Queen Rania Promotes JRF to Gathering of Influential Women in US as Foundation of Opportunity

March 03, 2008

(Office of Her Majesty – Press Department – Washington, D.C.) - As Founder and Chairperson of the Jordan River Foundation (JRF), Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah did not miss the opportunity to highlight the foundation’s achievements to a gathering of influential women in Washington, DC, on Monday, where she discussed many of the foundations specific initiatives and encouraged their involvement.

At a luncheon hosted by JRF USA board members Beth Dozoretz and Pat Mitchell, Queen Rania spoke about her personal investments in the foundation. “I launched and have supported JRF for over 13 years now… because it’s all about giving a helping hand to the ordinary people of Jordan who want to work and provide for their families, who want to contribute to the development of their communities, and who want a chance to prove and improve themselves,” she said.

Director of JRF Valentina Qussisiya campaigned for the foundation’s newly launched Sponsor a Child initiative that seeks to mobilize donors and philanthropists to sponsor the rehabilitation costs of severely abused children at Dar Al Aman (House of Safety). Dar Al Aman is the first shelter for abused children in the region and the only therapeutic center for child victims of abuse and mistreatment in Jordan.

The children at Dar Al Aman range from infancy to early adolescence. To date, the foundation has reached almost 20,000 individuals through its rehabilitation and prevention activities. “[This is] a rewarding figure for sure, but our greatest reward is the sigh of relief and the sweet, unguarded smile of a child whose right to childhood has been restored at last. Making a difference in a child’s life is what makes it all worthwhile,” said the Queen.

JRF has recently established several new online communication mediums to spread their mandate to a wide virtual audience and garner financial support. By setting up an interactive YouTube page, JRF hopes to reach out to a wide constituency. JRF has also set up several online financial and marketing tools, including Network for Good (http://www.networkforgood.org/) and Six Degrees (www.sixdegrees.org), where JRF is registered as a tax deductable 501 charity organization.