Our Story

Wendy Bird founded Pearls With A Purpose in February 2002 with the intent of offering an opportunity to sell pearl jewelry to women in America. But within a few months of working with Amara Flordeliza, her pearl supplier in the Philippines, Bird became aware of the dire circumstances existing in families in Asia. They decided to establish the Pearls with a Purpose Foundation. Flordeliza, a native Filipina, quit her job eight years ago as manager of an architectural firm because she said her salary was not enough to help her fellow countrymen. Flordeliza took upon herself the responsibility of educating Philippine women in the art of jewelry making. The women are mothers who come from abusive situations or who have been abandoned completely.

Philippine living conditions often consist of a 10-by-10 dirt room with thin corrugated sheet metal for roofing. Kitchen supplies normally consist of a propane stove and a hanging basket for food. The children remain uneducated because of a lack of money for school tuition. It is a vicious cycle. The lack of parental education diminishes the opportunity for adequate income, which perpetuates ignorance and poverty among the children.

Available jobs pay an average of $1.50 to $3 per day, which barely pays for an evening meal. Many families sub-exist on rice and casaba roots throughout the year, leaving them nutritionally deprived and hungry.

Realizing the affluence here in America, Bird could not sit and hear of this suffering without taking action and began to send relief supplies gathered through family, friends and neighbors. This resulted in the formation of the Pearls with a Purpose Foundation.

Many donations consist of canned food items, enabling families to focus more on education and training versus survival.

Formal educational tools are limited in underdeveloped countries. The Pearls with a Purpose Foundation provides educational supplies. Volunteers of the foundation send books in English from preschool to college level along with pencils, pens, notebooks and other school supplies. These supplies enable those in the village with teaching skills to provide a learning environment for children and adults.

Formal educational tools are limited in underdeveloped countries. The Pearls with a Purpose Foundation provides educational supplies. Volunteers of the foundation send books in English from preschool to college level along with pencils, pens, notebooks and other school supplies. These supplies enable those in the village with teaching skills to provide a learning environment for children and adults.

The foundation succeeds in its endeavors through the support of individuals throughout the world. Volunteers continually receive donations throughout the year in Lehi, Utah, as well as Henderson, Nev., and pack the items in 24-by-24-by-17 boxes. The boxes travel by boat to the Philippines and arrive within four weeks. Flordeliza then personally sorts through the boxes and invites workers and their families to pick up their needed items. Villagers divide the food equally among themselves.

Following along the lines of the mission statement, the foundation helps to improve the living conditions in the Philippines. We will pursue our mission based upon values of integrity, honesty and loyalty.

Today Pearls with a Purpose has sent more than 200 boxes containing food, clothing and educational supplies to various Philippine Islands.

It is the hope and desire of the Pearls with a Purpose Foundation to continually spread these efforts throughout the Philippines. This will enable families to break free from their cycle of poverty.