One fine summer morning in 1989, a young college student, Lynn Hawkins, began to volunteer at Casa de Esperanza de Los Ninos in Houston, Texas. What she saw there horrified her, inspired her, and then eventually changed her life. Children rescued from horrific scenes of child abuse were provided a home there and a team of loving individuals who had dedicated their lives to social service nurtured them tenderly.

 

Smiles replaced the fear on the children’s faces gradually, Lynn wanted to make this her life. She returned home to New Jersey and started volunteering as a child care worker at a group home in Jersey City.  There she met the most important person in her life, the one-year-old curly haired baby, the one who would give a new meaning to her dream, her adopted daughter Quady. Little did she know that this little baby would grow up to have a similar dream, to open a home to provide a safe haven for children and families at risk in New Jersey.

Twenty something years later, Quady graduated from Seton Hall and made her mother a promise, that she would work on her mother’s dream and together they would build the home. She kept her promise. They travelled back to Houston to understand how the community care system worked and started planning a home here in New Jersey. Today, the mother-daughter duo, armed with expertise and knowledge, need your help to form of community who cares about children and their futures.

 

Come, be a part of their journey!