BHS grad starts charity
A long-ago mission trip for a former Butler resident has turned into an ongoing charity to help students in the Central American country of Belize.
Annette Baughman, a 1977 graduate of Butler High School, is a registered nurse who works at Pittsburgh's Western Psychiatric Hospital outpatient clinic. Her family is from Butler and until three years ago she lived in Butler, too.
She started Hearts for Belize, a charity that raises money for scholarships for children in the northern Belizean district of Corozal.
Baughman started the charity in 2007 after going on a mission trip to Belize in 2001 through Westminster Presbyterian Church, 420 N. Main St. It was because of that trip that she became interested in that part of the world, she said.
“I've been 40 times. I go three to four times a year, a lot of it is business,” said Baughman. “I had no clue where Belize was when I first went. Now I can get there with my eyes closed.”
“People wanted to help. It seemed logical to go ahead and pursue that,” Baughman said of her charity's start.
She returned from her latest trip with a group of friends and relatives on July 13.
“We are continuing to build relationships with students and parents,” Baughman said.
The group included second cousin Martha Oesterling of Butler; sister Chris Logan and her son, Noah, of Cranberry Township; sister Bambi Saxe of Dayton, Ohio; and friend Stephanie Miller of Butler.
For Chris Logan, the trip was an eye-opening experience.
“It's a beautiful country,” said Logan. “but to see that kind of living, houses with no doors or windows, and it's very hot, sweltering hot.”
Still, Logan said, “It was really cool to interact with the Belizeans down there.”
“The people are wonderful, we got to go to people's houses and sample their food,” said Logan.
Oesterling said, “It was an extremely interesting trip. We lived with the parents of the children in the program.”
Baughman said in its six years of existence, Hearts for Belize has granted 90 scholarships to high school and college students.
“I fell in love with the northern part of Belize. I continued to go back with money to help children carry on with their educations,” Baughman said.
Baughman said $400 can pay for a school year for a student in ninth through twelfth grade, and $800 to $1,200 can pay for a year at college.
“Most kids are stopping in eighth grade. There is not much to offer children in terms of continuing their education,” Baughman said, saying sugar cane and other farming is the major industry in the Corozal region.
Scholarships go to three high schools and three colleges in the region.
“Winners are picked on academic excellence. Whatever they want to study is fine by us,” said Baughman.
Hearts for Belize will pay for the scholarship winners to get an associate degree.
To continue their educations, students would have to go to the University of Belize at the capital of Belmopan, a process Baughman said is too expensive for the charity.“An associate degree allows them to get jobs in teaching or banking,” Baughman said.It's more than just people from Butler County that travel to Belize, it's money from Butler County, too.“We do a yearly fundraiser in Butler, a women's luncheon at Westminster Church every Father's Day weekend,”said Baughman.“We raise money by raffling off centerpieces. We share what is going on with our charity. We have a lot of supporters in Butler.”“My sister in Ohio has a similar luncheon. There are private donations. We do bachelor and bachelorette auctions in Pittsburgh on Valentine's Day,” said Baughman.Baughman said her charity is incorporated as a 501(c) group and has a six-member board. It raises about $15,000 annually.On their recent visit, Baughman's group held a luncheon for the mothers of the students one day, visited elementary schools another day and worked with teens on a painting project a third day.“These are people who wanted to get a sense of what we were doing there. We spent a week, taking a day with the parents, a day with the students. It was really relationship building, a lot of interacting with the school,” said Baughman.“This is what they want for their children, just like us,”Baughman said.“They want their children to excel. Poverty is a bit overwhelming. It's not like they can pick up a second job.”“I'm going back in January alone. I do a lot of relationship building with the schools and their principals, looking for that gem under the rock,” said Baughman.
Visit the website: hearts4belize.org or mail a donation to: Hearts PO Box 8347, Pittsburgh Pa. 15218.
