“Microenterprise Development.” This ministry helps needy people in the communities in Latin America to increase their household income, where poverty has impacted successive generations. Access to capital is the key need expressed by most microentrepreneurs. Traditional lending institutions either do not lend to the poor or require a level of collateral that most microentrepreneurs do not have. Microenterprise development creates chain reactions of progress in communities by stimulating greater and more stable household incomes, increasing family savings that provide a cushion against natural disaster and illness, and, most importantly, providing new opportunities for the children's education, nutrition, and health care. Growing business also promote community-wide development by creating jobs and making new goods and services available to the community.

           Why do we do this? Well, there are a number of reasons. Certainly one of the main reasons, though, is out of a keen sense of gratitude. All of us at Lighthouse Yachts are acutely aware that we have been given a great deal on many levels (including the opportunity to serve you!) and we wanted to find a way to express that gratitude by helping those less fortunate.

            Why World Vision? Certainly there are many worthy charities and ministries. World Vision, however, stands out in many ways. World Vision is one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the world, serving more than 80 million people annually in nearly 100 countries. It provides emergency relief, long term community and agricultural development, health care, and education of children and their families in some of the poorest and most dangerous places on earth. The organization was founded in 1950 by Dr. Bob Pierce, a pastor and filmmaker, who was deeply moved by the plight of orphans during the Korean War. This determination to help children in orphanages led to the development of child sponsorship, in which donors sponsor children in the developing world by pledging monthly contributions to improve the lives of children, their families and their communities in the developing world. Today, more than 1.2 million children worldwide are sponsored by World Vision donors. Want to learn more about World Vision? Just click on the picture links above!

         --Board of Directors, Lighthouse Yachts