The Golden Phoenix Foundation 1390 Chain Bridge Road, # 15 McLean, VA 22101 phone: 703/734-8359 email: contact@goldenphoenixfoundation.org
The Golden Phoenix Foundation was established in September of 2005 by Beth and Randy Russell. After unexpectedly adopting their daughter, Lily, from an orphanage in Jiangxi Province in China, the Russell’s wanted to do something to help ameliorate the suffering of those who were left behind in orphanages in China and elsewhere.
Realizing that relatively few of these children would ever be adopted, it made sense to begin thinking of ways that the environment in which these children were living could be improved. Of special interest were the children, mainly girls, in China who would be left to fend for themselves after leaving the orphanage, with no family for support and often little education or skills.
Where possible, the goal would be to make improvements that would be systemic rather than transitory relief. Inasmuch as there are already organizations doing work in these areas, it made sense to use the foundation to partner with and support those that shared the desire to make a difference in the lives of these children, while at the same time laying the groundwork for the foundtation’s own projects down the road.
The plan was to start with small projects but move toward a big vision….a vision of a world where the institutions traditionally known as ‘orphanages’ would be obsolete.
As a psychologist, Beth was interested in understanding how cultural mores and attitudes contributed to the problem of orphaned children and how they might be shifted in any small way through the work of the foundation. Along with on the ground and direct intervention projects, the foundation will sponsor and conduct research on the issues which underlie the problem of orphaned children. Through understanding, true solutions can emerge to seemingly intractable problems.
