Donation Guidelines
Interested in bringing down specific donations to bless those at Casa Bernabé? Contact info@foce.org to see what specific items are needed around the time of your trip. Make sure to keep these questions in mind...
Is it good quality? Is it still usable and nice looking? We work hard to instill in our children that they are deserving of a dignified standard of living, which includes the items and products they use! Making sure all donated items are still good quality helps us teach our kids that they are no less than we are!
Is this donation creating more work for the staff here? For example, bringing down the wood to build a treehouse, but not assembling it, or even worse, not supplying the tools to build it. While we understand that every child dreams of having a treehouse, leaving more work for our staff is disrespectful of their time, and takes away from time they need to invest in our children.
Will this donation actually be used? Will this truly be helpful to the children and staff? Depending on cultural norms and religious ties, sometimes items we deem normal and used in everyday life rarely are used here. If you have any questions about whether a donation would be used or not, don't be afraid to ask! Better safe than sorry.
Thinking about leaving donations here before you travel back home?
Before you do, ask yourself these questions.
Am I only leaving this item because I don’t feel like packing it with me? Just because you don’t have space in your suitcase for your basically empty shampoo bottle does not mean that we can necessarily use it, and it will most likely end up in the trash anyway.
Is this donation left in its correct place? With quick turnovers of back to back teams, help our staff out by making sure all left donations are in their proper place (aka not the dorms or pergola). Leaving medicine you ended up not using? Great! Make sure it gets taken to the clinic before you leave. Wanting to leave clothes or shoes in good condition? Thank you so much! Taking these items to our clothes bodega is your next step! Extra points for organizing the clothes!
***Please note that any cash or designated money donations have to go through the
on-site missionary coordinator and our finance office.
For non profit purposes, every cash donation for a staff member or a specific need has to be documented, and gone through the correct people.
Please never give any children or staff money without letting the on-site missionary coordinator know first. This ensures all donations are accounted for, and distributed fairly and evenly