Success Stories

This is the project that started it all for DFB!  When one of our founders, surgeon Nick Bernthal, traveled to the town of Juanga, in Orissa, India, he discovered that the small (but mighty!) hospital there needed funds to build a dorm to house visiting medical staff.  This hospital was serving approximately 100,000 patients on an annual budget of $40,000 USD.  

With the help of our many contributors, DFB purchased a truck for the non-profit African Medical Mission (AMM) in Mthatha, South Africa. This truck, or "bakkie", as the locals describe it, is now at the center of a job creation/environmental program that AMM has started in the Itipini Township.

Taking advantage of the township's location on one of the Eastern Cape's largest landfills, the project is a far-reaching plan that employs local men and women to convert discarded wood products into school chairs and desks. The program provides furniture for the kids (who previously sat on the floor in school), jobs for the adults (carpentry and woodworking), environmental benefits (recycling), and it is economically sustainable, as the Mission is already receiving orders for chairs and tables from neighboring villages.

In its first-ever project, DFB Minneapolis raised $5,000 (in just a month!)  to send 15 underserved kids on a fantastic canoe trip in the boundary waters of Northern Minnesota through YMCA Camp Menogyn.  For many of the kids, having grown up in the heart of the city, this adventure was a rare or first opportunity to explore nature, wildlife, and the environment.  This trip offered not only a breath of fresh air, but a perspective-altering experience for youth whose travel and educational opportunities have been unfortunately limited.

Bolder Options is a unique youth program that combines running, biking, and academics to mentor at-risk 11-14 year-olds in Minnesota.  DFB Minneapolis raised $10,000 for a grant to Bolder Options so the organization could purchase the basic athletic supplies needed to serve a new crop of kids.  The funding covered 20 bikes, 10 bike racks, 80 pairs of running shoes, 80 pairs of athletic shorts, and 40 Bolder Options windbreakers (go team!).  Thanks to these supplies, the Bolder Options kids now have what they need to chase their dreams.

In its inaugural project, the New York Chapter of Drops Fill Buckets succeeded with a sold-out event in NY City that raised more than $13,000 for a grant to Saving Mothers. This organization is dedicated to providing much-needed medical care to women in developing countries, and DFB's funding helped to purchase a portable ultrasound unit and six surgical headlamps for doctors to use in the field.  This critical equipment helps combat the staggering rates of maternal mortality in Liberia, one of the countries in which Saving Mothers operates.  Using the headlamps, doctors are also able to safely perform life-changing fistula repair surgeries for women injured during childbirth.

The Bridge For Youth is the Minneapolis metropolitan region’s only 24-hour program for runaway and homeless youth in a residential setting. Unlike other providers in the community, The Bridge serves not only older homeless youth, but also young runaways, as well as families that are heading into the conflicts that result in teens running away from home.  The Bridge also provides aftercare support services to ensure that youth will not return to a condition of homelessness.  DFB Minneapolis raised $10,000 to provide six months of funding for a nursing outreach program at the center.

America's lowest income students earn bachelor's degrees at one-seventh the rate of students whose families earn more than $74,500 per year, and at a third the rate of middle-income students.  By providing low-income students with both the guidance and the basic tools necessary to compete effectively, Admission Possible dramatically improves these students' chances of pursuing higher education and better-paying careers.  Receiving tutoring, test preparation, and assistance with college applications, 98% of students in the program have earned acceptance into institutions of higher learning.