#BetterTogether- Our Partner, Charlie’s Heart Foundation

May 8, 2018

Addis Jemari  is sharing with all of you a unique series about the heart and soul behind AJ…all of YOU and how we are better together. Here is a word from one of our partners, Michael Holt from Charlie’s Heart Foundation, and why he agrees we are #BetterTogether.

Why reinvent the wheel?  That’s what Charlie’s Heart Foundation faced when we started out.  We knew we wanted to help children and families in need around the world, in particular in Ethiopia.  We knew that to start our own program in Ethiopia would take considerable time and resources, and those resources would not go to those in need until we had our program and staff in place.  We knew others were already doing the work we wanted to do, so we decided to look for partnerships with those organizations.  By doing this, we wouldn’t be spending time and resources on our staff, and thus any donations we made would go directly to those in need.  And then fate let us to Addis Jemari.  Rebecca and Suzanne went to the same high school and were in the same sorority in college and through those connections, we realized Suzanne had just started a nonprofit focusing on areas that Charlie’s Heart Foundation wanted to focus on as well.  The rest is history.    Through CHF’s partnership with AJ, were are able to focus our time and resources on those in need since AJ already had the staff and organization in Ethiopia set up.  Because at the end of the day, what matters is not who gets credit for helping those in need, it’s that those in need received the help.    That’s why #BetterTogether is so important.

~Michael Holt, Financial and Compliance Director for Charlie’s Heart Foundation