Four San Pedro resident women who have come to call La Isla Bonita/Belize their home are now banded together as a group looking to do more for a community that has given so much to them. Brought together by fate and a set of unlikely circumstances, these four women have discovered a common goal and the desire for giving back.
Brittney O’Daniel, Erin De Santiago, Brittany Munson, and Jessica Salo have founded the charity organization that goes by the name of Fate Gives. With the support of Joe Chung, Teacher “Moncho” Hermojenes Acosta and Dorian Nunez at Ambergris Today, Fate Gives is committed to providing an economically effective way to enrich the lives of people around the world, one project at a time.
“We want to involve the community, have local input on where resources and funds are most needed, and maintain absolute transparency on where every dollar goes,” commented Erin De Santiago, Public Relations Director for Fate Gives. “We all feel it’s very important to closely work with locals to identify the best way to give back to the island.”
“The name Fate Gives derives from the fact that each of us had very different circumstances that brought us to San Pedro and we believe there is a very distinct reason we ended up meeting. Our backgrounds are so diverse, yet our business strengths and career experiences play off each other very well.”
Founders of Fate Gives include:
Brittney O’Daniel – Chairman
Co-owner of upscale Italian restaurant Fedora in Dallas and Sandbar in San Pedro. She has dedicated much of her free time to volunteer opportunities including Big Cat Wildlife Refugee in Kansas, Operation Kindness, and the North Texas Food Bank.
Brittany Munson, Treasurer
Born in Houston, Texas, Brittany has always had a strong desire to help others. She has volunteered at orphanages and schools in the African nation of Tanzania, as well as helping local communities where she has lived.
Jessica Salo, Secretary
Jessica just recently moved to San Pedro after selling all her possessions and leaving Canada to become a volunteer art teacher at La Isla Bonita. She has a long background in the hospitality and tourism industry, working in a number of positions ranging from hotel reception to ocean sports instructor.
Erin De Santiago, Public Relations Director
Erin is a globetrotting travel and food writer who now splits her time between the Netherlands and San Pedro. She gave up her career in insurance litigation to move abroad and follow her dream of being a full-time travel writer.
Joe Chung, Creative Director
Taking on a more behind the scenes role, Joe is the man who pushes the four women to follow their dreams and make Fate Gives a reality. He is the creative director, handling everything from website design to public relations duties while Erin is abroad.
This Christmas, Brittney, Jessica, and Erin spent their day passing out gifts and candy to children on the island. Thanks to Richie’s Supermarket and K-Mart who provided generous discounts. They travelled north near Captain Morgan’s Retreat and back to the San Mateo area where they passed out over 200 toys to kids on the island.
After seeing some of the conditions that people live in, the ladies decided that they needed to do more. And their ultimate goal is to have as much local input as possible in their charity group as they want to reassure the community that they are dedicated in making Fate Gives a prosperous charity organization.
Current Projects in the works include Hope Kitchen – a planned soup kitchen type project with first event on Jan 8. They hope to make this a regular event, along with developing a program to provide boxed lunches for needy kids at local schools. Future projects include Christmas in July and a camera donation program. Eventually, the group would like to expand work to include projects on the mainland and into other parts of Central America. (Read Press Release)
“Right now with the initial Hope Kitchen event, we plan to do everything ourselves and see how much money we can raise and start reaching out for sponsors and donations for future events,” said De Santiago. We have a long wish list of supplies we need to make this a regular event.”
Fate Gives is looking to acquire status as a true non-profit organization. Websites under construction include www.fategives.org and www.hopekitchen.org.
To find out more information about Fate Gives or to discuss possible donations and/or sponsorship needs, please contact Erin De Santiago, Public Relations Director, erin_desantiago@yahoo.com (+501 637-2012) or Joe Chung, Creative Director, joeinbelize@gmail.com.
