Philanthropists unite to celebrate one of Palm Beach’s finest treasures, Robert G. Gordon

Palm Beach philanthropists Arlette Gordon (Honorary Chairwoman) and Elizabeth Bowden (Honorary Chairwoman) joined Paul Marino (Event Chairman) on stage at Food For The Poor’s ninth-annual Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures gala Sunday night to honor Arlette’s late husband, Robert G. Gordon, one of Palm Beach’s finest treasures. Proceeds from the Jan. 29 gala at The Breakers Palm Beach will build a critically needed school for over 100 disadvantaged children in and around Gordon’s Cove in Bluefields, Jamaica.

“Tonight honors my darling husband,” said Arlette. “One of Bob’s greatest pleasures was his involvement as Chairperson for the past several Food For The Poor Palm Beach Galas. During his lifetime, funds were raised to build Gordon’s Cove, a sustainable fishing village and community.”

Food For The Poor’s gala began with a superb wine tasting reception with selected wines to enhance the five-course menu compliments of Dreyfus, Ashby & Co., and Republic National Distributing Company. Throughout the reception, unique wine selections, jewelry and exotic escapes to Hong Kong and Montego Bay, Jamaica, were among the various silent and live auction prizes.

“Over the years, many families in Jamaica have benefited from life-transforming gifts through the generosity of the Palm Beach community,” said Marino. “They have lifesaving food, housing, and the ability to earn an income through Gordon’s Fishing Village, and now, an opportunity to provide their children with an education. Thank you for transforming the lives of the suffering into lives filled with hope for the future.”

As a tribute to Robert’s epicurean reputation, known throughout Palm Beach, the menu he personally selected last year was given rebirth at this year’s event. Early in the evening, Marino and the men stood to toast Robert’s legacy, as he was recognized as one of the area’s most generous philanthropists and past Bailli-Confrérie de las Chaines des Rôtisseurs for 25 years.

“Tonight we will enjoy some of the things Robert truly loved: wonderful food, great wine and the company of good friends and family,” said Bowden, Honorary Chairwoman and Silver Benefactor. “Food For The Poor held a special place in his heart and through their efforts and the support of many of the guests here tonight, hundreds of the poor in Jamaica have a promising future.”

Bowden, a dear family friend who previously traveled to Hong Kong with the couple, alluded to the fact that even if there is no smoking in heaven, Robert would find a corner to smoke his cigars.

Arlette thanked Patrick Park for graciously committing to be the charity’s International Honorary Benefactor. Park pledged to double his monetary support this year to help fund the school. Arlette then mentioned Grand, Silver and Bronze Benefactors by name, thanking them individually for supporting Food For The Poor’s mission.

The Grand Benefactor was Florence DeGeorge. Bronze Benefactors included Helen Bernstein, Helen Bernstein-Fealy, Paula and Robert Butler, Henry and Mary Virginia Fong, The Frankino Foundation, Stanley and Helene Karp, Howard and Michele Kessler, Charlotte Kimelman, Hermé de Wyman Miro, The International Society of Palm Beach, Lois Pope, and Ari Rifkin.

“Food For The Poor was Bob’s favorite cause,” said Harold Stayman. “He had such respect for its management and Arlette has continued his generosity. Tonight when you take a few sips of your favorite wine, think of Bob.”

During the live auction, the crowd rallied in support of Food For The Poor’s mission. One of the live auction prizes included a PGA Championship seven-day pass to Kiawah Island Golf Resort in S.C. with airfare for two.

“Let’s honor Robert’s legacy and let him be immortal in Jamaica,” said Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor’s Executive Director. Aloma explained how, with the basic human needs fulfilled in Gordon’s Cove, it is now appropriate that the focus be on education.

Gala sponsors included American Nicaraguan Foundation, Dreyfus, Ashby & Co., Russ Reid Company, Republic National Distributing Company, and TerraGroup.

For additional information regarding the Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures event, please call 1-888-404-4248 or visit www.foodforthepoor.org/palmbeach.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.

For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com

Emilio Bonifacio will celebrate Youth Day in the D.R.

Miami Marlins baseball star Emilio Bonifacio will travel to Puerto Plata on Jan. 31 to distribute baseball equipment and uniforms with Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the United States. His visit will coincide with National Youth Day in the Dominican Republic.

This will be the third time that hometown hero Bonifacio has reached out through Food For The Poor to children in the D.R. who have dreams of following his path. In December, he surprised orphans at the Hogar Escuela Santo Domingo Savio with an early Christmas gift when he enjoyed a meal with them and then gave each of them T-shirts with the team’s new logo. In 2010, he joined Food For The Poor in distributing more than 2,000 mitts, bats, balls, helmets, and uniforms to orphans.

“It was an honor to be there at the orphanage and spend time with the kids. I take pride in helping them any which way I can,” Bonifacio said of his recent December trip. “Growing up close to that orphanage, I’m proud to have the opportunity to give back to the community I call home.”

About 200 boys will benefit from the clothing and equipment distribution on Jan. 31, with Obispado de Puerto Plata, Food For The Poor’s partner in the D.R. After the distribution, two young-adult teams will play an exhibition game for the visitors from South Florida. The teams are part of the Jose Nunez league, a group of up-and-coming baseball players from very poor surrounding communities.

The next day, Bonifacio and the group from Food For The Poor and Obispado de Puerto Plata will visit smaller homes to spend time with the orphans and distribute clothing and other goods.

“These simple gifts of baseball equipment and clothing make a world of difference for these boys,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “These simple gifts have the power to change the course of these boys’ lives. Knowing someone cares helps them to dream of a better life. We are so grateful to the Marlins and to Mr. Bonifacio for having such a heart for the poor.”

Food For The Poor and the Miami Marlins also have worked together to raise awareness of the need in Haiti, and representatives of the two groups traveled together in May 2011 to celebrate the opening of a village in Malfety. Donations to the Homes for Haiti campaign led to the construction of Inspiration Village, which consists of 41 two-room houses with personal sanitation units. The community has a water well, a solar powered water purification unit, and a community center.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.

To learn more, visit www.foodforthepoor.org.

Contact:
Kathy Skipper
Food For The Poor
Public Relations Director
954-427-2222 x 6614
kathys@foodforthepoor.com

Palm Beach County students organize a benefit concert for Nicaragua

Embarking on a new way to involve South Florida’s youth in philanthropy, Atlantic Community High School junior Samantha Kerker collaborated with students and faculty members at six Palm Beach County high schools to present a benefit concert Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, at Mizner Park Amphitheater, in Boca Raton. Proceeds from this evening of music will build a Food For The Poor school in Chinandega, Nicaragua.

“By all of the students coming together in these Students For The Poor chapters, it has given us the strength and power to really impact a plethora of students lives,” said Samantha. “This school in Nicaragua will benefit hundreds of students, and will allow them to have a proper education. With more students getting a proper education, the generations will become stronger and wiser, and will eventually overcome their developing country status.”

Performers to include The Kinected (Pop Music), Kasper featuring Syxx Ent (Hip Hop/Rap), Amanda (Pianist, singing Adele songs), and Siren (Rock Band). Participating Students For The Poor chapters include Atlantic Community High School, Suncoast Community High School, A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Palm Beach Central High School, Boca Raton Community High School, and West Boca Raton Community High School.

For additional information regarding benefit concert sponsorship levels, and tickets, available at $20 per person, please contact Monique Shaw by calling 1-877-654-2960 ext. 6069 or by emailing moniques@foodforthepoor.com. Information about how you can start a Students For The Poor chapter at your school is also available by request.

Samantha’s idea to start Students For The Poor chapters in Palm Beach County was inspired by the questions her peers asked about her Food For The Poor mission trip to Nicaragua. She found the travel experience to a developing country to be so unlike her experiences in the United States.

“The poorest children in our neighborhoods would be considered the fortunate students compared to the children living in a developing country,” said Samantha, who tie-dyed her way to building her first Food For The Poor home for a destitute Nicaraguan family in December 2010. “Here in America, we have a government structure with many resources to aid the poor. In a developing country, there are little to no opportunities for the poor. The students participating in Students For The Poor clubs have come together to help those less fortunate students abroad.”

Students For The Poor is a unique student outreach effort initiated by students and developed by Food For The Poor. Students For The Poor is an organized outreach group on high school and college campuses throughout the United States in which students take time from their busy lives to serve the poor in their local communities, the Caribbean and Latin America.

To support the students’ building initiative, tax-deductible donations can be made through the charity’s secure website at www.FoodForThePoor.org/students. Donations can also be mailed to Food For The Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. Please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the special source code “SC# 77575” to accurately route your donation to the school-building effort.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/students.

Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com

Grammy award-winning reggae star, Shaggy, shines light on Haiti’s housing needs

The 2012 Grammy nominee and award-winning reggae artist, Shaggy, has partnered with the South Florida based-nonprofit Food For The Poor to help build homes in Haiti. Shaggy is scheduled to perform at Food For The Poor’s annual Building Hope Gala on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 at The Polo Club of Boca Raton.

Attendees will be invited to create a legacy by pledging to build critically needed houses during the charity’s live house-rally. For additional information regarding the Building Hope Gala, sponsorship levels, and tickets, available at $225 per person, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/boca.

Shaggy won a Grammy for his album “Boombastic,” and was nominated for “It Wasn’t Me,” “Clothes Drop,” “Intoxication,” and “Hotshot.” Shaggy won Billboard’s Male Artist of the Year and Male Album Artist of the Year in 2001 and was nominated at the 2002 American Music Awards as the Favorite Male Pop/Rock Artist, Rap/Hip-Hop Artist and International Artist of the year. Shaggy has sold over 20 million albums to date and has had seven number one albums. Shaggy has also had eight number one hit singles with “Boombastic,“ “In the Summertime,” “Angel,” “It Wasn’t Me,” “Church Heathen,” “Bonafide Girl,” “Feel the Rush,” and “Sugarcane.” Currently, Shaggy is a 2012 Grammy nominee for his new album “Summer in Kingston.”

Although tremendously successful in his business ventures and his music, Shaggy has always lived on the premise that “to whom much is given, much is required.” With this belief, Shaggy has also taken on the role of philanthropist.

Similarly, in November, seven committee members from the Boca Raton/Lighthouse Point communities left the comfort of their homes to travel to Haiti with Food For The Poor. While in-country, the committee members decided this year’s Building Hope Gala goal would be to raise enough money to construct 100 housing units, a community center, and to initiate an animal husbandry project to include 20 cows in Olivier, Deuxieme Plaine, Haiti.

“It was a very sad day, but a great experience – a life adjusting experience,” said Rene Mahfood, the event’s Honorary Chairperson, after her first day in Haiti. “What we saw today puts everything in perspective. You think about how expensive life is back home and all the things you can’t afford. Then you realize that all those material things don’t matter. None of it matters. All that matters is having a roof over your head, being able to clothe your children and having food to eat.”

Committee members include Cathy and Abdol Moabery (Event Co-Chairpersons), Ronda and David Gluck (Event Co-Chairpersons), Rene and Francis Mahfood (Honorary Chairpersons), Becky Carlsson, Ronda Ellis Ged, Michele Greene, Julie Mahfood, Pamela Matsil, Kara Seelye, Natasha Singh, Allison Venditti, Patricia Wallace, and Traci Wilson.

Media master of ceremonies will be Calvin Hughes, an Emmy Award-winning newscaster for WPLG-TV ABC Local 10 News. For years, he has reported how nonprofits such as Food For The Poor continue to improve lives and living conditions throughout the world.

Event sponsors include Gregory’s Fine Jewelry, Arrigo Fiat of West Palm Beach, TD Bank, N.A., Regal Home Health, Premier Aircraft Sales, American Nicaraguan Foundation, Jeffrey and Agnes Stoops, Dennis Charley & Associates, Quadriga Art. Inc, Haiti Shipping Lines, Seaboard Marine Ltd., Dusco Doors, The Pereira Family, Bernuth Agencies, Inc., United Healthcare, Boca Home Care Services, Comerica Bank, The Ross Group of UBS, Mailing Service of Pittsburg, and Jox Sox.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com

School campaign celebrates Jamaica’s golden anniversary

Jamaica, the Caribbean's third-largest island, will be celebrating 50 years of independence from British rule on Aug.6, 2012. To mark this golden anniversary, Food For The Poor is launching the “Jamaica 50 Campaign” to build 50 schools in 50 months. The initiative will work like this:

- In August of 2012, the first school will open, and then a new school will open each month for the next 50 months.
-Food For The Poor will replace a school that has been targeted by a community that’s been deemed as an unfit space for children to learn.

Music is often what comes to mind when speaking of Jamaica, but education has always been a seed deeply planted into the minds of the Jamaican people. The Caribbean nation has experienced its share of economic hardship – many parents cannot afford to pay school fees, buy books, school supplies or uniforms necessary to send their children to basic school. Many of the nation’s school buildings are dilapidated or in desperate need of repair.

“It is important for those who have decided to leave Jamaica to pursue their dreams in Canada or the United States to remember their homeland, the homeland of their parents, their grandparents,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “The best gift of all is the gift of knowledge, and those who are in a position to help can do so by providing the children of Jamaica with safe and inspiring places to learn.”

This is a monumental, but exciting commitment by Food For The Poor to build these schools for children ages 3 to 6 years old. The ministry is looking forward to working with its donors on making this project between Jamaica, the United States and Canada a lasting legacy for generations to come.

The basic schools or Early Childhood Institutes are the backbone of the educational system in Jamaica because it is where young children develop their character, and get the educational foundation needed to advance to primary school, which is equivalent to an elementary school in the United States.

Each basic school constructed will have an office, sick bay, kitchen, bathroom/sanitation, and one large classroom that can be subdivided into three learning spaces. There’s an average capacity of 40 students per school, but depending on the size of the structure, up to 100 students could be attending one school at a time. There’s typically one teacher and a teacher’s assistant in the smaller schools, and three or more in the larger schools.

Food For The Poor will share photos of each new school, along with a description of the school before it was replaced, its students, the teachers, the community and how the new school has affected that community. Supporting “Jamaica 50 Campaign” is an opportunity for Food For The Poor and our donors to celebrate the past, and the future of an independent Jamaica. To view additional photos of Jamaica schools rebuilt by Food For The Poor, please visit the "Jamaica 50 Campaign" Flickr photo album.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com

Thousands of meals are heading to Haiti, thanks to Lynn University

More than 200 students, staff and volunteers packed Green Hall on the campus of Lynn University on the second anniversary of the Haiti earthquake. They were not there to mourn, but to participate in a food packing event to help feed families still recovering from the 2010 natural disaster.

The precious cargo – white rice, lentils, dried carrot, onion, tomato, celery, cabbage, bell pepper and a dash of Himalayan sea salt – was vacuum-sealed on the Boca Raton campus and packed into 120 boxes. Each box contains 48 bags of the dried ingredients, and each bag equals six meals or 288 meals per box, a total of 34,560 meals. All of the boxes were then signed with loving words of encouragement, loaded onto a truck and delivered to Food For The Poor’s warehouse in Coconut Creek.

“The students at Lynn University are so full of energy, we’re so grateful to them and to our donors with Feeding Children Everywhere for their gift, which will feed hundreds of families in Haiti,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “Higher food prices are challenging our ability to feed the number of hungry we need to reach, so we’re very grateful for this donation.”

This is the second year Lynn University has partnered with the Orlando-based food pack charity, and donated those meals to Food For The Poor. The critically needed food will be shipped to Haiti by the end of the month.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com

Celebrating hope out of tragedy:The two-year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake

Forty-two families in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, are waking up in new homes, in a new community, and with new hope this morning. The Journey of Hope Memorial Village, built by Food For The Poor to celebrate the lives, love and sacrifice of the Lynn University students and faculty, is being dedicated on the two-year anniversary of one of the most devastating earthquakes in the Caribbean nation’s history.

The group of 12 college students and two faculty advisors were on a Journey of Hope mission trip with Food For The Poor when at 4:53 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince. More than 230,000 lives were lost that day, including the lives of students Stephanie Crispinelli, Britney Gengel, Christine Gianacaci, Courtney Hayes, and Professors Patrick Hartwick and Richard Bruno.

“There are no words to express the depth of despair we felt for the students, their advisors, and for the people of Haiti when the earthquake happened,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “These young people wanted to make a difference and the love of service was in their hearts when they went to Haiti. It was vital that we did something in harmony with that purpose – something that would make their legacy eternal.”

The Journey of Hope Memorial Village honors that legacy and was constructed to relocate families, many of whom are earthquake survivors that were living near the garbage dump in Cite Soleil. The secure and healthy environment in Croix-des-Bouquets, which is nine miles east of Port-au-Prince, will provide a lot more than a sturdy home.

The village has an eight-room primary school that was built with earthquake resistant materials, and has sturdy concrete columns to allow for the addition of a second floor in the future, and a 10-unit sanitation block.

There’s a two-room community center, which is equipped with a generator and can be used for meetings and prayer services. Dozens of fruit trees were also distributed to the homeowners and a well was also drilled to provide fresh clean drinking water for the village.

The Journey of Hope Memorial Village is one of many examples of the work Food For The Poor is doing in Haiti. Since the earthquake, 2,681 concrete block homes have been built, a total of 12 schools have been constructed, reconstructed or repaired, and 1,020 computers have been placed in 53 schools throughout Haiti. Projects also include the installation of 45 water filtration units, the planting of 150,000 fruit trees, and the implementation of many self-sustaining projects.

“As we help to rebuild Haiti, it is imperative that we help to break the cycle of poverty,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “Our goal is not to keep the Haitian people dependent on charitable help, but empower one family at a time to become self-sustaining, self-confident, and self-supporting. Thanks to the support of our wonderful donors, we have faith that Haiti can and will be rebuilt.”

The dedication of this village comes at a time when the charity is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The ministry is entering 2012 with renewed hope and commitment for helping those without the basic necessities in life – housing, food and water.

“We are very optimistic about the challenges that lay ahead for Food For The Poor in 2012, not only in Haiti, but in all of the countries we serve. Our goal is to build 12,000 homes, dig 1,200 water wells, and ship 1,200 containers of food to help the destitute,” said Mahfood. “For three decades, Food For The Poor has been a servant of the poor, and with God’s blessing, we will be here as long as we are needed.”

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com

Boca committee members committed to Building Hope in Haiti

One way South Floridians can keep Haiti on the radar and continue to help the rebuilding progress is to attend Food For The Poor’s annual Building Hope Gala on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 at The Polo Club of Boca Raton.

In November, seven committee members from the Boca Raton/Lighthouse Point communities traveled to Haiti with Food For The Poor. While in-country, the committee members decided this year’s Building Hope Gala goal would be to raise enough money to construct 100 housing units, a community center, and to initiate an animal husbandry project to include 20 cows in Olivier, Deuxieme Plaine, Haiti.

“It was a very sad day, but a great experience – a life adjusting experience,” said Rene Mahfood, the event’s Honorary Chairperson after her first day in Haiti. “What we saw today puts everything in perspective. You think about how expensive life is back home and all the things you can’t afford. Then you realize that all those material things don’t matter. None of it matters. All that matters is having a roof over your head, being able to clothe your children and having food to eat.”

Attendees will be invited to create a legacy by pledging to build critically needed houses during the charity’s live house-rally. For additional information regarding the Building Hope Gala, sponsorship levels, and tickets, available at $225 per person, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/boca.

“We’re blessed,” said Ronda Gluck, Event Co-Chairperson, after she visited a family in Cité Soleil who will soon receive a new Food For The Poor house. “We have no idea the luxuries we live in, compared to this house. I feel terrible. These families are blessed to be receiving a home.”

Travelers included Ronda Gluck, Rene Mahfood, Becky Carlsson, Julie Mahfood, Allison Venditti, Traci Wilson, and Kara Seelye.

Additional committee members include Cathy & Abdol Moabery (Event Co-Chairpersons), David Gluck (Event Co-Chairperson), Francis Mahfood (Honorary Chairperson), Ronda Ellis Ged, Michele Greene, Pamela Matsil, Natasha Singh, and Patricia Wallace.

“Hundreds of thousands of displaced Haitians have been forced to live under tarps and tents for almost two years,” said Robin Mahfood, Food For The Poor’s President/CEO, who traveled with members of the Boca committee. “As a result of these inhumane living conditions, the spread of disease and waterborne illnesses have thrived, causing even more devastation.”

Media master of ceremonies will be Calvin Hughes, an Emmy Award-winning newscaster for WPLG-TV ABC Local 10 News. For years, he has reported how nonprofits such as Food For The Poor continue to improve lives and living conditions throughout the country.

Event sponsors include Gregory’s Fine Jewelry, Arrigo Fiat of West Palm Beach, TD Bank, N.A., Regal Home Health, Premier Aircraft Sales, American Nicaraguan Foundation, Jeffery and Agnes Stoops, Dennis Charley & Associates, Quadriga Art. Inc, Haiti Shipping Lines, Seaboard Marine Ltd., Dusco Doors, The Pereira Family, Bernuth Agencies, Boca Home Care Services, Comerica Bank, The Ross Group of UBS, Mailing Service of Pittsburg, and Jox Sox.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.

For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com

American girl, welcomed home in Haiti, plans to build more homes

In November, 12-year-old Rachel Wheeler and NBC’s Nightly News Chief Medical Editor, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, were welcomed to “Rachel’s Village” in the coastal village of Kay Piti in Leogane, Haiti. Residents of the village greeted Rachel like their favorite daughter – clapping and singing songs of praise as the sound of musical instruments filled the air.

The purpose of the trip with the nonprofit Food For The Poor was two-fold – to solidify plans for the expansion of Rachel’s village, and to meet the students who will benefit from the community’s new school.

“I feel that housing and education projects are important because those are the main elements of being successful,” said Rachel Wheeler, who was named one of America’s “Top 11 Kids Who Made A Difference In 2011” by The Huffington Post in December 2011. “Haiti needs help – a lot of help. I am trying to do that. I love going to my village – but the part I don’t love is seeing tent houses on the side of the road with starving children crying as they eat mud cookies that their mother bakes them to ease their hunger pain. That is the sad part of Haiti – the part I am trying to change.”

With the support of her classmates at Zion Lutheran Christian School in Deerfield Beach, Fla. and her hometown Lighthouse Point Chamber of Commerce, Rachel hosts bake sales, sells potholders and speaks on behalf of the poor to collect funds to build desperately needed homes. With land now available, her goal is to build homes for an additional 20 families in Rachel’s Village.

“When I go to Haiti and to my village I see so many happy faces, and little children running around and playing with each other,” said Rachel, a sixth grader. “I want to change Haiti for the next generation of people – to let them have a place to live and have a family that is happy, healthy and safe.”

During Rachel’s first trip to Haiti in May 2011, she decided to build a school for the community after realizing that not all children are able to attend school. The conditions of the improvished school where the students were attending shocked Rachel.

“I saw poverty and really horrible conditions of health,” said Rachel. “The children were living in makeshift homes built with things they find in the trash. It differed from my classes in the United States in many ways, such as the way we learn, and the things we have. For example in some of my classes we have digital white boards, and we have online classes – but in Haiti, most of the time they don’t have chalkboards.”

Prior to the earthquake, 250 students from kindergarten to the sixth grade were registered at this school. Today classrooms are partitioned by bed sheets and the crude structure floods when it rains. Rusted sheet-metal, pieces of wood and blue tarps offer students little protection from the weather. The new school will be inaugurated in the spring.

“We chose to donate to Rachel’s school because we were encouraged by Rachel's determination to help improve the lives of the people of Haiti,” said Chesney Hellmuth, a junior at The University of Mississippi in response to her family’s charitable contribution. “It is very important to give back because God entrusts us with His money to use to benefit others who are in need.”

Chesney plans to attend the school’s inauguration in the spring with her twin sister Ashton and their parents. This will be the second time the twins have traveled to Haiti, and they look forward to meeting the South Florida native, Rachel.

“Having the opportunity to attend college has showed us the value of an education and the importance of helping others to obtain an education,” said Ashton. “We are proud to be a part of Rachel's project and we are blessed to have the opportunity to meet such an amazing girl.”

To support Rachel’s building initiative, tax-deductible donations can be made through the charity’s secure website at www.FoodForThePoor.org/rachel. Donations can also be mailed to Food For The Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. Please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the special source code “SC# 82561” to accurately route your donation to the house-building effort.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.

For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com