Colombian Entrepreneur Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallon Donates $10,000 to ISS-USA Initiative

USA - English

• Latin America - español

BALTIMORE, Aug. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A new donation by businessman and philanthropist Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallon to International Social Service (ISS) will be dedicated to assisting underserved children in Latin America. ISS, a nonprofit focused on resolving social issues throughout the world, provides professional social services for children and other vulnerable individuals affected by family separation or conflict.

Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallon's generous contribution will allow the nonprofit to further ISS' 'Kids In Between'  initiative, as well as other ISS initiatives throughout South and Central America.

"I believe in ISS because it is a nonprofit organization that forgoes the bureaucracy and uses their resources to step-in when nearly all hope is lost," Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallon said. "ISS truly helps the children and families that have nowhere else to turn to and it provides them with solutions."

A native of Colombia, Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallon chose to donate $10,000 to ISS in an effort to help the thousands of children who have been separated from their families due to immigration issues, immigration enforcement, international parental abduction or international adoption.  "As a Colombian who has spent much of my career working in Latin America, I have been blessed with a unique understanding of the obstacles that face this culturally rich part of the world. Through my work with ISS, I hope to enrich and improve the lives of neglected or underrepresented children in Latin America," Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallon said.

ISS' 'Kids In Between' initiative seeks to find and implement a unified strategy for child protection in the Americas that focuses on the need for a coordinated system to care for vulnerable children of immigrant and displaced families who too often fall through the cracks of existing child-care systems in the United States and other countries.

"The gift made by Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallon will go a long way in advancing 'Kids In Between' and its goal of bringing the legal and social work professions together to protect children caught between countries, as well as strengthen ISS' reach in Latin America," said ISS-USA Executive Director Julie Rosicky. "The contribution will be used to develop the initial infrastructure for ISS in Costa Rica, develop the scope of work and sustainable funding strategy for the 'Kids-in-Between' Project."

Her Excellency, Muni Figueres, Ambassador of Costa Rica to the United States underscores the importance of 'Kids In Between', "When adults migrate, children get left behind; let's be there[at their side],to help them piece together a new life."

Currently, ISS has 13 branches, four affiliated bureaus and ISS active correspondents in more than 120 countries. However, ongoing economic hardships in Central America as well as an increase in immigration issues between the U.S. and various Southern and Central American citizens, has created an even greater need for a stronger ISS presence in Latin America. Gabriel Ricardo Morales Fallon's contribution will provide the infrastructure needed for ISS to reach some of the most impoverished children living in countries such as Nicaragua, Mexico and Costa Rica.

About ISS-USA

ISS-USA, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization and the U.S. branch of the network was incorporated in 1926 and is currently located in Baltimore, MD. ISS-USA provides a variety of services that help individuals and courts locate individuals and documents, assess suitability for the placement of children, and provide follow up services once a child is placed. ISS-USA, through its Arthur C. Helton Institute researches issues of child separation, and provides training, technical assistance and advocacy on international child welfare and child protection issues. www.iss-usa.org.

SOURCE International Social Service (ISS)