In the spirit of Christmas, we’d like to share the story of the Asian Pacific Children’s Fund, a non-profit organization supporting children that don’t have a family to celebrate the holidays with – to put it lightly.

We’re a wealth management services firm and don’t claim to be anything beyond that. Social responsibility to us does not mean moralizing; it primarily means owning up to what we can control, working hard, and treating the ones around us with respect. So, we don’t usually endorse non-profit organizations.

However, there is one exception: The Asian Pacific Children’s Fund (APCF) who’s founder, Don and Molly McAlvany, have been lifelong family friends of our founder and chairman, Frank R. Suess. Frank joined their board years ago and personally vouches for what they do.

The Beginnings of APCF

The first seed for APCF was planted in 2002, on a trip to the Philippines, where Don and Molly encountered an orphan’s home. They realized how prevalent child trafficking and abuse truly were and how great the need for well run children’s homes was. Seeing that this home was barely able to financially support their protégés, they started sending over money and travelling back and forth regularly.

At around the same time, their youngest son, Scott, got involved with homes in Indonesia and India, selling Asian jewellery and collecting small donations amongst his college friends to give support.

After four years though, they realized that if they wanted to maximize their impact beyond their private funds and the funds of some friends, they had to formalize the endeavour. And so they did, starting with a logo sketched out on a napkin in a Swiss train:

Looking into the Future

As of now, APCF supports 14 homes in India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal and the Philippines. Don and Molly have been living in one of them since 2006. They regularly visit all the other homes and make sure standards are met. As they are getting older, Scott and his wife, Jenny, who used to be home parents in an Indonesian home and lived in Asia for 14 years, are now stepping back in.

While Don and Molly are building a “boots on the ground” team who will take over their role when time comes, Scott is building an international team to increase their reach and funding. The family has a clear vision on how to extend their impact:

So, if for Christmas you are looking to donate a small amount to a project that has a real impact, we warmly recommend the Asian Pacific Children’s Fund. Visit their website here https://www.apcf.world/ or find their donation link here https://www.apcf.world/support-us.

Merry Christmas!

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