Philanthropy
Sheree is proud to support organizations that help children, families, and communities build a more secure future.
Supporting Fonkoze
Founded more than 23 years ago, Fonkoze works to bring financial inclusion and development services to people living in poverty in Haiti, helping them build pathways toward greater opportunity. Its family of organizations-Fonkoze Financial Services (SFF), Fonkoze Foundation, and Fonkoze USA-works together to empower Haitians, primarily women, to lift their families out of poverty.
“One morning I was reading our local newspaper, the Los Angeles Times. There was an article about some of the mothers and fathers in Haiti who had given their children away to orphanages. They had done it temporarily until they could get back on their feet after the devastating earthquake that hit their country on January 12, 2010. It was a means of survival for their children; the only way that they could make sure that they had food to eat, clothes and shoes to wear, and a way to go to school.
I was so heart struck because they told of how the children pleaded with their parents not to send them away. They didn’t care about food or clothes. They just wanted to be with their families. I thought of, as a mother, having to send my children away because I knew that this was the only way that they would be taken care of amidst extreme conditions. I thought of the pain that my actions would cause because I was thinking about them more than myself. Then I began to cry and I knew that I had to do something to contribute to the cause of making their lives better.”
Children & Families, Inc.
Sheree has also partnered with Children & Families, Inc. and serves on its board. The organization empowers young children and families to overcome adversity while promoting emotional well-being, health, and family cohesion. Its vision is to empower the future with confident and capable individuals.
Children & Families, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization providing non-traditional mental health services. Its specialty areas include prevention and early intervention for young children, from birth to age five, and support for individuals and families who have experienced trauma.
The organization believes parents, teachers, and other caregivers are agents of change in a child’s life-and that it can help facilitate that change.