A world in which every child has a safe, nurturing place to call home, and a chance to achieve their potential through education.
World’s Children is a hands-on, grassroots charity. We have helped orphans and vulnerable children since 1965. We are not a large, corporate-style organization removed from the children we support.
As you go through our website and learn more about us, you may ask why are these children smiling? Because of the kindness and generosity of folks like you.
Children are often helpless victims of poverty and disaster and yet they will be the ones to shape the future.
Our mission is to provide support and education for orphans and vulnerable children in the poorest countries around the world.
World’s Children was founded by the late Rev. Edwin and Mable Purviance in 1965. They wanted to create a living memorial for an infant they lost at childbirth.
Realizing the grief they felt was akin to the grief and helplessness felt by children who lose their parents, the Purviances started World’s Children to support orphaned children in developing countries.
Using their own savings, they traveled to Central America and Asia seeking orphanages that provided loving care but struggled to meet expenses and began making appeals for support in the US.
World’s Children is a small organization that has a personal relationship with its donors, sponsors, and the children we support. Though most have never met each other, there is a family feeling about our charity.
You will not receive junk mail from us. When you call our office, you won’t be lost in a maze of phone options. You will speak directly to a dedicated staff member. And we will tell you exactly how your donation is used.
World’s Children adheres to strict standards of accountability and transparency at home and abroad.
World’s Children yearly average for Program Services is 90% with 10% used for Operations and Development. Our financial statements are reviewed by a certified public accountant (CPA).
To get an overview of the yearly activity and accomplishments of World’s Children, check out our latest annual report. It’s full of photos as well as important statistics.
World’s Children has received the highest ratings from Guidestar, Charity Navigator, and Better Business Bureau.
WORLD’S CHILDREN IS A 501(C)3 NONPROFIT REGISTERED IN THE US UNDER EIN 20-5276353. ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
2024 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Before joining World’s Children in 2017, Andy spent 8 years leading and managing complex projects in the world of VIP aviation technical publications. Prior to that, he was a technical writer and a Washington State University graduate. Andy and his wife Charity share a passion for animals, outdoor adventures, and helping children have the opportunity to reach bright futures.
I’m Tess Anderson and I’m a true Oregonian. I relocated to Sisters from Portland, Oregon with my family in 2020. Prior to moving, I’ve held numerous positions in commercial and vacation property management. I love working for World’s Children because it makes me feel like what I do makes the world just a tiny bit better.
My family and I love everything outdoors. When we aren’t hiking, skiing, or swimming, we enjoy baking, arts and crafts, and spending time with our furry family members.
Ever since high school Rachel has had an interest in international service. When she was a junior, she began sponsoring a child and took her first international service trip to Costa Rica. In college, she majored in International Studies and spent a semester studying abroad in Bolivia. Throughout college, she traveled internationally to 15 countries where she taught life skills, matched student needs with community resources, and worked with at-risk kids.
Since then, Rachel graduated with her Master’s degree, served as a Hospital Chaplain, and worked as a Certified Life & Health Coach. Rachel feels called to use her passion for writing and international service to put an end to child sex trafficking and poverty. It is a privilege to further the vision of World’s Children to create a world in which every child has a safe, nurturing place to call home and the chance to achieve their potential through education. In Rachel’s free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, hiking, paddle boarding, kayaking, and spending quality time with her family.
The International Rotary Club in May of 2017 gave Shobha Rani, orphanage administrator and World’s Children Country Director, THE ONE 2017 International Humanitarian Award “for compassion and selflessness” for her work taking in unwanted street children in India.
Shobha is well qualified by education, experience and heart for this responsibility. She has a master’s degree in Social Work. She worked as the program director of an Indian charity called Technology for the People where she managed five education centers in Hyderabad that taught computer animation to teenage girls from poor families who were at risk of child marriage. After completing the TFTP program, they were employed by IT companies at salaries that improved their families’ living situations removing the incentive for child marriage.
Shobha and her husband began taking abandoned street children into their own home, which eventually grew into the Balavikasita Sadan orphanage, which now cares for more than 70 children. As the WC India Country Director Shobha visits the orphanages supported by World’s Children, oversees the progress of funded projects, and is a member of our scholarship committee that provides over 200 college scholarships to impoverished students in India each year.
The real heart of World’s Children is the many women and men who have given their lives to care for children who may never have known a kind person before. Their love and compassion heals the emotional wounds and provides the security the children so desperately need. You can see the miracles they accomplish in the faces of the children. The International Rotary Club in May of 2017 gave Shobha Rani, orphanage administrator and World’s Children Country Director, THE ONE 2017 International Humanitarian Award “for compassion and selflessness” for her work taking in unwanted street children in India.
Grenda is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with private practices in California and Oregon. Prior to supporting individuals, couples and families in healing trauma and improving relationships, she worked as a C-Suite executive in non-profit management, health care and higher education. She has served on several non-profit boards and presently resides in Southern California.
Grenda’s passion for World’s Children’s mission began in 2010, when she learned of a group of more than forty children being served by World’s Children in need of a permanent home. Grenda raised monies to assist World’s Children in building a residence for the children of Balavikasitha Orphanage in Hyderabad, India, and began sponsoring children there. She traveled to India twice in service to fulfilling this mission, and to visit numerous orphanages being supported by World’s Children. She remains dedicated to World’s Children’s mission of serving the neediest of children on our planet.
Grenda holds a Masters in Business Administration from Texas Christian University, a Masters in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica and a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University, Los Angeles.
Cassady worked at World’s Children from 2010-2017, passing the torch as Operations Director when WC relocated to Sisters. She is currently the Finance Director at Post Carbon Institute, a sustainability think tank in Corvallis, Oregon. During her time at World’s Children, Cassady worked tirelessly to build up the Scholarship Program, and spent several weeks in India in 2012 conducting health audits at many of the sponsored children’s homes. She is the primary author of The Healthy Child Handbook, which has served her well since her twins came along in 2014.
Laasya is a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin pursuing a BSA in neuroscience and minor in Computational Science on the pre-medical track. Her journey with World’s Children started in the summer of 2018 where she was inspired to take action after visiting two of World’s Children’s homes on a vacation to visit family in India. Since then, she has helped popularize World’s Children’s child sponsorship program and aims to increase the awareness regarding child poverty in the local communities. She also started her own nonprofit to serve children in need and uses her training in Bharatanatyam (an Indian Classical dance) to help teach girls in one of World’s Children’s homes for girls with HIV. In the future, Laasya hopes to use her medical license as a traveling physician to help those across the world have access to affordable healthcare.
Trista Slowik is a perinatal nurse with over 13 years of experience caring for mothers and babies. She has a BS in Nursing and an MS in Nursing Leadership. She is also a biomedical ethics consultant, previously for Kaiser Permanente NW Region, and loves how this type of work challenges her understanding of humanity.
Trista regularly volunteers at a birth center in Cap Haitien, Haiti. Her experiences there have inspired her to continue to find ways to empower women and children around the globe. She also enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, a glass of vintage champagne, and practicing yoga. She lives on the Gulf Coast in sunny Florida.
Loretta met David Purviance on a chance trip in 2006, while seeking to be of service to the vulnerable children in India. Since then, Loretta has been a longtime supporter of World’s Children as a donor, sponsor, and previous Board member. She had the wonderful opportunity to return to India twice to visit several World’s Children orphanages, and even identified the Happy Home orphanage and petitioned to bring it into the WC family. Loretta raised funds to build a well at Happy Home, where it now has clean water for all the children and staff.
Loretta currently works with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services as the Program Manager for the six Medical Hubs – the child abuse evaluation clinics for the County. She also serves as the Program Manager for the County’s Gender Health Program, serving patients seeking gender-affirming care in a safe environment. Before her work with Los Angeles County, Loretta spent many years serving non-profit organizations in CA and in MN, her last as the Executive Director of a statewide non-profit in MN. She has a long history of volunteer work including Board Member and Board Chair service, grant writing and fundraising experience, program development, and creative leadership, all serving our most vulnerable and disenfranchised populations.
Loretta holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Services, a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology, and a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership. She lives in Los Angeles County with her partner, Myck, and their rescue kitties, Scooter and Thunder.
Sharon has happily shared much of her life serving the needs of children. In the 80’s, Sharon lived for a time in Jamaica, assisting with the needs of the most vulnerable. Her daughter was born in Jamaica, giving Sharon an awareness of the acute medical needs in many parts of the world. Because of the impact of that time, in the ensuing years Sharon has stayed informed of similar work around the world.
For many years, Sharon worked in the public school system with special-needs children (ages 3-18). The uniqueness of the needs of each child kept her aware to find creative solutions. In her work with Easter Seals with dependent adults, Sharon interacted with family systems in a holistic way, offering service to the myriad needs that arose.
The past decade has allowed Sharon the joy of being full-time nanny to her grandchildren, one of whom is on the autism spectrum. Sharon currently serves as vice-president of the board of her congregation.
Sharon has a BS in Accountancy and an MS in Counseling Psychology.
Loretta met David Purviance on a chance trip in 2006, while seeking to be of service to the vulnerable children in India. Since then, Loretta has been a longtime supporter of World’s Children as a donor, sponsor, and previous Board member. She had the wonderful opportunity to return to India twice to visit several World’s Children orphanages, and even identified the Happy Home orphanage and petitioned to bring it into the WC family. Loretta raised funds to build a well at Happy Home, where it now has clean water for all the children and staff.
Loretta currently works with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services as the Program Manager for the six Medical Hubs – the child abuse evaluation clinics for the County. She also serves as the Program Manager for the County’s Gender Health Program, serving patients seeking gender-affirming care in a safe environment. Before her work with Los Angeles County, Loretta spent many years serving non-profit organizations in CA and in MN, her last as the Executive Director of a statewide non-profit in MN. She has a long history of volunteer work including Board Member and Board Chair service, grant writing and fundraising experience, program development, and creative leadership, all serving our most vulnerable and disenfranchised populations.
Loretta holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Services, a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology, and a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership. She lives in Los Angeles County with her partner, Myck, and their rescue kitties, Scooter and Thunder.
