Greetings Everyone!

As the final waning hours of 2014 begin to tick off the clock – I, like so many others, have been spending a lot of time reflecting on what a fantastic year it has been.  On a personal level, I completely changed my life and moved to Wisconsin for a growth opportunity, leaving behind a tremendous network of family, friends and acquaintances (thank god for FaceTime).  I took on the challenge of learning a new language, Spanish to be exact, and it has been quite the challenge to say the least (Aprender un nuevo idioma es difícil.)  I also have been trying to be more present wherever I am and with whomever I am with.  Being present has always been a struggle for me due to my short attention span and constantly running motor, but I believe it is very important to be ever-evolving as a person.

Okay enough about me; let’s talk about what is truly important here – The Humanity Preservation Foundation, and the tremendous change we as an organization are attempting to make.  In October, just a little over a year after co-founder Rhett Hackett and myself began this wonderful journey of attempting to prevent and educate those about the heinous acts of Sexual Abuse, Domestic Violence and Bullying, we officially received our 501©(3) non-profit status from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), deeming us an official non-profit organization.  For those of you in the non-profit sector, who have gone through the process of attempting to receive status from the IRS, you know how long and arduous this can be.  We were extremely fortunate to have a great organization in Philly Law Works provide thoughtful direction, and more importantly are ever indebted to Karolien Vandenberghe and the helping hand/guidance she provided.  Karolien if you read this, THANK YOU from the bottom of our Orange Hearts!  We couldn’t have done it without you.

Secondly, HPF continues to be a presence in the public eye, raising awareness and educating everyone we possibly can.  HPF presented to UPENN med students for the second year in a row and also took part in Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams’ second annual Violence Prevention Workshop.  HPF was also able to bring on two official volunteers in Zack Rivera and Zachary Weintraut (I know – Zack attack).  Zack R. has been providing his expertise in web design and marketing and Zack W. has come on in a Development Associate role, assisting in the development of some key initiatives we have planned for 2015 as well as assisting with fundraising.  More to come!

There was a theme here in this letter and that is that change, although sometimes difficult at first, is necessary for us to grow as people.  Changing where you live, changing how you speak, changing how you interact with others, and changing perception/educating those on these difficult topics is necessary to see anything happen.  From my general observations of 2014, I believe we as a race have really changed our viewpoints on Sexual Abuse, Domestic Violence and Bullying/Harassment.  These changes can be seen in the discussions that have come out some of the NFL abuse incidences, the assault incidences that occurred in India as well as the countless acts of bullying that are in the news every day.  I truly believe the human race wants to do its part to make sure as a whole we are doing what is right and that we want to change.  We at the Humanity Preservation Foundation will do everything in our power to make sure we can assist in this change.

Thank you to each and every one of you that is doing your part to preserve humanity and cheers to an even greater 2015!

Signed,

Charles Custer

Executive Director

The Humanity Preservation Foundation