Opportunity International Canada

Opportunity International Canada provides financial services and training to over 18 million people working their way out of poverty in 30 low-income countries. The MDRT Foundation’s 2023 Global Grant, endorsed by David Reeve, CEA, BA, allowed Opportunity International Canada to empower 2,047 marginalized women grappling with extreme poverty in the Dominican Republic. Groups of 20-30 women spanning 15 communities participated in customized training sessions over 12 weeks. These women increased capacity, agency, inclusion, and their sense of wellbeing to manage personal and business finances and follow budgets. These groups empowered members to participate actively in their finances and household decisions, gaining the confidence and skills they need to successfully run their businesses, households, and futures.

Encompass Early Education and Care

“I was 2 and hadn’t said a word yet,” said Laura K.G. Mossakowski, CFP. “After a month or two at Encompass Early Education, I was talking in complete sentences.”

Mossakowski’s mom had recently moved the 18-year MDRT member from Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA, and her three siblings from Milwaukee to Green Bay — a little more than 100 miles away — to leave an abusive marriage for a more supportive environment. At Encompass, Mossakowski and her brother quickly began attending day care full time and benefitted from its programs.

Encompass serves more than 1,200 kids across seven child care facilities. The money from the MDRT Foundation grant will fund and expand Encompass’ weekend food packs program for kids.

Worldwide Education Fund

In 2008, 44-year member Kamal N. Daya, CLU, ChFC, founded the Worldwide Education Fund (WEF), of the Dallas Foundation, to enhance English-language fluency in central and southern Asia. The goal stems from his experience coming to the U.S. as a refugee from Bangladesh at age 18.

Today, WEF works with about 10,000 kids and hundreds of adults in nine different countries (including remote areas with minimal electricity or internet). The 2023 MDRT Foundation grant will help support the high school program of WEF’s Global Virtual School, a hybrid learning environment in which teachers from their homes in primarily English-speaking countries teach students gathered in physical schools.

Tangled Feet Theatre Company

Tangled Feet’s Mindfulness Project is geared toward students who are having difficulty in school because of mental health challenges. The MDRT Foundation grant goes toward the project’s in-school workshops taught by drama therapists that include creative activities, storytelling, yoga and breathing exercises. These workshops, launched in 2018, help young people quiet negative thoughts while in a supportive group setting.

“Mindfulness is a real skill, and theater is a great way to teach it,” said grant sponsor Carla Brown, FPFS, a six-year MDRT member from Cuddington, England, UK, who studied drama but always preferred to go to the theater rather than be on stage.

Cycling Without Age Singapore

In 2019, Cheng Huann Yeoh, ChFC, CLU, an 11-year MDRT member from Singapore, signed up to volunteer with Cycling Without Age Singapore (CWAS). The organization provides 20- to 90-minute trishaw rides for nursing home residents who have limited time outside or contact with others.

A trishaw is a mix between a rickshaw and a bicycle, with the driver, known as a pilot, pedaling the bike from behind. One passenger is the elderly resident, and sometimes another volunteer rides along and converses with the nursing home resident.

The MDRT Foundation grant helps fund the trishaws and secure storage facilities for the vehicles, as well as program expansion.

Soaring Spirits International

After Soaring Spirits International co-founder Michele Neff Hernandez lost her husband in a bicycling accident in 2005, she realized that not only did she not know the answer to a host of questions — from how long to wear her wedding ring to what to do with her husband’s clothes — but that she longed to connect with other people who understood what she was feeling and allowed for sadness without trying to fix it. She realized that while there is no one right answer for anyone who is grieving, creating a place where everyone’s stories could coexist was hugely important.

Soaring Spirits has provided support and connection for more than 4 million widowed people since its inception in 2006.

Opportunity International Canada

Opportunity International Canada provides financial services and training to over 18 million people working their way out of poverty in 30 low-income countries. The MDRT Foundation’s 2023 Global Grant, endorsed by David Reeve, CEA, BA, allowed Opportunity International Canada to empower 2,047 marginalized women grappling with extreme poverty in the Dominican Republic. Groups of 20-30 women spanning 15 communities participated in customized training sessions over 12 weeks. These women increased capacity, agency, inclusion, and their sense of wellbeing to manage personal and business finances and follow budgets. These groups empowered members to participate actively in their finances and household decisions, gaining the confidence and skills they need to successfully run their businesses, households, and futures.