Our Vision

A world in which every child has a safe, nurturing place to call home,
and a chance to achieve their potential through education.

Who We Are

World’s Children is a hands-on, grassroots charity. We have helped orphans and vulnerable children since 1965. We are not a large, corporate-style organization removed from the children we support.

As you go through our website and learn more about us, you may ask why are these children smiling? Because of the kindness and generosity of folks like you.

 

WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT

 

Our Mission

Children are often helpless victims of poverty and disaster and yet they will be the ones to shape the future.

Our mission is to provide support and education for orphans and vulnerable children in the poorest countries around the world.

The Beginning

World’s Children was founded by the late Rev. Edwin and Mable Purviance in 1965. They wanted to create a living memorial for an infant they lost at childbirth.

Realizing the grief they felt was akin to the grief and helplessness felt by children who lose their parents, the Purviances started World’s Children to support orphaned children in developing countries.

Using their own savings, they traveled to Central America and Asia seeking orphanages that provided loving care but struggled to meet expenses and began making appeals for support in the US.

 
David and Jean Purviance

Called to Service

In 2009, the board of directors of World’s Children asked David Purviance, son of the founders, to become executive director. He and his wife Jean had been living in Puttaparthi, India where they were residents for five years. They were already involved in service work in India.

While David was living in India, he helped a blind school in Hyderabad get the special educational equipment it needed. He also worked with destitute street children. When the tsunami struck India in 2004, David went to the coast of the Bay of Bengal to help. He raised funds for traumatized children and pregnant mothers so they could overcome their unthinkable loss. He also provided water wells and toilets to villages, schools and orphanages in India.

In 2009, David and Jean moved back to the US to run World’s Children.

 
 

Our Sponsors

World’s Children is a small organization that has a personal relationship with its donors, sponsors, and the children we support. Though most have never met each other, there is a family feeling about our charity.

You will not receive junk mail from us. When you call our office, you won’t be lost in a maze of phone options. You will speak directly to a dedicated staff member. And we will tell you exactly how your donation is used.

Sponsor Stories

 
 

Our Team

David surrounded by children at Balavikasita Orphanage in India

David Purviance

Executive Director

World’s Children is administered by David Purviance. Prior to assuming responsibility for World’s Children, David lived in India for five years where he assisted with tsunami relief efforts, provided water wells and toilets to villages, schools and orphanages. He also worked with destitute street children. Before he moved to India, David was public relations director at the University of Montana for 16 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. David is the son of the founders.

Andy Gillihan Operations Director
Andy is surrounded by children at one of the orphanages World's Children supports in India.

Andy Gillihan

Operations Director

Before joining World’s Children in 2017, Andy spent 8 years leading and managing complex projects in the world of VIP aviation technical publications. Prior to that, he was a technical writer and a Washington State University graduate. Andy and his wife Charity share a passion for animals, outdoor adventures, and helping children have the opportunity to reach bright futures.

Jean Purviance Finance and Communications Director
Jean Purviance

Jean Purviance

Finance and Communications Director

Jean has been a business owner, sales director, and financial manager for small businesses since 1974. After raising six children, Jean worked in group homes in the US. She and her husband, David, became foster parents and adopted a troubled and unwanted teenager from a group home in Montana.

She lived in India for six years where she witnessed children living in poverty on the streets and has visited orphanages and one college supported by World’s Children. In addition to being the secretary of the Board of Directors, she has served as the assistant director and financial manager of World’s Children since 2009. Jean has a bachelor’s degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Stephanie Welbourn Operations Coordinator
Stephanie with her family

Stephanie Welbourn

Program Director

My name is Stephanie and I am married to my amazing husband Luke and we have two kids Sydney and Jack. I graduated from George Fox University with a degree in Social Work and have had a mix of social work and business jobs since graduating. I lived overseas in Kandern, Germany for 6 years and came back to plant some roots in Oregon. I am passionate about serving with World’s Children because of the work we do for children in need of basic necessities, education and love. My hobbies include hiking and biking with my family, doing anything outside on a sunny day, reading books about social justice issues around the world and enjoying a freshly brewed cup of coffee at Sisters Coffee Company.

Tess Anderson, Admin Specialist
Tess hiking with her children.

Tess Anderson

Administrative Specialist

I’m Tess Anderson and I’m a true Oregonian. I relocated to Sisters from Portland, Oregon with my family in 2020. Prior to moving, I’ve held numerous positions in commercial and vacation property management. I love working for World’s Children because it makes me feel like what I do makes the world just a tiny bit better.

My family and I love everything outdoors. When we aren’t hiking, skiing, or swimming, we enjoy baking, arts and crafts, and spending time with our furry family members.

Miga McCurdy, Communications Assistant
Miga perusing the French Market in Paris.

Miga McCurdy

Communications Assistant

My name is Miga. I was born and raised in Hood River, Oregon. I graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in French. Afterwards, I completed an MSc in Sports Industry Management in Paris, France and Shanghai, China. In 2021, I left my corporate career and became a substitute teacher. I realized I needed to find a job where I could give back to children in need – I was thrilled when I found World’s Children. When I am not at work, you can find me in the mountains running, climbing, snowboarding and mountain biking with my amazing partner, pup and friends.

Overseas

Shobha Rani-The One
Shobha giving a gift to one of the children at one of the orphanages supported by World's Children in India

Shobha Rani Kumar 

India Country Director

The International Rotary Club in May of 2017 gave Shobha Rani, orphanage administrator and World’s Children Country Director, THE ONE 2017 International Humanitarian Award “for compassion and selflessness” for her work taking in unwanted street children in India.

Shobha is well qualified by education, experience and heart for this responsibility. She has a master’s degree in Social Work. She worked as the program director of an Indian charity called Technology for the People where she managed five education centers in Hyderabad that taught computer animation to teenage girls from poor families who were at risk of child marriage. After completing the TFTP program, they were employed by IT companies at salaries that improved their families’ living situations removing the incentive for child marriage.

Shobha and her husband began taking abandoned street children into their own home, which eventually grew into the Balavikasita Sadan orphanage, which now cares for more than 70 children. As the WC India Country Director Shobha visits the orphanages supported by World’s Children, oversees the progress of funded projects, and is a member of our scholarship committee that provides over 200 college scholarships to impoverished students in India each year.

The children have loving caretakers

Orphanage administrators

The real heart of World’s Children is the many women and men who have given their lives to care for children who may never have known a kind person before. Their love and compassion heals the emotional wounds and provides the security the children so desperately need. You can see the miracles they accomplish in the faces of the children. The International Rotary Club in May of 2017 gave Shobha Rani, orphanage administrator and World’s Children Country Director, THE ONE 2017 International Humanitarian Award “for compassion and selflessness” for her work taking in unwanted street children in India.

Our Board

Butch Goette Board President
Butch Goette

Butch Goette

President

Butch attended St. Lawrence University where he received a BA in History and a MA in Education. In addition to his primary career within commercial property and casualty insurance he also founded an internet software company focused on supporting the insurance industry. He currently leads marketing for a division of Willis Towers Watson.

A number of years ago Butch became “enlightened” to the plight of women and children in many countries throughout the world and determined to align himself with an organization with goals and convictions similar to his own. Worlds Children, with its wonderful mission, tremendous staff and extremely dedicated board represents for him the perfect fit.

Jean with scholarship students at E.T.C.M. College of Nursing, India

Jean Purviance

Secretary

Jean has been a business owner, sales director, and financial manager for small businesses since 1974. After raising six children, Jean worked in group homes in the US. She and her husband, David, became foster parents and adopted a troubled and unwanted teenager from a group home in Montana.

She lived in India for six years where she witnessed children living in poverty on the streets and has visited orphanages and one college supported by World’s Children. In addition to being the secretary of the Board of Directors, she has served as the assistant director and financial manager of World’s Children since 2009. Jean has a bachelor’s degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Bruce Moore

Bruce Moore

Treasurer

Bruce did his undergraduate work at Stanford University and went on to become an entrepreneur, building small publishing and manufacturing companies into successful businesses. Now retired in northern California, he and his wife enjoy their children and grandchildren, local community life and the great outdoors. Having seen the plight and the promise of the street kids in India, he is especially glad to be able to help sustain and grow World’s Children.

Cassady Thomas World's Children Board Member
Cassady holding a child from Shanthi Nilayam Orphanage in India

Cassady Thomas

Board Member

Cassady worked at World’s Children from 2010-2017, passing the torch as Operations Director when WC relocated to Sisters. She is currently the Finance Director at Post Carbon Institute, a sustainability think tank in Corvallis, Oregon. During her time at World’s Children, Cassady worked tirelessly to build up the Scholarship Program, and spent several weeks in India in 2012 conducting health audits at many of the sponsored children’s homes. She is the primary author of The Healthy Child Handbook, which has served her well since her twins came along in 2014.

Meghan Fitzgerald

Meghan Fitzgerald

Board Member

Meghan has a B.A. in psychology and a master’s degree in Public Health with a focus on International Health. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Oregon State University in Health Policy. She spent the summer of 2014 interning with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Jordan. Her assignment was to work with the Women’s Program Officer on developing women’s empowerment programs in each of the UNRWA refugee camps.

Her personal interest in preventing early child marriage compelled her to write a short story empowering young girls to resist arranged marriage before they completed their education. Her story, titled “A Girl Keeps a Tiger in Her Heart,” has been printed by World’s Children and distributed to all of the orphanages we support.

Roslyn Moore 

Roslyn Moore

Board Member

Roslyn graduated with a B.A. in Education from the University of Michigan and is now a retired teacher. She has had a lifelong interest in psychology and spirituality, and has written three books in that field.

While doing research for a book in India she was charmed by its children and wanted to give them her support. She is currently a part-time editor, a student of yoga, a literacy advocate and mentor, and she happily serves on the board of World’s Children.

Board Member Laasya Yenduri
Laasya Yenduri

Laasya Yenduri

Board Member

Laasya is a sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin pursuing a BSA in neuroscience and minor in Computational Science on the pre-medical track. Her journey with World’s Children started in the summer of 2018 where she was inspired to take action after visiting two of World’s Children’s homes on a vacation to visit family in India. Since then, she has helped popularize World’s Children’s child sponsorship program and aims to increase the awareness regarding child poverty in the local communities. She also started her own nonprofit to serve children in need and uses her training in Bharatanatyam (an Indian Classical dance) to help teach girls in one of World’s Children’s homes for girls with HIV. In the future, Laasya hopes to use her medical license as a traveling physician to help those across the world have access to affordable healthcare.

Trista Slowick

Trista Slowik

Board Member

Trista Slowik is a perinatal nurse with over 13 years of experience caring for mothers and babies. She has a BS in Nursing and an MS in Nursing Leadership. She is also a biomedical ethics consultant, previously for Kaiser Permanente NW Region, and loves how this type of work challenges her understanding of humanity.

Trista regularly volunteers at a birth center in Cap Haitien, Haiti. Her experiences there have inspired her to continue to find ways to empower women and children around the globe. She also enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, a glass of vintage champagne, and practicing yoga. She lives on the Gulf Coast in sunny Florida.

Financials

World’s Children adheres to strict standards of accountability and transparency at home and abroad.

 

Statements

Financial Pie ChartWorld’s Children yearly average for Program Services is 90% with 10% used for Operations and Development. Our financial statements are reviewed by a certified public accountant (CPA).

See Financial Statements

Annual Reports

To get an overview of the yearly activity and accomplishments of World’s Children, check out our latest annual report. It’s full of photos as well as important statistics.

 

See Annual Reports

 

Accountability

World’s Children has received the highest ratings from Guidestar, Charity Navigator, and Better Business Bureau.
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