The difference we make
We take an active role in seeking out projects and programs with urgent needs and proven results. Your support allows us to take the immediate and vital actions to ensure success.

Impacting lives through the support of assistance dogs

When we first learned of this project, we immediately wanted to pitch in. With your support, we were able to provide funding to pay for all the expenses associated with the training of four assistance dogs.

The first person helped was an 8-year-old victim who was traumatized at the thought of testifying in court until she met the assistance dog Sam! He stayed at her side through the whole terrifying experience, calming her and giving her the courage she needed. Sam is one of the first court assistance dogs in Maricopa County.

Two other people to benefit were retired veterans. One suffered a brain injury during active duty and the other is a quadriplegic who was injured in a car accident. With the support of their service dogs, they both will be given new found independence and a greater sense of security. We are thrilled to participate in providing these valuable services to the disadvantaged members of our community.

Arizona’s wildlife get a second chance at life

We have been an enthusiastic supporter of Southwest Wildlife Rehabilitation & Educational Foundation for the last three years. Since its inception, thousands of wild animals have been rehabilitated. Over 70% of the animals that have passed through their doors have been released back into the wild. Those that cannot be released, due to the extent of their injuries, or have been habituated to humans, spend their lives in the accredited wildlife sanctuary.

Thanks to you, most of the funds we received will be utilized to purchase additional land, as they are beyond capacity at their current facility.

Making learning experiences possible for 3rd graders

Nadaburg Elementary School serves mostly underprivileged children and recently, the 3rd grade field trips were eliminated due to budget cuts. Participants in a leadership program in the West Valley chose to take the 3rd graders to the Out Of Africa Wildlife Park. Admission had been donated but getting there was still a problem. FTWAV helped make this special trip possible by donating the bus transportation and lunches for 60 children and their chaperones.

After the trip, teachers had tears in their eyes saying that most of the kids would never have had this opportunity had it not been for our support. And we would not have been able to provide it without yours!

Providing homeless children with backpacks and
school supplies

With the dramatic increase in the number of homeless children attending school in Maricopa County, we decided to direct our support to providing essential school supplies to these children. Through a grant made to The Real Gift Foundation’s Back-to-School Program, we were able to provide backpacks, notebooks, paper, pens, pencils, and more for an entire school.

Dreams come true for children with life-threatening illnesses

Since 2002, Kurt Warner’s First Things First Foundation has been making dreams come true for families with children dealing with life-threatening illnesses. These children and their families face unimaginable challenges such as cancer, sickle cell anemia, cardiac defects, and renal transplants.

First Things First teams up with Walt Disney World Resorts, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Give Kids the World to treat these brave children and their families to a weeklong vacation at the magical world of Mickey, Donald and Goofy in Orlando, Florida. This annual trip provides a much-needed escape from these issues that have to be faced on a day-to-day basis.

This year, First Things First was thrilled when we joined the team to underwrite the flights for all 8 families, which included 25 children plus 17 parents and guardians. Because of your generous support, we were able to help make their dreams come true!

A better life for families in a domestic violence shelter

New Life Center is a domestic violence shelter dedicated to helping families achieve independent, violence-free lives. Since last year, they have been able to provide 30,516 bed nights of service to 906 women and children. Sadly, 457 of the residents were young children accompanying their mothers.

With your support, we were able to make a significant contribution as well as facilitate donations of art supplies, games, toys, bed sheets, and a library for New Life Center’s newly constructed Child Development Center.

Through our partnership with New Life Center, the new Child Development Center is an imaginative play environment where children can dress up in play clothes, “cook” in the play kitchen, play foosball and ping pong in the teen area, and interact with other families in the music center.

Wildlife refugees

As our population grows and habitats shrink, releasing rehabilitated native animals back into the wild becomes difficult. We partnered with Southwest Wildlife after purchasing 60 remote acres to be used as a wildlife conservatory. Today, coyotes, raccoons, ringtail cats, gray foxes, a badger, bobcats, and three herds of javelina have been released for a second chance at life.

Hope for children

Children and teens need not be perpetual victims. Whether it’s helping homeless children with education and their special needs, helping runaway teens find their way to safety or improving the odds for those with autism, we support the programs that give kids the opportunity to rise above their life conditions and grow into promising futures.

Bear necessities

We helped Southwest Wildlife build a bear cub rehab area where orphaned cubs could integrate with non-releasable female bears. Here, they can be raised without human imprinting — giving them a better chance of survival in the wild.

For the lion hearted

Evicted from their sanctuary of more than a decade, the lions and other wildlife of Out of Africa had only 30 days to find a new home. For Those Without A Voice stepped in to help relocate the big cats to temporary homes and provide emergency funds for food, medicine and basic operating expenses. For Those Without A Voice also donated money and time to help build some of the habitats the animals now enjoy today as part of Out of Africa’s new home in Camp Verde, AZ.

Wishes granted

With only two weeks to live, a 9-year-old boy with brain cancer asked to meet the New York Yankees. For Those Without A Voice helped make his wish come true. They picked him up at the airport and took him to an Arizona Diamondbacks vs. New York Yankees game. The New York Yankees invited the ailing boy to their dugout, where they gave him an autographed baseball and he met his favorite players. The boy was bald from chemotherapy, so Joe Torre took off his own baseball cap and gave it to the young man to cover his head. The boy looked up and said, “I’m the luckiest boy in the whole world.”

Second chances for children

Responding to a death of 12-year-old girl who had been beaten to death by her parents, paramedics found her 9-year-old sister cowering in the bathroom. Examining her, they said it was one of the worse cases of child abuse they had ever seen. Her face and body were disfigured from untreated broken bones and burns. For Those Without A Voice was moved to donate money for her medical treatment, reconstructive surgery and ongoing emotional care and well being to give her a second chance for a normal life.

Shelter from abuse

The New Life Centers are shelters in the Phoenix area where woman and children can find safety and sanctuary from abusive relationships. When the New Life Center opened in the Phoenix’s West Valley, For Those Without Voice donated all the sheets, blankets and pillows for the 40 new beds.

Drowning prevention

In partnership with the Phoenix Fire Department Charities, For Those Without A Voice donates funds to purchase pool fences for those who cannot afford them. These fences help prevent accidental drowning of young children who fall into pools.

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