When we received an email from Friend Ships to assist them with their face painting and clown makeup needs our team jumped right in. Friend Ships (a.k.a. Park West Children's Fund, Inc.) is a nonprofit, humanitarian aid relief agency. They collect corporate and private donations of food, clothing, medical equipment and other much needed items and distribute them to those in need free of charge - domestically and internationally. But their support goes beyond the tangible. Friend Ships is also committed to putting smiles on the faces of children hurt and/or scared by disasters through fun-filled events. We are so moved and humbled by how their work positively impacts countless lives across the globe. This amazing organization has delivered relief throughout the United States and to over forty countries worldwide since it was founded in 1983.
Some of the impact Friend Ships Has Made
Last fall, Friend Ships was the leading disaster relief organization in response to needed aid in Jean Lafitte, Louisiana after Hurricane Isaac. They established their outdoor Garden Cafe for three weeks, which served hot food to hundreds of people each day and provided a safe place for victims to relax. Friend Ships Sea Haws also worked alongside the National Guard distributing items and gutting damaged homes. The agency's fall hurricane relief continued after Hurricane Sandy. They shipped heavy-duty tarp to Jamaica and provided meal service to residents of the severely damaged Far Rockaway, Queens, New York - including a Thanksgiving feast and door-to-door meal deliveries.
Just last week Friend Ships helped lift the spirits of residents in the McMillan Park section of Lake Charles, Louisiana after the area was devastated by a triple homicide. They created an afternoon of fun for neighborhood children with a hot dog cart, cupcakes, homemade cookies, clowns on stilts, face painters, bucket drummers and balloon animals. Below are some images of this fabulous event.
For more information or to learn how you can help visit www.Friendships.org.
