Editors’ Note

Donald Whitney is also Founder and President of The H3 Event Series (for Health, for Hope, for Homes), Corporate Sports Unlimited, and Corporate Events Unlimited. The H3 Event Series/H3 Classic (formerly the U.S. 10K Classic) was developed to bring awareness and funding to children’s charities and for the future development of the World Children’s Center. Whitney has been involved with Compassion International, Save the Children, World Help, World Vision, and CCF since 1976. He and his wife, Cathy, proudly support many children from different nations throughout the world.

Organization Brief

The mission of the World Children’s Center (www.worldchildrenscenter.org; WCC) is to serve homeless, orphaned, and neglected children from the United States and the world and to build programs that foster education, provide housing and shelter, and ensure the safety of underserved children. Once built, the World Children’s Center Academy will provide education, housing, and enrichment and character-building programs, as well as food and clothing to an estimated 800 children.

How do you define the mission for the World Children’s Center?

Our goal is to provide health, hope, and homes for homeless, orphaned, and neglected children first from Georgia, then the United States and the world, as well as to be a valuable resource for all children throughout the world. The greatest investment one can make is in people because it’s people, and children in particular, who are going to develop and build our future. Worldwide, there are over 150 million orphaned children under the age of 12 for whom we share responsibility.

There is a universal understanding that a community is judged by how its children are treated. It is a great injustice to neglect children. Inspiration, guidance, and direction for our youth are passions we need to carry on.

One of the most important components of the World Children’s Center will be our International Humanitarian Development and Training Center. Its purpose will be to bring the finest minds in the world together on a regular basis to share the best practices on behalf of children. There are thousands of good-hearted people in the world who spend their lives trying to make the world a better place for all children. Most who are involved in improving the well-being of children have it in their hearts to make a difference. We aspire to be a resource of encouragement in providing the finest curriculum of learning and advancement for the well-being and future of all children.

With so many areas of need, how do you determine where you want to make the most impact?

We will strive to be a significant resource where every boy or girl can have his or her needs met regardless of current condition. At the WCC, we will provide many humanitarian services, as well as emphasize the importance of the arts, music, organic and sustainable farming, and sports and recreational development.

Our campus will serve 800 to 1,000 children from around the world who we believe will become our future ambassadors. We will aim to serve children from around the world who are struggling and deserve the same opportunities.

Is the message getting out to those who might want to get involved?

Unfortunately, we live in an extremely fast-paced and complex world, but I am hopeful that some, if not many, will want to make a difference. Our goal is to make the Georgia campus the flagship and a “Beacon of Hope” for the 150 million orphaned children worldwide.

We invite anyone interested to join our team and consider helping with this much-needed work – we welcome visitors to our campus. We believe our 710 acres of breathtaking land will make a difference for generations to come. I am hopeful many will get involved and partner with us to help make this world a better place where we can build better lives for all children together. Your readers can contact me at dwhitney@worldchildrenscenter.org.•