The Mary Ryan Foundation

Welcome! Karibu!

The Mary Ryan Foundation (MRF) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide relief and assistance to impoverished communities within Tanzania, specifically by supporting orphans and children living in the most difficult environments within those communities. The Mary Ryan Foundation was initially formed out of a need identified by Michelle Santoro, who was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the village of Ilembo, Tanzania from 2008-2010. Inspired by what Michelle was doing, a committed group of friends and family in the US came together to turn words into action by forming a non-profit that would dedicate itself to giving these underserved children a chance to continue their education, and with that, an opportunity to improve their quality of life and create better futures for themselves and their families. The Mary Ryan Foundation is named after Michelle's grandmother, "Mommom," because of the love she had for all children.

Since 2009, the MRF has: identified the most vulnerable children of Ilembo by mobilizing motivated leaders in the community to form an Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Committee; sponsored Secondary School tuition and educational materials for over 120 students in Ilembo; improved the communication between teachers, students and their families through regular monthly meetings; offered trainings targeting orphans and out of school youth in HIV/AIDS awareness, entrepreneurship, budgeting, and life skills; formed peer education and community theatre groups who have taught or performed in over ten villages; designed a vocational program that gives out of school youth valuable business skills of tailoring, carpentry and masonry; and constructed a vocational school (The Mike McMahon Center for Children) to ensure there is enough room to accomodate the growing number of students who wish to attend. Although Michelle's Peace Corps service is over, the MRF continues to work with the current Peace Corps Volunteer, OVC Committee, village, ward and district leaders to monitor current projects and identify new areas of intervention.

THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING THE 3RD ANNUAL SILENT AUCTION ON OCTOBER 27, 2011!

Thanks to those who joined us for the 3rd Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser at The Great American Pub in Conshohocken, PA! This was our best year yet--With your support, we raised over $15,000! (and had a great time while doing so!)

A special thanks to our sponsors from 2011:

The Michael J. and Patricia Levitt Charitable Family Foundation (Platinum sponsor)

The Talone Insurance Group - www.taloneinsurance.com

The West Company - www.westpharma.com

To see where your donations have made an impact, please click on the attached powerpoint:

2011_silent_auction_powerpoint.MSpptx.pptx [5.7Mb]