William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty Agent Advocates for Impoverished and Disabled Orphans in Colombia

Vicki Gatling, founder of Hands Offering Hope Foundation,

Visits Bogota orphanage and establishes foundation goals for coming year

Darien, Conn. (April 22, 2014) —William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty announced today that Darien agent Vicki Gatling has recently returned from the Hogares Luz y Vida orphanage in Bogota, Colombia, which she visited with the foundation she created, Hands Offering Hope. During the trip, the Foundation assessed the orphanage’s current needs and developed goals for the coming year.

Gatling, who has offered her support to Hogares Luz y Vida for nearly 10 years, founded the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Hands Offering Hope in 2011 to provide better support to impoverished children in Bogota, Colombia. Hogares Luz y Vida is home to more than 150 disabled and poor children, and provides daycare services and education opportunities to over 850 children from the area’s poorest neighborhoods. The efforts of Hands Offering Hope include relational involvement, needs assessment, donations of goods, financial support and volunteer work.

The organization has determined that its goals this year include raising funds to install a rain cover over an interior recess area, as well as establishing a scholarship fund to help the orphanage’s oldest children achieve advanced education or vocational training. During the past year, Hands Offering Hope met its goals of raising money to make a newly donated van wheelchair accessible and to purchase two emergency generators. This was an especially noteworthy contribution since the orphanage experiences frequent power outages, making attending to children in the intensive care area a challenge.

“The vision and commitment of the orphanage’s founder, Sister Valeriana, together with the sustainability and social benefits I have witnessed in my travels there, really prompted me to advocate for these marginalized children,” said Gatling, who visits Bogota at least twice a year to assess ongoing and new needs, provide support and encouragement to the staff, and spend time with the children. “I have found tremendous joy in giving back.”

On the recent trip in February, Hands Offering Hope hosted a Valentine’s Day party for the children and volunteered with the care and feeding of the more severely disabled orphans. The organization’s next trip is planned for the end of July, and they welcome volunteers over 18 years old to join them on the visit. Please visit their website at http://handsofferinghope.org/ and direct any questions to [email protected].

 

About William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty

Founded in 1949, William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty manages a $3.3-billion-plus portfolio with more than 1,000 sales associates in 26 brokerages spanning Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Westchester County, New York. William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, combined with partner firm Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty, is the largest Sotheby’s International Realty(R) affiliate globally, the third-fastest-growing real estate company nationally, and the 23rd-largest real estate company by sales volume in the United States. A full-service real estate firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, William Pitt and Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty provides ancillary services including commercial services through its affiliation with Building and Land Technology, a second-generation development company based in Stamford, Connecticut; William Pitt Insurance Services; and an award-winning global relocation division.  For more information, visit the website at williampitt.com.

Sotheby’s International Realty’s worldwide network includes more than 14,000 sales associates located in 700 offices throughout the United States and 50 other countries and territories.

 

William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty Contact:

Vicki Gatling

203-655-8234

[email protected]

Post navigation

William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty Lists Samuel Keeler Home in Wilton, CTJulia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty Lists Home of Famed Bronxville Architect Harry Leslie Walker
Apr 22