Acres Of Love Organizational Overview:

Acres of Love is an established Republic of South Africa (RSA) non-profit organization with an excellent nine year track record of providing the very highest quality of community-based and culturally appropriate and competent comprehensive care for abandoned and HIV/AIDS infants and children. Acres Of Love has a United States fundraising arm - Acres of Love, Inc., which is a California non-profit benefit corporation (501[c] 3). The mission of Acres of Love is to provide the most vulnerable affected and infected infants and children with the highest possible quality of care, and with love, a strong early childhood development foundation, a community-based safety net, and hope. Acres Of Love currently owns and operates twelve RSA Department of Social Services and Population Development licensed children’s homes for orphans and abandoned infants and children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS in and around the severely affected city of Johannesburg, South Africa.

FOREVER HOMES – OUR NEW MODEL

In 2004-2005 Acres Of Love successfully implemented our ‘Forever Homes’ concept, thereby transitioning our 24/7 rotating direct care staff model to a house-parent-per-home model of care that has vastly improved quality of life for our children. Regional managers and in-home assistants support our house parents.

Acres Of Love has acquired and now operates 14 children’s homes under this new model, with a 15th and 16th home already under development and scheduled to open in late 2007. Services in all the homes include the following:

- Residential care in normalized family homes with house parents
- Comprehensive care: health care to include HIV/AIDS testing, antiretroviral treatment and ongoing healthcare for HIV/AIDS positive infants and children, direct care, love, nurturing, support, spiritual guidance, culturally appropriate activities, mentoring, recreational activities, nutritional meals, clothing, etc.
- Education: including uniforms, school supplies and educational games, mentoring and tutoring, participation in extra-curricular, and other educational activities
- Recreation: outings, culturally appropriate activities, sports, volunteer supervised community activities
- Case planning, coordination and transition to foster in partnership with the Department of Social Services
- Adoption and other permanency planning activities in partnership with the Department of Social Services and approved adoption agencies.
- Age appropriate early childhood development activities: games, hygiene, team cooperation, and normal age appropriate household activities
- Any and all other activities necessary to provide a stable, nurturing, structured and normalized home environment that provides guidance, support, love, exceptional care, and hope to abused, abandoned and orphaned infants and children
- Providing education and training, and raising awareness about HIV/AIDS in the community at-large and among families of children in care

Desired Results

Acres Of love strives to ensure that each child gets the care and assistance they need to develop soundly, and to ensure that both their short-term and long-term needs will be met with the highest possible quality of service and health and residential care available. Our goal is to provide a safe, nurturing and happy environment for all our infants and children so that they find the peace, security and support they need to develop to their fullest potential. Acres of Love desires that each child in our care receives a sound education, a sense that they have permanency and that they have a secure and stable future free of abuse and neglect. Our desired result for our HIV/AIDS infants and children is that they receive the best possible medical care to ensure that they have quality of life for as long as they live, and that they know that they are loved and cared for, and that they feel no stigma or rejection whatsoever as a result of their illness.

Acres of Love Inc.
California Based 501 (c) (3) Non-Profit Benefit Corporation
A tax exempt organization

Acres of Love is a Registered Non Profit #023-142-NPO in South Africa

The Department of Social Services & Population Development has registered
Acres of Love as a Children's Home. Section 30 of the Childcare Act, 1983
(Act 74 of 1983)