2025 marks a profound milestone for the Vanessa Péan Foundation—twenty years since we lost Vanessa, and twenty years of carrying forward the compassion and commitment to service that defined her spirit.

What began as a scholarship fund started by Vanessa in 2005 has grown into a movement that has touched thousands of lives across Haiti, Liberia, Malawi, and the United States.

While Vanessa lost her life at the tender age of 16, she recognized the power of philanthropy as a teenager and we are committed to ensuring that her vision lives on through every scholarship granted, every clean water well built, and every life transformed. Vanessa understood that education and opportunity could break cycles of poverty—wisdom beyond her years that continues to guide our work two decades later.

In her short but profound life, Vanessa saw that we have the power to change lives, and that giving is not measured by the size of our gift but by the depth of our commitment. Her legacy is not just in the foundation that bears her name, but in the hundreds of girls and boys who have gone to school because she believed in them, in the families who have clean water and sanitation because she cared deeply about others, and in the communities strengthened because she dared to imagine a more just world.

Today, the Vanessa Péan Foundation stands as a testament to what one young woman's compassion can spark—a movement that has provided educational scholarships, clean water access, maternal healthcare, and athletic opportunities across two continents. Though we lost Vanessa far too soon, her spirit of generosity, her belief in the power of education, and her commitment to uplifting others continues to guide every decision we make and every life we touch.

This is Vanessa's legacy.