Gary VanDyke, Food for Orphans' founder and CEO, began helping orphans in 1999. As the father of five, Gary has always had a heart for the needs of children. But in 1999, he visited several children's projects in Lima, Peru and as he tells it, "To watch the pain of these children's suffering was impossible for me to bear. My life was changed forever."
Gary worked with a charity that helped needy children and orphans around the world. While there, Gary visited the international projects, evaluated their needs, helped to train the staff, and communicated the children's needs to people back home. As he visited more and more orphans, Gary was touched by their helplessness and innocence. He was constantly wounded by the poor health and physical condition of the orphans he met. When asked what their biggest challenge was, orphan caregivers repeatedly said "The lack of food."
Gary knew that he could not continue to stand immobile while orphans starved. Knowing that something had to be done, he began to create an organization that would address the orphans most pressing and urgent need … food.
In 2007, Food for Orphans was officially incorporated. Our staff has vast experience and history in caring for needy children, visiting orphan homes, evaluating children's projects, training orphan care providers, measuring the needs of orphans, and sharing our advice with the orphan care providers.
Through the generous donations of caring individuals, Food for Orphans will continue to grow and expand into more countries and many more communities. Our goal is to provide food to as many orphans as possible, because their suffering cannot and will not go unheard.
We will not turn our back on their need. Nor will we be silent on how easy it is for you to help them.
