OPERATION PEDRO PAN GROUP, INC. is the Official National Charitable organization founded in 1991 by the former unaccompanied Cuban children. It was created to fulfill the Pledge of Thanksgiving given in 1990, in which we honor the sacrifice of our parents and this noble nation that welcomed us, and the person that made it all possible, Monsignor Bryan O. Walsh. We felt it was our duty to pay back the kindness by helping today’s needy children. OPPG Inc. is a non-partisan, non-sectarian and non-profit organization, tax exempt under Section 501 C3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Monsignor Bryan O. Walsh was the Chairperson of the organization until his death on December 20th, 2001. Under his direction, in order to protect & to allow the public to identify the organization and its services we obtained the Registration of our Trademark by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce on December 1993.

All the unaccompanied Cuban minors who were part of the exodus now popularly known as Operation Pedro Pan, call ourselves Pedro Pans.

Our Board of Directors is formed by volunteers who were part of the exodus & are duly elected in a democratic process. The twenty five members of the Board of Trustees are our “Ambassadors of Good Will” and assist in locating Pedro Pans and connect with over 2000 members throughout the US and the world. Our headquarter is in Miami, Florida.

MISSION STATEMENT

To sponsor, aid, assist and promote programs that benefit children in need. This includes children without parents (unaccompanied minors) and the needy, regardless of race, creed, color or religion. To document our history for the future generations and to spread the knowledge of our exodus as an important chapter of the history of Cuba and the United States. To locate and reunite those individuals who were part of the unaccompanied Cuban Children’s Program and to share our experiences.

We are currently the support group for the Child Welfare Programs of Catholic Charities in Miami which includes Catholic Home for Children in Perrine and the Boystown Unaccompanied Minor’s Program. We will contribute to and help with the preservation of the Pedro Pan Archives at Barry. We have organized Pedro Pan Conferences and historical presentations in places such as the US National Archives, Annual Reunions in Miami and other States, picnics for the needy children, assisted in Hurricane relief efforts and other humanitarian causes. For the last 17 years we have played the roles of Santa Claus & Los Reyes Magos for the underprivileged children. OPPG spearheaded the effort to preserve “Camp Matecumbe” as a Park, a living memorial to our Exodus for the future generations. In our effort to spread the knowledge of our exodus we have contributed information and materials to numerous writers, scholars and students in their projects. Most importantly, we have been helping Pedro Pans find each other since 1990.