Building a Future is an international, philanthropic nonprofit organization

Nonprofit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 dedicated to improving the lives of impoverished children in Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

. BAF currently operates in Tegucigalpa

Tegucigalpa

Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...

, Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

.

History

In December 2007, Building a Future became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. BAF was started in 2004 by a group of Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

 students. They were inspired to do something of social importance that would have an impact at an international level.

Jose Mahomar and Robert Furr (now BAF Directors) took a leap of faith by proposing a philanthropic idea that would seek to provide education to impoverished children in Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

. The idea for BAF started in a class titled ‘Academy for Future International Leaders’ and then developed into an organized effort supported by Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

 and is currently in process of forming a partnership with the Borlaug Institute. Jose and Robert decided to keep pursuing their vision and some of their closest friends at TAMU joined in.

Texaco Family Support Center

Since January 2006, Building A Future (BAF) has served a community of over 500 children with the construction the Texaco Family Support Center. This was BAF’s first project initiative and its success has confirmed the desire to create a bigger impact in other communities in Honduras.

In June 2008, BAF secured another additional donation from Chevron Texaco to provide educational material, such as a computer, a projector, and a photocopier, to the center.

Junior Master Gardener Program

In February 2009, BAF in partnership with the Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University

Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...

will host the Junior Master Gardener Program. This program includes curriculum which educates children with a special focus on agriculture and has the potential to be implemented at other educational facilities throughout Honduras as.

1,000 Children are in Need Campaign

In July 2009, BAF began a campaign to keep eight family support centers in Tegucigalpa, Honduras from closing due to a lack of funding. As a result of the political turmoil, the centers did not receive subsidies that they depend on to remain operational. To prevent these centers from closing or reducing operations, BAF sought to raise at least $12,000USD to fill the gap.

Fun in the Park Event

As part of this campaign, BAF plans to host a fundraising event in Coconut Grove's Kennedy Park near Miami, FL on August 15, 2009. The event will have food, games, and entertainment and in exchange for suggested donations to support the campaign.

External links

• Official Building a Future website
• Official Building a Future Facebook Page