Many children in these communities do not have basic necessities like food, shelter, clothing and medicine, access to quality education or even families. It is very common for a large number of children, all "cousins," to grow up in a small house with only one adult figure, an "aunt" or "grandmother." Therefore, many children do not receive adequate parental guidance and most do not enjoy one-on-one relationships with adult role models.

LAUNCH's model is unique, based on establishing profound one-to-one relationships and availing children with a trusted counselor with whom they can freely discuss their education, social issues and personal direction. Providing educational scholarships, guidance and other assistance including basic necessities and job training, LAUNCH guides children above the debilitating conditions of their communities.

We require our children to strive for academic excellence and to be responsible citizens of the world around them.

Read more about LAUNCH children. >

A Brief History

When Peace Corps volunteer David Evans left Africa in 1978 he knew he would someday be back. In five years on assignment in the Kingdom of Lesotho - a small country surrounded by South Africa - he had established strong ties with many members of the rural community of Maseru, fellow Peace Corps volunteers, neighbors, teachers at the school where he had taught mathematics and children, including students he had worked with in grades 8 through 12.

Back in Boston, Massachusetts with a job as a systems manager, Evans kept in touch with the community he'd left behind and continued to make an impact. Soon after his return he financed the higher education of one of his former students, putting Molefi Tomane through Boston's Northeastern University, which awarded him a BS degree in Civil Engineering in 1986.

Over the years Evans returned to Africa a number of times, occasionally helping individuals and families financially and otherwise. In 1998 he began to
lay the foundation for the nonprofit organization that would soon grow into LAUNCH, deepening his involvement with the community by extending both his financial and emotional support to many individuals and families.

Evans founded LAUNCH in 2002 to formalize and expand the charity and assure continuity of support to its recipients. Today LAUNCH has grown to include help for the impoverished township of Alexandra, South Africa. There, as in the Kingdom of Lesotho, LAUNCH provides educational scholarships, mentoring, basic necessities and job training and support to a growing community of children and young adults.

Click here to learn how you can help. >

Mr. Evans has spent the last 25 years juggling his interest in southern Africa with his interest in business management and information technology. From 1979 to 2000, he worked at BankBoston (now FleetBoston) in various management and technology positions, most recently as Senior Manager from 1991 to 2000. In over 20 years at BankBoston, Dave developed skills in project planning, people management and working with other managers and departments to reduce operational expenses and to grow business and profitability.

Mr. Evans was first introduced to Lesotho and southern Africa in general by the United States Peace Corps, where he worked as a Secondary Mathematics Teacher from 1974 to 1978. He holds a BA in Mathematics from the University of Massachusetts.

Ms. Ambre has spent a long and distinguished career in public services. Joan worked for the United States Peace Corps for almost twenty years, from 1969 to 1982 and again from 1992 to 1996. Most recently, Ms. Ambre served as Director of Peace Corps Personnel; however, she has held numerous other positions including Director of Human Resources and Staffing Specialist for African Region. Joan's work with the Peace Corps brought her to Lesotho, Jamaica, the Caribbean and Washington, DC. From 1988 to 1992, Ms. Ambre served as the Deputy Director of the US Department of Labor Training Academy. From 1982 to 1988, she was the Director of Personnel for the Minerals Management Service and the Bureau of Land Management at the US Department of the Interior.

Prior to her work for the federal government (1955 to 1969), Ms. Ambre was a high school and college teacher and administrator. She completed post-graduate work in Education Administration, Guidance and Counseling Psychology at Illinois State University, and also received an MA in English Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana and a BA from Rosary College, River Forest, Illinois. Joan is now "retired" - active in a number of community and religious groups in Phoenix, Arizona.

Ms. Leary was most recently the Administrative Manager of Keystone Associates, Boston's largest independent provider of career management and transition services since 1999. At Keystone, Beth managed the daily operations of the Boston office, as well as its administrative staff. From 1997 to 1999, Ms. Leary was an Administrative Supervisor of Accenture (at the time, Anderson Consulting). At Accenture, Beth was responsible for the career development and management of 45 individuals. In 1996, she co-launched Gang & Gang Inc., a human resource consulting firm. From 1994 to 1996, Ms. Leary managed the operations of Grant & Partners, a management consulting firm later purchased by Ernst & Young. Beth received a BA in Political Science from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Frederick W. McCarthy III, Director

Mr. McCarthy is currently a consultant to a private equity firm in Boston, focusing on financial and legal research and analysis. From 1999 to 2001, Mr. McCarthy served TradeOut, Inc., an Internet-based business-to-business asset management company, in a number of capacities, most recently as the head of the Automotive Group, one of TradeOut's five divisions. Before joining the Automotive Group, he was Director of Business Development for TradeOut. From 1997 to 1999, Fred was an investment banker in the Financial Sponsors Group at Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, the investment banking arm of Deutsche Bank. In that role, he served both private equity investors and corporate clients in transactions involving senior debt lending, high yield debt underwriting and merger and acquisition advisory. Fred received his A.B. degree in Political Science from Brown University.

Dr. Medrano has been a licensed clinical psychologist for over 20 years, focusing on trauma, child psychology and family consulting. Luisa is President of Medrano Associates, a workplace crisis consulting firm. Dr. Medrano is also the Founding Partner of Trauma Recovery Associates, a general psychotherapy practice that specializes in trauma. Luisa has occupied various positions in healthcare management and training at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston, the Behavior Healthcare Network of Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Dr. Medrano has also served as a staff psychologist at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center at Harvard Medical School, the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center at the Brigham & Women's Hospital.

Dr. Medrano lectures nationally on trauma response and recovery and child psychology; she is a frequent guest of the Boston TV and radio media on such matters. Luisa currently has academic appointments at Harvard Medical School and the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital. She received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Denver and her BA in Clinical Psychology with Highest Honors from Iberoamericana University in Mexico City.