image
 
 
 
Our History
Founded in 2005 by Rotarians from Rotary District 5170, and a group of volunteers, both medical and non-medical professionals, Faces of Hope's basic mission is to provide life changing plastic surgeries, particularly cleft lip and palate surgery to those with the most need and least access, and to build the capacity of Guatemalan heath care programs.
 
The committed volunteers of this program discovered in each other a common love for the people of Guatemala and a shared desire to build a team that would not only serve Guatemala's children through surgery, but also develop local partnerships that would expand the ongoing capacity for medical organizations helping Guatemala's needy children.
 
This small group used the knowledge gained from work with other non-profits and combined that with a Rotary network of knowledge and humanitarian service and together created Faces of Hope, Rotary District 5170.  From our inception, our mission, focus and reach have continued to grow and flourish.
 
Consistent with our desire to build capacity and sustainability, we are deepening our work with native Guatemalan organizations and Rotary clubs and are helping them to carry their work forward.
 
We are forever grateful to our team whose collaboration and creativity brought us into being:  Rotarians Don Fox and Richard Rivera, Deborah Covington RN, Jesse Dominguez MD, Monika Nelson RN and Fred Tomlinson MD.
 
Until the 2020 world-wide pandemic brought the program to a halt, Faces of Hope thrived under the leadership of Jolene Bortz (Oakland Uptown) and Rose Johnson (San Leandro), the Directors of Faces of Hope.  Hundreds of surgeries were performed, changing the lives of the children of Guatemala as a result of the vision of a few creative minds who saw a need and created the means to make lasting change.
 
Today
We are excited to resume the Faces of Hope program with the first post-pandemic mission planned for July 2023. Jolene Bortz (Oakland Uptown) and Rose Johnson (San Leandro) return as the Co-Mission Directors of Faces of Hope 2023. The Rotary Club of Cupertino is joining to help to coordinate the Rotary community of clubs participating in Faces of Hope.
 
Faces of Hope is comprised of three key elements - a Surgical and Dental team; Patient and Family care team who nurture our families through this experience; and a Partnership Building team who explore options and opportunities to provide assistance and capacity to our local partners.
 
2022-23 Rotary Year Faces of Hope Revival 
A post-pandemic revival of Faces of Hope is underway.
 
Stay tuned for a D5170 Faces of Hope District Grant that invites contributions of DDF from all Rotary clubs.
 
For questions, more information, and to have your Rotary Club join the D5170 Faces of Hope Project, please contact: