CELEBRATE WITH US BY SUPPORTING REFUGEES

Dear family and friends,

We are so grateful to have each of you in our lives and we are excited to share the next chapter of our story with all of you. The experiences we have had in life have shown us in our hearts that it is incredibly important to set aside the daily grind of the world and help others where we can. We would like to celebrate the start of our combined lives together by helping others most in need.

As we imagined how we would celebrate our commitment to each other, we kept coming back to the same feeling: we wanted to celebrate by giving back and helping others.

We found Lifting Hands International by researching refugee focused nonprofits in Utah. Refugees face incredible challenges in life including loss of home, family, and everything they love. They may also have no access to clean drinking water, food, or shelter. We chose LHI because of the kindness, generosity, and real impact they have in the lives of those they serve. They help people in the most need.

We have both spent time abroad helping with Humanitarian missions. Our travels across the world and the interactions we have had with people of all walks of life has instilled in us endless gratitude for the value of life and for helping others. We both have careers that give us opportunities to serve others and help make positive impacts on our community.

Nelly is a Registered Nurse/Pharmacist and worked in the OR at the U of U hospital while also working as a Nurse in the Army National Guard. During his work, he saw the darkest parts of the world and sometimes felt incredibly helpless. And, there were also times when he saw the best. He was part of medical humanitarian missions and all they did was to help others get the medical care they needed as urgently as possible. He was inspired to see people wear glasses for the first time and actually be able to see the world. It was also life changing for others when he helped provide medical care so they could finally get relief from years of pain. Sometimes, it broke his heart when he saw patients that were close to death and he could do nothing but give them a hug.

Lauren is a High School Science teacher and has worked at large public schools and small charter schools. She always tries to leave the world a better place through kindness, charity, and compassion. In 2016, she helped chaperone a group of students on a humanitarian mission to Haiti where the majority of their time was spent playing with children in orphanages. The group also took part in other projects such as delivering school supplies to a remote mountain village, providing food to another village, and helping other nonprofits organize donated medical supplies. Each class day, Lauren tries her best to teach lessons on not just science, but life skills and how to be a better person.

We are so grateful for the love and support of our family and our dear friends. Thank you for all your kindness.

We would love for you to celebrate the joining of our lives together by sharing our desire to help the world. If you can, please consider a small gift to support refugees in need by donating to Lifting Hands International.

With Love,
Lauren and Nelly