefit Haitian orphans.  Shaelyn has partnered with her mom, Shannon Nelson, to establish S3 For a Purpose, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, in formation.  The organization is raising money to build an orphanage in Raymond, Haiti.  It is Shaelyn's goal to raise $500,000 by her Sweet Sixteenth Birthday Party on December 16, 2008.  All funds raised will go towards purchasing 17 acres of land that will be developed into a large facility that potentially could house up to 160 orphans and abandon children. This project would also provide services for the entire community including a school for up to 800 children, church, community center and recreation area.  Orphans will live in a home for possibly the first time in their lives and children throughout the area will be provided with educational opportunities to improve their future chance for success as adults.  Upon completion, the land will also include a farm with livestock that are raised for sale and/or consumption.  Farming will also be integrated into the children's education along with academic studies and trade education in order to teach them sustainable life skills.  "We as Americans are already so blessed with everything that we have," says Shaelyn.  "I just wanted to do something for a cause that I believed in and to help kids who are less fortunate than I am.""I am so proud of Shaelyn," says Shannon Nelson, Shaelyn's mother and president of S3 For a Purpose.  "She wanted to start this organization to show that teenagers can positively impact the world around them.  Rather than using financial resources for a temporary benefit, S3 For a Purpose will help youth to make a lasting impression on the world around them.  We are here to change lives, both the lives of the people who give of their resources and the lives of the people they help."S3 For a Purpose is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in formation, that was founded with the intent of assisting youth and adults in realizing their dreams of helping others and positively impacting the world around them.  Acting as a liaison and providing fund-raising support, S3 For a Purpose connects regular people with big visions to charities and organizations that need their help.  What's your dream?  Do you want to help build an orphanage in Haiti ?  Provide clean water in Sudan ?  S3 For a Purpose can help.  For more information, visit the organization's web site at
 www.futurewithpurpose.org