Noelle Bennett seems to always have had a sense of purpose, even when she expressed it in surprising ways, like buying a purple and yellow suit, on her own accord, to match the pharmaceutical product she promoted for our client at an event years ago. To this day, this humorous “purple suit” story lives on, and we are happy to be working with Noelle again. Most recently, after reactivating with us, Noelle has been busy working as Acting Head of HR for a local video game company. She is a perfect example of the kind of candidate that we are proud to work with, not only because of her skills and her loyalty to Adams over the years, but also because of the deep sense of “giving” that she expresses in her life.

About a year and a half ago, on a last minute trip to Cambodia on her way back from Turkey , Noelle witnessed the effects of extreme poverty, including three year old children picking through garbage to find recyclables. "This is how they make money to pay for their family’s food." Noelle quickly started to uncover, first-hand, stories of the families affected in this area. One family had already lost one child to malnutrition. Another child belonging to the same family, an eight year old daughter with fair skin and blue eyes - a favorable combination in the area - was sold by the family to apparently work as a maid in Thailand . They did not know at the time that she would actually be exported to Thailand to work in the back of a storefront, in what to be discovered to be a crowded and dirty brothel with a dozen or so children ranging from 8 to 16 years old working in the deplorable child prostitution trade.

"There are many stories like this, and there are many humanitarian organizations", but after Noelle's "three and a half heartbreaking days" she realized it was her goal to "target those children who are in most danger of being continually sold, rescued and sold again. Or those with difficulties with drug abuse or a lack of skills to mobilize themselves out of these situations." Since earlier this year Noelle has really pushed her efforts forward and is organizing a network, including people who travel to Cambodia and people who live there. She is working with the Cambodian government to acquire land and a house in a favorable area, drawing the funds from her own savings. The goal is to provide shelter to 8-12 children and young people. Included will be a teacher, counselor and 24 hour protection. Noelle is also working to build partnerships with local businesses to try to encourage the possibility of training some or all of these youth in areas like culinary arts or driving.

Life has not always been easy for Noelle, either. At the young age of 25, she was diagnosed with cancer. This challenge presented itself around the time that she had her son. Though her cancer presented a big struggle in her life, she accepts it as her "wake up call."

"I never looked back and thought 'Gosh, I wish I wouldn't have had cancer. It made me ask myself, ‘If I have only a short time on this planet, how do I measure my contribution to this world?’ If cancer is my reminder, great, cancer is my reminder. It has intensified my drive and ambition for true giving - one human being to another human being. It's not charity, it's my duty to help those less fortunate than me. My philosophy is: Skip the bureaucracy and do something real."

If you are interested in seeing more of Noelle’s work in Cambodia , you can check out her website, which is still under construction at www.cambodiahope.org.