Sandlin named to The Orphan Foundation Board of Directors

Date: 10/19/2010

Oct. 20, 2010

By Katelyn Gendron

Assistant Editor

AGAWAM -- The Orphan Foundation had some pretty large shoes to fill within its board of directors when Frank Maguire passed away April 12. State Rep. Rosemary Sandlin was the woman to step into those shoes this month, according to Co-Founder and President Joe DiDonato,

"Rep. Sandlin was nominated and elected [to the board] for her extensive volunteer work in third world orphanages, her compassion, and her in-depth knowledge of the political process," DiDonato explained.

DiDonato and his wife Tatiana created The Orphan Foundation, a non-profit organization, in California in 2006 with the purpose of meeting five goals: to provide financial assistance and incentives for those wishing to adopt; to improve a child's likelihood of adoption by providing them with proper healthcare; to create a volunteer group dedicated to orphan care while they await adoption; and to provide transitional assistance for children moving from orphanages to permanent families.

"I am deeply humbled to be named to this board of directors. I have been interested in giving children stable homes [with] caring families [who] want to adopt," Sandlin said. "I have previously been involved in supporting an orphanage called Blossom in Jamaica and have always had a special place in my heart for children who have great needs.

"A cousin of mine mentioned and nominated me to this board and I am both proud and humbled to be selected," she continued. "I hope to use my skills to assist this foundation to raise awareness of the needs of both the children and the people who need assistance in adoption."

DiDonato said he and the board were looking for "somebody who understands the problem as not just a national problem."

"We needed someone who'd come in without any bias and that's Rosemary," he added.

"The orphan crisis has reached epic proportions. The number of orphans and displaced children in the world now exceeds 163 million, making this combined population the equivalent of the seventh largest nation on the planet," DiDonato said.

To learn more about The Orphan Foundation, visit www.TheOrphanFoundation.com.