About us
Have you ever talked so much about something that you started to visualize what it can look like, vividly imagining what it will be when it come to flourish?
Well, that was the case for sisters Fatai Finau-Langi and Lavenda Finau-Tuionetoa. These sisters were born and raised in Reno, Nevada, attending low performing schools and being vitally connected to public programs. Their childhood was rife with instability. Hearing their parents fight at home led to fights at school and an ever growing unease as to what their home life would look like as they grew up. However, the challenges faced during that season of life, fostered a resilience that paved the way for these sisters to choose paths leading to successful adulthood. Being surrounded by people that loved and cared for them allowed them to create a new vision for what life could be like. The sisters had a dream of seeing the youth of Washoe county succeed and make a difference in their worlds and they forged ahead to make that a reality.
With Fatai finding her calling as a resource parent to foster teens and Lavenda finding her way into the Associate Director position of a local Texas non-profit, they knew the combination of these skills and passions could help others. Their success would be in the forefront of both sisters. In 2020, Caring for Angels became an official Non-profit organization under the IRS Code 509a2, EIN #87-3501194) with Board of Directors who are both educators and professionals in the work of empowering youth and young adults.. As Caring for Angels, Inc continues to open its doors to possibilities of life changing services, the sisters remain diligent in letting people know about the work of Caring for Angels, Inc. They continue to reach more teens with a dream and actually seeing it come to life.
Fatai and Lavenda in 1988, Summer time at a church members pool in Reno, NV.
Fatai and Lavenda in 2018, in Fiji.
Meet Our C4A Team
Lavenda Tuionetoa
Executive Director for Caring for Angels, Lavenda is also an educator in Fine Arts. Her passion is to see young people thrive in any area of life, especially for youth who have come from at risk families. Lavenda loves to teach Independent living workshop classes to any age, and loves to teach young people how to unlock their potential through music.
Manuel Ortiz, M.Ed
Manuel is our driving force behind our renovated Learn 2 Live workshops, bringing interactive ideas to education for our youth. You will find Manuel inspiring the youth in the evenings at Kids Cottage or at a local youth gatherings towards further education.
Sione Lavaka, M.Ed
Sione is our Finance Specialist/Program Coordinator for Learn 2 Live Workshops. He is the innovative force behind the revamping of our Learn 2 Live workshops. As an educator at our local community college, Sion is passionate about seeing youth thrive towards adulthood and education. As a native of Reno, graduated from UNR, he brings a wealth of expertise in education and finance management to our organization.
Fitu Finau
Our Communication Specialist/Program Administrative Assistant, Fitu is fun and super outgoing when it comes to youth services. She is currently supporting our Youth programs each Tuesday and Thursday night, and anytime we have L2L Sessions. When you message our office, she is the person who you will be communicating.
“Every kid is one caring adult away from being a success.”
— Josh Shipp, American youth motivational speaker
