Orchard Park Friends desire to help build a just and peaceful world for every person.  To that end, we currently support these organizations with volunteer efforts and funding.

Peruvian Outreach Project. POP

POP provides additional resources to enrich the lives of the children and young people living in the Aldea Infantil Virgen del Pilar orphanage in Tarapoto, Peru.  This effort originated from  the spiritual leading of our member Cristian Johnston. Cristian Johnson was adopted at the age of four from the Aldea Infantil Virgen del Pilar orphanage in the San Martin Department of Peru.  Eighteen years later, he was inspired to give back to his community of origin, creating the  Peruvian Outreach Project, Inc (POP) non-profit to do just that. Initially supported by the Orchard Park Friends Meeting, POP has expanded its outreach with a mission to enhance the lives of vulnerable children and young adults living in the San Martin Department of Peru. A member  of Orchard Park Friends Meeting, Johnston has personally spent months volunteering at the orphanage by teaching English,  improving water quality at the orphanage, building flower beds, revamping a bakery which now provides fresh bread for the orphanage, and more.  Through fundraising and collaboration, POP has added vegetable gardens and provides transportation of weekly local food donations to the Aldea. To help with the battle against Covid-19, POP has funded the opening of  a clinic  on site so that children and staff can receive timely treatments.
 
Recently POP has embarked on an additional ambitious project designed to support young women in their quest for post-secondary education and vocational training in Tarapoto.  Named for a beloved house mother of the Aldea who recently passed away due to COVID -19,  Hogar Hermelinda will be a  safe home for young women who are determined to better their economic and educational circumstances.  POP is working with friends in Peru to establish this safe home for young women who have either aged out of the orphanage or are from local villages without the support system in place to further their education. OPFM is committed to  helping to fund this project. We encourage all to shop and mention POP in December at Ten Thousand Villages, 736 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, where a percentage of the sales during the month will be donated to POP. You can learn more by visiting peruvianoutreachproject-pop.org.

Friends of Kenya Rising. FKR

FKR assists families and their children as they rise out of poverty in Western Kenya through education, agriculture, starting small businesses, and community efforts to repair homes. This project was born out of a spiritual leading of our member Alison Hyde.As part of the Meeting's international outreach, we financially support a family in Kenya under FKR's Family Care Plan.

Family Promise of Western New York

Family Promise provides emergency shelter for homeless families, keeping families together during the crisis of homelessness.

Jericho Road Community Health Center Buffalo

Jericho Road Community Health Center provides holistic health care for the underserved and marginalized to be healthy, educated, and whole; in order to demonstrate the unconditional love of Jesus.

Friends Center for Racial Justice

Ithaca Monthly Meeting brings together Quakers from  a wide area to discuss and work for racial justice.

Housing Opportunity Made Equal.  H.O,M.E.

H.O.M.E serves the Western New York community through advocacy, the enforcement of fair housing laws, education, and the creation of housing opportunities.

Oglala tribe, Wounded Knee Community on the Pine Ridge Reservation, SD

Through Farmington-Scipio Regional Meeting, Friends learn from and respond to the residents of Wounded Knee about, for example, the need for food, blankets and other essentials during frigid winters.

Peace of the City Buffalo

Peace of the City links Advocacy, Transformation, Literacy,  and the Arts so as to radically shift the trajectory of the youth we love.

For further information, Google the organization or ask a member of Orchard Park Friends Meeting.