A message from Phil Littleton, Holt International President & CEO, about the ways your support changed the lives of children and families around the world in 2021.

What an incredible year it has been!

Like the year before it, 2021 challenged us as individuals, as an organization and as a global community. Over the last several months, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, to which we have all had to learn to adapt. At Holt, we have also faced new and different challenges as we have grown and innovated new ways to care for children and families in need.

But as I look back over the year, I am especially proud of the way we rose to this moment we are living in, and continue to live through. I am proud of how we came together to overcome the obstacles we faced and continue our mission in service to children and families around the world. I am also incredibly grateful for the caring, compassionate people like you who have remained steadfast in your devotion to orphaned and vulnerable children.

Whether a child sponsor, an adoptee, an adoptive family, a supporter or volunteer, you are a member of the Holt family. And I want to thank you for rising to this moment with us. 

In the midst of this ongoing global crisis, you helped meet the needs of more children and families than Holt ever has served before.

You helped provide emergency food and medicine for families who lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

You helped families avoid eviction from their homes, when they could not work, and also supported efforts to help them find new jobs or start small businesses they could sustain despite quarantine measures in their communities.

You helped care for children who lost or were separated from their families due to COVID, as well as the many children who remain in orphanage care — unable to unite with their families due to restrictions on travel.

When India faced a deadly second wave of the pandemic in April 2021, you again rose to the moment — providing food, medicine and other emergency supplies for children and families struggling to survive.

And when Haiti experienced another devastating earthquake in August, you stepped up to help meet the most pressing needs of children and families in crisis.

This past year, we also achieved new milestones together in our mission to ensure a stable, loving home for every child.

In June, we launched a new international adoption program in South Africa and have already begun matching children with families. 

Looking back, I feel so proud of our teams here in the U.S. and around the world who responded with agility and ingenuity to continue serving children and families during COVID. From hosting a virtual Holt Camp for youth adoptees to helping waiting children and adoptive families connect via Zoom, to starting an educational podcast to reach quarantined families in India and delivering solar lamps to children struggling to study at home in Uganda — our teams truly rose to the moment.

Although this crisis is not over yet, we are stronger than we have ever been as an organization. We have been tested. And we have shown how resilient, committed and courageous we can be. 

With your continued commitment, and with God’s continued blessings, I feel hopeful for all that we have planned for the coming year. Together with you, we will care for even more children and families who come to us in need, help reunite families separated by crisis and poverty, unite children with their adoptive families, and so much more.

As 2021 comes to a close, and 2022 begins, I want to thank you for your heartfelt dedication to children and families in need. Thank you for rising to this moment with us. We look forward to working together with you in 2022 — to reach new milestones in caring for children and families around the world. 

Phil Littleton | Holt President & CEO