Speakers Bureau
Do you live in Southwest Florida and know of a group that might be interested in hearing the inspiring story of Miracles in Action and the positive change it has brought to the people of Guatemala? Founder Penny Rambacher is an experienced keynote speaker and nonprofit leader who speaks on a variety of subjects including:
The Happy List
Facing adversity can bring you down, or it can bring about positive change to improve your life. Penny Rambacher shares her journey to happiness after beating breast cancer at age 38 and being down sized by Corporate America. Through breath-taking photography, you will travel to New Zealand with Penny as she backpacks solo, reinventing her life with “The Happy List.” You’ll hear how she made the bold decision that life should be filled with more of the things you love and less of the things you don’t. Her moving stories and photos will take you to a garbage dump in Quito, Ecuador, where Penny first found inspiration to help impoverished people and then to the indigenous rural villages of Guatemala, where Penny has found happiness in making a difference in the lives of the people who live there. Through her organization, Miracles in Action, she is helping others make a difference, too.
Lessons From an Afghan Refugee Camp
With the plight of refugees more and more in the news every day, former American Airlines flight attendant, Penny Rambacher, chronicles her experience at an
Afghan refugee camp. Six months after the 9-11 terrorists attacks, Penny traveled to the Pakistan/Afghanistan border to distribute humanitarian aid to Afghan refugees there. Penny’s moving stories and photos will shed light on what it’s like to be a refugee fleeing your own country to avoid war, ethnic cleansing or starvation and the lessons she learned there.
Traveling to Make a Difference
As a flight attendant for American Airlines, Penny Rambacher, has had the opportunity to travel around the world for work, for pleasure, and for making a difference in the lives of the poor. Penny will share her cultural
experiences, observations, and the ways that she gives back to the people she visits. Travel along with Penny through her moving photography and heartwarming stories from Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Jordan, Peru, Argentina, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Guatemala, and learn how you can make a difference, too.
The Story of Miracles In Action
If you have ever wondered whether ordinary people can make a difference in the world, the answer is yes. Hear the story of former American Airlines flight attendant Penny Rambacher and her mom, Noreen, who started Miracles in Action in 2005 as a response to the extreme poverty they saw while traveling together in Central and South America. Penny shares how her Happy List and Noreen’s legacy were the foundation of Miracles in Action – an organization dedicated to the idea that education is the surest way out of poverty. To date, Miracles In Action has built more than 54 schools in the last 12 years with help from people just like you. During this time, Penny
as also built a thriving fair trade cottage industry, employing 135 artisans that are able to work themselves out of poverty to provide a better life for themselves and their children.
Human Trafficking in Our Backyard
Human trafficking is one of the most lucrative criminal enterprises in the world. In Guatemala, however, trafficking children for sexual exploitation is something of a crisis, with 57 percent of victims under the age of 18, according to a new U.N. report. As a frequent traveler to Guatemala, former American Airlines flight attendant, Penny Rambacher, shares her experiences on why parents send their girls to SW Florida, the horrors of the journey, and the reality of life as a slave right here in our backyard. She also talks about how her organization, Miracles in Action, has been effective in reducing child slavery, and how you can help to educate youth on protecting themselves from manipulation and trafficking see www.causevision.org
As a speaker, Penny will provide:
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A quality multimedia presentation, complete with stunning photos and stories from around the world
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Education about the plight of the poor and the state of education in Guatemala today
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Inspiration on what YOU can do to help break the cycle of poverty
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The opportunity to make an immediate difference through the purchase of beaded crafts and necklaces made by village women in Guatemala
Groups that will benefit from a Penny’s presentations include:
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Philanthropic Groups
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Women’s Groups
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Libraries
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Churches
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Schools & Youth Clubs
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Social Justice Groups
Penny’s Bio
Penny Rambacher, R.D. (Registered Dietitian) is the founder of Miracles in Action, a Naples, FL based nonprofit that is dedicated to empowering the people of
Guatemala living in extreme poverty to help themselves through sustainable projects that improve education, nutrition, and vocational skills. As a flight attendant with American Airlines, Penny had the opportunity to travel around the world for work, for
pleasure, and for making a difference in the lives of the poor. After visits to garbage dumps in Quito, Ecuador, and Guatemala City, Guatemala, Penny found inspiration to make a more permanent difference. Penny started Miracles in Action in 2005 based on two core beliefs: first, that working in partnership with poor Guatemalan people gives them a hand up instead of a hand-out; and second, that education is the surest way out of poverty.
Since 2005, Miracles in Action has coordinated the construction of 60 rural schools, 24 village water systems, 20 vocational workshops, more than 2800 safe, fuel efficient stoves, and over 2600 water purification filters. Miracles in Action selects projects that achieve long-term results, improve quality of life, and allow truly impoverished people to help themselves. Penny makes all of her projects personal, often enabling donors to travel to Guatemala to witness first-hand the projects they have supported and the faces of the people whose lives they have changed.
