Exciting Program Updates!

Spring 2008

Dear Friends,

I often get asked, "How did you ever think to send your milk to Africa?"

It started with just a stir in my belly. The thought of any baby not having enough nourishment to survive while my freezer was overflowing with hundreds of bags extra breast milk just didn't seem right.

Then, while on a flight home to visit my family, I came across a few paragraphs in a book entitled: "There is No Me Without You" by Melissa Faye Green that would forever change my life. The following passage - its shocking statistics, and scope - struck me then and now. Green writes:

"Twelve million orphans today. Twenty-five million orphans tomorrow...The ridiculous numbers wash over most of us. This is happening in our time? We, who have read the histories of the Armenian genocide and of the Holocaust...find ourselves safely tucked away. We may feel a sad tug of common cause with human misery on the far side of the Tropic of Cancer, but we are disconnected from it by a thousand degrees of space and time. This is true even in the hardest-hit countries, because even in the highest-prevalence countries of Asia and Africa, there are comfortable citizens-including elected leaders-keeping their hemlines above the rising waters.

How can the rest of us-normal citizens, steering along our paved streets between home and school, work and playground, mall and hardware store, holding open the front door with a foot while maneuvering inside with the mail, the grocery sacks, the purse, a paperback, the children's backpacks-how can the rest of us break through?

...In the coming months and years, I would learn that-just as there is no blood test to identify who will jump into the fray-there is no simple biographical arc either. No resume can predict why this man or woman, at a safe remove suddenly announces, 'This is my fight.'"

From that point forward, I decided that I couldn't sit still any longer. This would be my fight, too.

A generation of moms is being erased by the HIV/AIDS crisis. Over 15 million babies and children are being left behind in Africa. Donating milk to Africa is not the answer to the crisis, nor is it going to save the world. But it does shine a light on what we can do to help with the resources that we have.

It is easy to become paralyzed because the world's problems are so enormous that we are not sure where to begin. It is easy to feel helpless when we can only make small efforts with minimal results. However, our organization provides moms with the opportunity to take the first step toward making a difference, just by opening their freezer.

I want to thank each of you who have decided to make this your fight. You have done this by donating milk, volunteering, or becoming involved in your own way. The best example of this generosity of spirit and boldness in belief comes from West Babylon High School in New York. A teacher with a passion for helping HIV/AIDS infants in Africa and an inspired student who will attend New York University's film school next year, created a mini-documentary of their personal contribution to the fight against inadequate nutrition and the global HIV/AIDS crisis. In the process, the community of West Babylon, led by one teacher and one student raised over $10,500 for the cause.

www.breastmilkproject.org/video

If you have an idea, talent, passion, or resource, let us know on the Brainstorming section of our website. No idea is too small, too insignificant or too outlandish. After all, this organization started from one idea that most people thought was too difficult and too impossible to even try.

You can also get involved by supporting the organizations that support us on the Shop section of our website.

You can even make a simple cash donation.

The size of your involvement or contribution is not important. It is the power of your commitment and passion to join with others as we do what we can with what we have to make the world a little better for those in need.

This is my fight. I think about this challenge every day when I wake up, when I go through my daily routine and when I lie down to sleep at night. It keeps me going. I hope you join us and together we can make a difference.

Jill Youse
Founder
jill@breastmilkproject.org

December 2007

Winter Update

Happy Holidays from International Breast Milk Project!

A close friend and advisor recently said: “The common ingredient in breast milk is a mother’s love.” Thank you for your continued gift of life and love for infants orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

This month, International Breast Milk Project, was awarded the Charities Review Council “Meets All Standards” Seal indicating that it meets all sixteen of its Accountability Standards.

We earned this prestigious Seal by voluntarily participating in the Council’s online Accountability Wizard. The Accountability Wizard is available to all nonprofit organizations soliciting in Minnesota and addresses a nonprofit organization’s performance in four critical areas: Public Disclosure, Governance, Financial Activity and Fundraising. By participating in the Accountability Wizard, nonprofit organizations can demonstrate responsibility, integrity and transparency to their constituents.

International Breast Milk Project is now listed as a reviewed organization on the online Giving Guide of the Council’s Smart Givers Network, www.smartgivers.org. The listings help a nonprofit organization demonstrate its commitment to accountable ethical practices to the public and that it is a trustworthy organization. The Council’s Smart Givers Network is the source of unbiased information where smart givers come for help and resources on responsible giving. You can investigate International Breast Milk Project’s mission statement and programs, so you can be sure of what their money supports and determine whether it meets widely accepted standards.

As an additional demonstration of our commitment to transparency and accountability, our financial information is now available on our website for public review. View our reports here.

We also recently received photos of the rainwater harvesting tanks and water filtration systems that you helped Lewa Children’s Home to purchase that you can see here. Lewa Children’s Home serves 87 children ranging from infants to teenagers. The clean water systems not only ensure safe, sustainable water for the children, but the water also nourishes the vegetable and dairy farm surrounding the children’s home, so that children can eat healthy, farm-fresh food straight from the field. More information about the Lewa Children's Home and Baraka Farm can be found at www.lewachildrenshome.info.

We wish you and your family the very happiest of holidays and thank you for your continued generous support of International Breast Milk Project and infants orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Sincerely,

Jill Youse
Founder

October 2007

Dear Friends of the International Breast Milk Project,

On Thursday, October 18th, the International Breast Milk Project was thrilled to send off 50,000 ounces of breast milk to the iThembu Lethu orphanage in Durban, South Africa. We were fortunate to have had the shipment covered by ABC World News, as follow up to a story they featured on IBMP one year ago. It was an honor to be selected as ABC’s ‘Person of the Week. The story can be viewed at: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3753908&affil=kabc.

Thanks to all of you, as of May 31st, IBMP had over 800 milk donor applicants from across the United States, and 305 of these mothers made donations totaling 55,000 ounces of breast milk. All 55,000 ounces have been sent to South Africa, with 5,000 ounces shipped in May of 2007, and the remaining 50,000 ounces arrived just last night to Durban. IBMP cannot thank our donors enough. Without each and every one of you, we could not have made this historic event possible.

Our partners have truly made our dream a reality: Prolacta collected and processed the milk to ensure quality and safety standards equal to their products in the U.S., and Quick International Courier personally accompanied the shipment of breast milk to South Africa to ensure its safe arrival at the iThembu Lethu orphanage.

This month, Lewa Children’s Home in Kenya will receive the first installment of the over $70,000 we raised for the development of a new healthcare clinic to serve the orphans and surrounding community. The funding will be provided in monthly increments and as construction milestones are achieved. This funding is based on the donations of milk from May 31, 2007 – August 31, 2007. On behalf of the Lewa Home, International Breast Milk Project, and the children who will soon have access to improved healthcare, we thank you. We will provide photo updates on our website for you as we receive them so you can see first hand what a difference your milk is making.

In addition to helping the Lewa Home, we have identified a village in Tanzania in desperate need of basic healthcare. At this time, we plan on donating funds to help provide this village and surrounding villages with a clinic and a health care staff starting in 2008. Details are still being finalized.

We will continue providing updates about IBMP and our endeavors, so please visit our website on a regular basis, www.breastmilkproject.org.

Sincerely,

Jill Youse
Founder

50,000 ounces of donor milk arrives in Durban, South Africa
on Saturday, Oct. 20th, 2007

September 2007

Dear International Breast Milk Project Family,

We are excited to welcome Village Life Outreach to the International Breast Milk Project family. Village Life Outreach is a physician-run organization that is dedicated to improving health care, education, and sanitation to impoverished areas in Africa. You can read more about them at www.villagelifeoutreach.org. In addition to funding the Lewa Children’s Home in Kenya, we are planning to help Village Life Outreach provide desperately needed health care for infants in rural Tanzania throughout 2007-2008. We plan to contribute to the construction of a community health care clinic and help fund an on-site health care team.

Because of your generosity, in addition to shipping thousands of ounces of donor milk to iThemba Lethu in Durban, South Africa, we have donated $13,000 to the Lewa Children’s Home in Kenya, another $15,000 for clean water and health care projects in Tanzania, and $5,100 for hospital equipment in Cameroon through Dr. Peter McCormick’s Beryl Thyer Memorial Africa Trust. Finally, thanks to your support, we will be shipping a record-breaking amount of donor milk to Africa that was collected through May 31st – over 55,000 ounces.

All of the funds generated from US donor milk from May 31st through August 31, 2007 will support a new community health care clinic that will serve the Lewa Children’s Home and the surrounding community. Construction is set to begin in early 2008. We will continue to post photos and details about our projects so you can see first hand what a difference your milk and funding is making. You can also read more about our projects by visiting the “What We Do” section of our website.

We are always evaluating opportunities to partner with on-the-ground organizations to help us work toward our mission of improving access to health care for infants in impoverished areas. If your organization is interested in being considered, please email Will at will@breastmilkproject.org.

This month, we are also excited to announce a milestone in our organization’s growth and development. We will now be able to support program management and administration, which ensures that IBMP will continue its work for infants in need. All milk banks have a staff of paid employees, executive directors, and contract employees. Any staff paid employed by our organization will be done so in compliance with non-profit laws, reporting, and standards. We aim to achieve the highest Guidestar rankings with the most efficient administrative-to-program expense ratio in the industry. Once our state and federal reports are filed each year, we will post them to our website for your review.

I want to again thank you for supporting the International Breast Milk Project. Your milk, funding, and support are helping the organization to make a difference for communities in South Africa, Kenya, Cameroon, and Tanzania.

Sincerely,

Jill Youse
Founder

August 2007

Dear International Breast Milk Project Family,

In June, we collected over 30,000 ounces of milk, and in July we collected over 35,000 ounces of milk. Not only is 25% of all of this milk going directly to Africa, but we are also receiving our donation from Prolacta for any milk that remains in the U.S. to help critically ill babies in Neonatal Intenisve Care Units.

For the month of June, we have received nearly $25,000 in donations from Prolacta as a direct result of your donor milk. This means that our milk donations increased nearly 50% in one month. Thank you for making a difference.

Your donations will enable International Breast Milk Project to build a desperately needed community health care facility in an impoverished rural area of Tanzania so that villagers—especially mothers and infants—receive proper medical care and nutrition. Our plan includes:

• Building a health care center to serve three local villages near Shirati , Tanzania
• Providing medications and nutrition to infants in the area
• Staffing a full-time local physician

Physicians from the U.S. recently visited the area and reported back on their visit:

“In each village, the volume of patients was so large that the group was unable to care for everyone. Many patients had never before seen a physician, and many children had received no immunizations. The supply of medications in the nearest pharmacy is limited to several bottles of Tylenol. Working from school classrooms and churches with dirt floors, physicians in make-shift clinics treated over 400 patients. The top five diagnoses were malaria, respiratory illnesses, urinary tract infections, arthritic conditions, and intestinal parasites.”

Your breast milk donations and funding will be improving the health care conditions for this area. You will be making a difference in the lives of mothers and babies without access to a physician or medical treatment. Thank you for making this possible.

On a final note, our next shipment of milk will be making the journey to Africa toward the beginning of October, courtesy of Quick International. We are inviting all of our donors to attend this landmark event. We will post the final details as they unfold. I look forward to meeting you soon.

Please remember to view our Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

Sincerely,

Jill Youse
Founder