CHARITIES
Giving Back
Recognizing Our Charities
The Cigar Family Charitable Foundation
The cigar family charitable foundation began in 2001 when longtime cigar industry business partners, the Fuente and Newman families, formalized the dream of improving people’s lives in the mountainous Banao region of the Dominican Republic. By focusing on families, they hope to give their children in this cigar producing region an opportunity for a better future.
Consisting of five rural communities, the region suffers from extreme poverty, an overcrowded and inadequate education system, poor water quality, which greatly affects the population’s health, and little or no means of transportation for sustainable employment in the area.
The foundation partnered with a Dominican based nonprofit organization, who for the last 30 years has been fighting poverty by providing training and skills necessary to make positive change for those living both in urban and rural regions of the Dominican Republic.
What began as a plan to add a wing to the existing school has grown into a 23-acre cigar family complex. The complex includes a primary and secondary school, a Health Center, an organic farming program, as well as sports and recreational facilities. Through the cigar family complex children’s and families are being provided with the education resources and tools they need to help empower themselves to create opportunities for their future.
ETTA
ETTA’s mission is to provide programs and services that enable people with disabilities, and the families who love them, to live fully enriched, independent, included and active lives as members of the Los Angeles community. ETTA’s vision is an inclusive, participatory community of people, with and without disabilities, succeeding and growing together and enable people with disabilities to achieve greater independence, autonomy and inclusion. We change mindsets, raise awareness, increase sensitivity and provide inspiration. We elevate lives and train leaders. We are a community of hope, warmth, support and expertise.
New Horizons
Website: https://newhorizons-sfv.org/
New Horizons is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals with special needs (age 16 and older) to reach their full potential and fulfill their dreams. Founded in 1954 by eight parents whose children had special needs, the agency has evolved to provide services and support each year to more than 1,100 individuals throughout the greater San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys of Los Angeles.
Located on a beautiful seven-acre campus in North Hills, California, New Horizons offers job training and placement, education, counseling, residential services, social programs and person-centered planning with a focus on community integration, helping each individual gain the confidence, skills, dignity and independence at his/her/their highest level.
Easter Seals Chicago
Website: https://www.eastersealschicago.org/
Easter Seals Chicago offers autism and behavioral services through the three campuses of our therapeutic day school, Easterseals Academy, and our partnerships with more than 35 early learning centers.
We provide employment opportunities for those with disabilities, as well as diagnostic services, early intervention supports, and evidence-based resources.
They are the leading provider of early learning service. The directly operate or support 30+ Head Start/Early Head Start Centers, two Child Family Connections centers, and programs to support families, parents, and teenager mothers.
Morgan’s World
Website: https://morganswonderland.org/
Every day Morgans Wonderland works to provide an extraordinary place where smiles and laughter lead to wonderful memories with family members, friends, and caregivers. Morgan’s Wonderland wants to be a place where the common element of play creates an atmosphere of inclusion for those with and without disabilities while encouraging everyone to gain a greater understanding of one another.
Morgan’s Wonderland is just like any other theme park except for a culture and environment that assures 100 percent enjoyment by every person entering the Welcome Center. Unfortunately, countless children and adults with special needs do not have access to facilities that enable them to enjoy outdoor recreation fully. Morgan’s Wonderland is changing that every day.
We Care Foundation
Website: https://www.wecarecrusade.org/
We care crusade is a foundation that was founded in 2021 and are honored to be an organization geared toward helping families who have children with special needs. We Care Crusade is on a mission to make a difference one child at a time, one family at a time, to lighten their life with some form of relief medically, physically and or emotionally.
We truly have immense admiration for every family facing these extraordinary challenges, knowing you were given a gift from above in raising God’s special children.
Ed Asner Family Center
Website: https://edasnerfamilycenter.org/
The Ed Asner Family Center (TEAFC) serves as a comprehensive resource for individuals with special needs and their families. Co-founded by Navah Paskowitz-Asner and Matthew Asner, inspired by their six children—three of whom are autistic. Their mission is to foster acceptance and enrichment for those striving for wholeness in all aspects of life. Through a diverse range of mental health services and innovative, interactive programs, the Center proudly employs autistic self-advocates as camp counselors, educators, and assistants. The Center offers a wide range of programs, including camp, job training, mental health counseling, and enrichment activities designed to foster creativity, and community engagement.
The Wiley Center
Website: https://thewileycenter.org/
The Wiley Center for Speech and Language Development is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing evidence-based services to children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other special needs. We respect the significance of cultural diversity among our families and value the uniqueness of each individual.
The Wiley Center’s mission is to create a broad-based collaborative network to provide comprehensive support that results in meaningful employment and promotes healthy life sustaining educational, emotional and physical outcomes across the lifespan.