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World Care History
The story of World Care began in 1993, when a group of healthcare workers from Washington D.C. traveled to Guatemala on a feasibility analysis project to identify the health conditions and the type of technology needed in rural health facilities. In this specialized team of four was Lisa Hopper, who after a thorough analysis of the present conditions, realized that the real need was not for the complex medical technology, but for the very basic life nurturing necessities such as food, shelter and most importantly - education.
On her return to Guatemala for the final evaluation with the medical team, Lisa also personally brought school supplies and distributed them to the villagers. This thoughtful gesture became a habit and in subsequent trips Lisa provided children with school supplies in Venezuela, India, Mexico, and several countries in Central America. The supplies were garnered through small donations and by recycling school materials. After her move to Tucson, AZ in 1994, Lisa’s simple humanitarian effort continued and was soon translated into World Care.
In 1996, World Care was launched as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in Arizona. World Care thus began its first program in the area of education and labeled its school supply drive Tools for Schools. In its first year, World Care's Tools for Schools project supported 200 schoolchildren. By 2004, World Care supported over 25,000 children, 268 schools and countless teachers in Arizona. Tools for Schools has been reaching out into other states and countries over the several years, helping others get textbooks and basic school supplies through their local organizations.
With the help of generous individuals who believed in the World Care vision, the organization grew. World Care Board Members and volunteers donated countless hours, professional skills and monetary resources that enabled World Care to expand its efforts into additional categories. Other "Tools" programs were born; Tools for Earth, Tools for Emergency Relief, and Tools for Health. With all of its activities, the philosophy of recycling and reusing valuable resources lies at the core of World Care operations. To date, World Care occupies the former Julia Keen Elementary School through a partnership with the Tucson Unified School District. The 10 acre facility allows World Care to categorize all in-kind donations and provides working space for hundreds of volunteers who would like to help others in need. In addition, the site houses World Care’s own book and thrift store – selling low-cost books and other goods to the general public and providing an additional source of revenue for the organization which is channeled back to relief efforts.
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World Care received
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