Create a Small Business in honor of Dad with a Gift to Heifer International

Little Rock, AR, (June 13, 2011) –Father’s Day is a day we honor fathers for the important role they play in shaping their children’s lives and our society. Around the world, fathers have different lifestyles, parenting methods and challenges but they all want to provide happy and secure lives for their children. Heifer International, a charitable organization that works to end hunger and poverty, meets remarkable fathers everyday overcoming tremendous odds to provide the basic necessities to their children.

Sebastian Alvarado-Brizuela of Isletas, a father of four in Southern Honduras, suddenly became a struggling single parent after his wife abandoned their children while he was away working in another country. Their local economy did not provide sufficient job opportunities and he lacked the funds to improve his small farm to provide enough food and income for his family. They soon ran out of money and began to run out of food and the children became ill from lack of nutrition.

A local women’s group receiving assistance from Heifer International adopted Sebastian into their self-help group as “he is both father and mother to his children.” From Heifer, he received agricultural trainings and the gift of cows along with yucca and plantain for his garden to improve his crop production. Sebastian created a small business from the Heifer gifts he received seven years ago. Through selling milk and some of the cow’s calves, he has added more than 50 chickens, 20 ducks and ducklings, 3 cows, beans, pineapples and plantain to his farm. His children’s health improved within a few months after receiving their first cow and the extra income allowed his children to go to school. His daughter wants to become a nurse and one of his sons dreams of becoming a teacher.

This Father’s Day don’t purchase your dad a tie or golf shirt to check off your Father’s Day gift off your to-do list. Tell your Dad how thankful you are for all he has done and continues to do for you and let him know that you are passing on that gift around the world by helping another family provide for their children. Choose to make a donation in Dad’s name to Heifer International.

A donation of a farm animal as a Father’s Day gift provides food security and income for families across the globe. The family, which may be on the other side of the globe or right here in the U.S., receives a camel, water buffalo, cow, goat, sheep or other animal, along with training and environmentally sound agricultural maintenance practices. It’s a gift that truly makes a difference—one that can actually save a life or provide for a hopeful future. For most of us in America, a cow is an animal we see in a field and that provides milk, but for many in other countries who live on less than $2 a day, a cow is a source of a secure future for their family.

Heifer’s mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth. Since 1944, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. Heifer is currently working in more than 50 countries, including the United States, to help families and communities become more self-reliant.

For more information, visit www.heifer.org or call 501-907-2952.