It started with a Christmas donation drive.
In December 2021, Christiane and Cynthia organized their first community donation drive. There was no infrastructure, no nonprofit status, no team — just a deep conviction that the people of Lebanon deserved better than what the headlines were offering them. They gathered what their community could give and sent it directly to Lebanon through the Maronite Sisters of the Holy Family, a congregation of nuns with decades of service to vulnerable communities across the country.
In choosing how to deliver aid, Christiane and Cynthia were guided by one question: how do we make sure every dollar reaches the people it's meant for? After witnessing the confusion and uncertainty that followed the 2020 Beirut explosion — and seeing how difficult it could be to verify where donated funds were truly going — they sought a partner they could trust completely.
Their work was quiet, consistent, and accountable. For Christiane and Cynthia, that was everything.
The Sisters had been serving vulnerable communities in Lebanon for decades — long before the cameras arrived and long after they left. That steady, unglamorous work was exactly the kind of partnership Christiane and Cynthia were looking for. Trust wasn't a marketing claim. It was the ground they built on.
A Christmas tradition becomes a mission.
What started as a Christmas tradition became something bigger than either of them expected. In May 2023, Hope for Lebanon became an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit— formalizing a mission that had already been quietly changing lives for two years.
Today, Hope for Lebanon remains a small, volunteer-run organization. Every dollar donated goes directly to Lebanon. Nothing is skimmed, nothing is redirected. The same trust that guided that first donation drive in 2021 guides every decision we make today.