This Woman Ditched a High-Powered Job to Help Save Thousands of Orphans

By age 30, Caroline Boudreaux had a high-paying job in TV advertising, a sleek car, a beautiful home and a sizzling social life. And yet, like so many, she felt unfulfilled and unhappy.

Deciding to focus on herself, Caroline took a sabbatical, journeying around the world with her best friend. One day, in a makeshift orphanage in a small Indian village, she found the calling she wasn’t even looking for: caring for orphaned children. And so her Miracle Foundation was born.

I felt like I was being wasted. I knew in my heart that I had a higher purpose that I wasn’t fulfilling.

Caroline had never seen orphans before. There were more than 100 children in that Indian village, taken in by just one family. The conditions were brutal: The children were malnourished and lacked proper clothing. And they lacked the necessary love and attention all children need to lead happy childhoods.

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“All of them had empty-looking eyes. And they were all vying for our attention, asking for a hug from us or to touch our hands. There were so many, and every single one was precious and perfect, desperately in need of love, attention – someone to care. I knew I had to do something,” says Caroline.

We believe in a future where there’s no longer a need for orphanages. Ask any child and they will tell you that their biggest dream is to be part of a loving family.

Returning from her sabbatical, Caroline turned her back on her former career to focus on her foundation. The goals? Providing support and empowerment to orphaned children so they can reach their full potential, as well as eliminating the need for orphanages by 2040.

Collaborating with other NGOs, governments, donors, volunteers, doctors and local family-strengthening organizations, Miracle Foundation has helped thousands of orphaned and at-risk children since its inception in 2000. In fact, 25% of children have already transitioned to family environments and 98% have graduated from secondary school.

Headquartered in Austin, Miracle Foundation works to enrich the lives of vulnerable children in Indian, Africa, Sri Lanka and Mexico, as well as children in the U.S. foster care system. These children can grow and live in safe, happy and healthy environments, where their needs for attention, affection and education are met. Environments where they have a chance to a better future and breaking the cycle. And for Caroline herself, gone are the days when she felt empty: “I now have everything money can’t buy. I have this great mission and great work now. It’s given me something so powerful to do.”