SCOTTS VALLEY OFFICE          

Charlotte Steinberg, Accounting

Edie Boschen, Child Sponsor Coordinator

Sue Harless, Administrative Assistant


RIPON OFFICE

Dana Bowles, Ripon Office Administrator

Michelle Franzia, Logistics Manager

Martin Barajas, Warehouse Coordinator
     
Michelle Young, Executive Assistant

 

Charlotte Steinberg, Accounting

Charlotte has been with Assist International since the early 1990s, when she came on board to help Bob and Charlene keep track of the growing organization. Charlotte plays a very important role in managing the books and ensuring that Assist remains faithful to its donor base. We take each financial gift very seriously and Charlotte helps us maintain our low overhead costs (currently less than 3%).

Q & A with Charlotte Steinberg:

What's Your Most Memorable Moment with Assist International?
"The trips with the Assist International teams to the Caminul Felix locations the year the dairy barn was framed, and to Serbia and Slovakia hospitals during medical equipment installations. We helped in a variety of ways. I also remember conversations with staff at offices, including working out the steps to use the memory feature on a Swedish-built typewriter. And sat at the same table for lunch at Casa Minunata with a volunteer counselor from England who used her vacation every year to come to Oradea, Romania. I could go on, but...."

You have 30 seconds to tell someone about Assist International...
"Assist International is just a group of folks and donors who rescue abandoned children and provide medical equipment to teaching hospitals worldwide. Assist International is making a huge difference in lives -- from individuals to entire cities."

What Assist International Program is Most Profound to You & Why?
"The Orphan and Widow projects, because to give a hopeless person, family or child a grasp of how their future can be changed for the better."

Is there a country or region you have a particular affinity for?
"Romania, because of Caminul Felix. It's inspiring to watch the potential of the country soar because of these children with hope."

Email Charlotte


Edie Boschen, Child Sponsor Coordinator

Edie has been with Assist International since 1998, and now fills the incredibly important role of managing child sponsorships and helping with the logistics of the Romanian Choir as it returns to the U.S. each year.

Q & A with Edie Boschen:

What's Your Most Memorable Moment with Assist International?
"This is difficult because there are a bunch -- but, probably my first trip to Romania -- which was also my first trip to Europe. It was an awesome experience that helped me grow, and I have loved repeating it several times."

You have 30 seconds to tell someone about Assist International:
"Assist International is about responding to opportunities around the world to make a life-changing difference in the lives of vulnerable people. Assist International does this by bringing life-saving medical equipment to hospitals that serve them and by bringing volunteers, financial and material resources to creditable orphan projects. On a more personal level, Assist International provides opportunities for those of us who have much to share with those who have little, and in that process to experience the joy that only comes through service to others."

What Assist International Program is Most Profound to You & Why?
"Personally I have found great joy in investing through Assist International into the lives of orphaned or abandoned children because I believe that children who grow up in a safe and secure home will find it much easier to transfer their dependence from the adults in their lives to God. It makes sense to me that a good relationship with our earthly father makes it easier to relate to our heavenly Father. The couples who have invested their lives by committing to raise orphaned or abandoned children in our vulnerable children projects are truly fulfilling the great commission."

Is there a country or region you have a particular affinity for?
"Without a doubt it would be Romania. Working alongside the Caminul Felix houseparents is what I do from a distance and always enjoy the opportunity to work with them directly when in Romania."

Email Edie


Sue Harless, Administrative Assistant

Sue began working at Assist International in 2003 after working as an administrative assistant for several local companies and her local church. She is an extremely valuable asset to the organization and willing to help wherever she's needed most in the moment! (She could also be considered the organization's "firefighter" -- putting out flare-ups wherever they may occur.)

Q & A with Sue Harless:

What Do You Enjoy Most About Working with Assist International?
"Assist International has given me the opportunity to working in the humanitarian field with fast-pace exciting projects that constantly helps the needy of the world. It is very rewarding to be a small part of the accomplishments Assist International is making all over the world with its medical and vulnerable children projects. Other reasons I like working for Assist International is the association with the committed and dedicated staff; to live vicariously through seeing all the photos brought back from all over the globe, and the great birthday parties we celebrate."

What Assist International Program is Most Profound to You & Why?
"It is hard to pick which project has the most profound effect upon me, but I would say the vulnerable children and widow project are very heartwarming and shows me that a little help can go along way to making a big difference in a single person's life. But also, it is an overwhelming feeling of happiness that always brings tears to the eye to see medical equipment installed, which has an immediate effect on the doctors' and nurses' faces when they see they can do more to help the patients they serve."

Is there a country or region you have a particular affinity for?
"I was able to travel to Serbia & Slovakia on a two-stop medical project and would also like to go to the southern hemisphere...maybe Guatemala."

Email Sue


Dana Bowles, Ripon Office Administrator

Dana has been with Assist International since 2005, and is charged with keeping the operations system moving smoothly. She also helps run the Ripon office (a significant task, especially when new medical systems arrive and need a quick turnaround time).

Q & A with Dana Bowles:

What's Your Most Memorable Moment with Assist International?
"When I first started working for Assist International, I was given the assignment of shipping an infant warmer to Chile while everyone was out of the country. I was new to international shipping, so I struggled through the document process and other things required to export the shipment. A couple of weeks later I received an email from the doctor in Chile. He expressed such heartfelt gratitude for the lives that would be saved because of that shipment. It was the first time I realized that even though I wasn't traveling the world with other staff members, I was still playing a role that touched lives. I'm happy to say that each day has been just as rewarding as the next since then working for Assist International."

You have 30 seconds to tell someone about Assist International:
"Assist International is a humanitarian organization that has been saving and improving lives for over 17 years. We build self-sustaining orphan villages, install high-tech medical equipment, and improve infrastructure such as water and power for hospitals and villages in remote areas of 3rd world countries."

What Assist International 'Issue' is Most Profound to You & Why?
"Having 4 children myself, I can't help but be personally moved by the help Assist International brings to orphans and widows."

Is there a country or region you have a particular affinity for?
"I would have to answer Africa. Seeing the devastation of the children just touches my heart with every photo I see and story I hear."

Email Dana


Michelle Franzia, Logistics Manager

Michelle started working for Assist International in 2008 as the Operations Assistant in the Ripon Distribution Center. Michelle contributes to the tasks and projects that her administrators are responsible for and organizes travel arrangements all over the world for the Ripon Team.

Q & A with Michelle Franzia:

What's Your Most Memorable Moment with Assist International?
"My memorable moment with Assist International was when I received an email thanking me for delivering an Ultrasound to Owerri, Nigeria. The doctor had sent pictures with their first patient who was a young boy who had been suffering with unexplained seizures. That is when I realized the many lives touched by Assist International's efforts."

You have 30 seconds to tell someone about Assist International:
"Assist International is a nonprofit humanitarian organization dedicated to directing resources to those in need. From outfitting Orphan projects to building the infrastructure to house high tech medical equipment, Assist also provides necessary training at all levels."

What Assist International 'Issue' is Most Profound to You & Why?
"The projects that are the most profound to me are the projects in which Assist International is able to provide educational tools and training for women for employment, which in turn, helps their children. The project partnership with AOET in Uganda is especially profound, where the widow women have been hit hard by AIDS and need to care for their children."

Is there a country or region you have a particular affinity for?
"I think Africa is the region I have a particular affinity for right now. There is so much I am doing to prepare documents for that I occasionally have to do some 'homework' on the logistics involved."

Email Michelle
 

Martin Barajas, Warehouse Coordinator

Martin has been with Assist International since 2006: when the organization built the new Distribution Warehouse in Ripon, California, it needed a hard-working, trustworthy individual to manage the medical equipment, vehicles, and facility. We found that person in Martin, and we are proud to have him on the team!

Q & A with MARTIN BARAJAS:

What's Your Most Memorable Moment with Assist International?
"It was when they accepted my application and I was called to work here with the rest of the team. I was able to see first-hand the dedication to helping people far away; the ones that do not have many possibilities for health care like I do, and watching as they send all the necessary things that people need around the world."

What Assist International 'Issue' is Most Profound to You & Why?
"I think that the medical installations & hospital equipment projects, because I have seen how many people need medical assistance, and it feels good when I look at the projects we do and how much they help people around the world. I am very thankful to God that an organization exists like Assist International to help these people, and I'm proud to be a part of it."

Is there a country or region you have a particular affinity for?
"I would have to say Mexico -- it is the place where I was born! I grew up in a small town that needs assistance just like many of the places that we help."

Email Martin


Michelle Young, Executive Assistant

Michelle started working with Assist International in 2010 as an Executive Assistant to Jim Stunkel and Dana Bowles.  Michelle contributes to the tasks and projects that her administrators are responsible for and organizes travel arrangements all over the world for the Ripon Team.
 
Q & A with Michelle Young:

What's Your Most Memorable Moment with Assist International?
"The Assist International 20th Anniversary Celebration.   Not having traveled abroad, I was able to truly feel the mission of Assist International up close and personal.  It was amazing to be with the people involved with Assist over the past 20 years, sharing a common desire to serve those less fortunate.  I feel blessed to be a part of such a profound organization."

What Assist International 'Issue' is Most Profound to You & Why?
"I am most touched by the work we do with the women in Africa.  So many of these women are left alone to care for themselves and their children.  By empowering these women through vocational training and business opportunities, they are able to provide for their families and have a sense of value and self-worth.  Most importantly, the women have a sense of hope for their future and the future of their children."

Email Michelle