Friday, August 24, 2012

Dreams Across The Sea to Quench Students’ Thirst

ATLANTA (Aug. 24, 2012) - Atlanta’s Dreams Across The Sea Gala will help Food For The Poor deliver life-saving, clean water to schools in communities throughout Haiti. The Caribbean-themed gala presented by W Atlanta Buckhead will be Saturday, Sept. 29.
Philanthropic-minded residents will enjoy an elegant evening of exceptional dining, live music, dancing and a silent auction. Bidding on silent auction prizes, such as exclusive art and collectibles from the Caribbean and Latin America, designer jewelry, luxury vacations, and golf and dining packages, offers opportunities for guests to support and donate to the cause. For a $25 donation, guests can also participate in the Starfish drawing to win unique prizes, including an Apple iPad.

“In Haiti many residents do not have access to the essentials of life, like clean drinking water,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “The installation of water wells near schools will make a tremendous difference in these communities. It will guarantee that children have access to safe drinking water, allowing them to spend more time in the classroom learning, rather than walking miles to find and gather water that might be contaminated to drink, cook, and clean.”
The Associated Press reports that more than 7,000 people have died in Haiti since the cholera outbreak was confirmed in October 2010. Gala attendees can help prevent the further spread of this waterborne illness by providing a donation to supply villages with safe drinking water.

“The right to clean drinking water is the most fundamental of human rights, for without this right, we are not able to enjoy or fully participate in our other God – given rights,” said Edward Buckley, Dreams Across The Sea committee member. For eight years, Buckley, with the assistance of Food For The Poor, has raised money to drill and install water wells throughout Jamaica and Haiti. Since 1998, Food For The Poor has completed more than 1,360 water projects.

Robin Mahfood will present The Mary E. Harverty Foundation with the 2012 Ambassadors For The Poor award for their long-term commitment to the charity’s house building initiative. Jane Haverty will receive the award on behalf of the foundation.
Gala co-chairman, Dr. Jason Regis, traveled to Jamaica and visited the McCooks Pen Community Development project built with 2011 gala proceeds. The project consists of 10 two-room permanent homes with access to clean water and sanitation. The families who moved into this project lived in deplorable conditions prior to moving into their new home.

Committee members for the 2012 Dreams Across The Sea Gala include co-chairmen Garvin Stewart and Dr. Jason Regis, Eyi Adadevoh, Treza Brooms-Johnson, Ed Buckley, Chris Curry, Jean Hanges, Sheryl McCalla, Sylvia McClure, Yetsa Osara, Nawal Shadeed, and Michelle Wattley.

"[Through this gala] we empower the people of Haiti to live independent, safe and healthy lives by helping them overcome real issues and disparities,” said Garvin Stewart, a gala co-chairman.

For additional information regarding the Dreams Across The Sea Gala, sponsorship levels, and tickets, available at $125 per person, please call, (888) 404-4248 or visit www.foodforthepoor.org/atlanta.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as 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.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Stephanie Crispinelli’s mission continues in students’ enthusiasm to learn

With each school they build, Lenny and Lin Crispinelli keep alive the spirit and the passion of the daughter they lost in the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Each nail, every piece of lumber, builds hope for students in Jamaica, and for their entire family that gathers each year to participate in the building trip with Food For The Poor.

The 28-member group traveled to Jamaica this summer to build a school in Williamsfield, Jamaica. Wearing T-shirts that read “Team Steph,” “Do Work,” and “Failure is not an option,” one of Stephanie Crispinelli’s favorite phrases, they also visited students at the two schools previously built in her honor in Clarendon, Jamaica. This couple from Katonah, N.Y., finds healing and renewed energy in the students’ gratitude and eagerness to welcome them.

“It is so heartwarming to see the kids are thriving - they are happy and the school looks fabulous,” said Lin, Stephanie’s mom, while at Steph’s Place I. “It’s filled with desks and learning materials. There is such enthusiasm – it just makes you feel so good.”

Three schools have been built since Stephanie’s passing two years ago in the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, while on a mission trip with Food For The Poor. Her parents, full of anguish, decided the best thing they could do was to pour out their hearts to serve children just like the ones who captured Stephanie’s spirit and energized her passion.

“It is almost better coming back than it was building the school,” said Mike Crispinelli, one of Stephanie’s two brothers. “You see how it maintains itself. It looks great, and the kids are thrilled to see you. When we first built the school, they did not know what to expect, and neither did we. Now it’s easier. It’s good to see the joy.”

The Crispinelli family plans to build a school every year for as long as they can, to try to change the lives of children who changed Stephanie’s life.

“I know the Crispinellis have lost a daughter, but they have gained a family, and we are thankful for that,” said Jennifer Bennett, Principal of Steph’s Place I.

Bennett said each school year brings new students to learn about Stephanie’s mission. A service is held to remember Stephanie and all those who perished in Haiti’s 2010 earthquake.

To help continue Stephanie’s mission, tax-deductible donations can be made through the charity’s secure website at www.foodforthepoor.org/stephanie. 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# 85636” to accurately route your donation. All gifts are tax-deductible.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as 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

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Food For The Poor thanks Office Depot Foundation

Thanks to the generosity of the Office Depot Foundation, the international relief and development organization Food For The Poor will be able to provide 4,000 sackpacks for the children in its Angels Of Hope program in Jamaica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guyana and Guatemala.

“This beautiful donation will allow children to enter the school year with supplies that have the potential to change their lives,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “We know that if we ever are going to break the cycle of poverty, it will come through education. Through this gift, these children will be offered the chance at dignity, success and hope for the future.”

Caring donors to Food For The Poor have sponsored approximately 3,800 children in 95 homes, which are dedicated to serving orphaned, abandoned, abused and malnourished children. Many of the sackpacks already have been distributed at various Day of Celebration events at the Angels Of Hope homes. The next distribution is planned for September in Honduras.

“The Office Depot Foundation is proud to partner with Food For The Poor in our 2012 National Backpack Program,” said Mary Wong, President of Office Depot Foundation. “The fact that this partnership helps to extend the impact of the program internationally is exceptionally gratifying.  We are committed to helping children succeed in school wherever they may be.”

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as 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:
Kathy Skipper
Director of Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6614
kathys@foodforthepoor.org

Monday, August 6, 2012

Donated sports equipment inspires and motivates young lives


The love of sports is as old as the Olympic Games, which are believed to have started in ancient Greece in 776 B.C.  Centuries later, dozens of nations still look forward to seeing their top athletes compete in selected venues of the world and the chance to bring home a bronze, silver or gold medal.

Maureen Sawyer, 14, may not be an Olympic champion, but she does have a heart of gold when it comes to giving back. A devoted Girl Scout for nearly a decade, and a determined soccer player, Sawyer is making the lives of hundreds of children in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Guatemala and Honduras a lot more enjoyable, thanks to her donation of sports equipment.

“It is an amazing feeling to know that I have made a difference in the lives of those I’ve never even met,” said Sawyer. “I have seen photos of children in Haiti playing with balls and toys made from trash. Now, having actual toys and sports equipment, these kids can play more easily, safely and joyfully!”

Sawyer learned about Food For The Poor from Father Richard Martin, pastor of the Church of the Nativity in Burke, Va. For 14 years, Fr. Martin and his congregation have worked side by side with Food For The Poor to help transform the lives of hundreds of families by building seven villages in Haiti.

With the support of her family, Sawyer started collecting her treasure trove of balls, bats, mitts, and more in mid-April.  She asked friends to bring sports equipment to her birthday party in place of presents. She received donations from her teachers, neighbors, and the athletic departments at Lake Braddock Secondary School. She set up collection bins at White Oaks Elementary School, Burke Sporting Goods and purchased items from Dani Dubs Consignment Sale.  Eight weeks later, 18 large boxes packed to the brim were shipped to the Caribbean and Latin America via Food For The Poor.

“Maureen’s generous donation of sporting equipment is greatly appreciated. Many of the children in the countries we serve see sports such as baseball, basketball or soccer as a means of hope, as a way to escape the poverty that surrounds them,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “With this donation, they know someone out there cares enough about them to give them the opportunity to dream, and that’s what being a child is about.”

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as 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.         

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

Friday, August 3, 2012

Jamaica’s Golden Jubilee inspires investment in island’s youth

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Aug. 1, 2012) – Jamaica will celebrate 50 years of independence from British rule on Aug. 6, 2012. Jamaica’s golden jubilee anniversary is especially meaningful to Food For The Poor, which earlier this year commemorated its three decades of service to the hungry, destitute, and abandoned. In 1982, the nonprofit started out as a feeding program in Jamaica, and since then has grown exponentially to become the largest international relief organization in Jamaica and the United States.

Housing, education and agriculture are now also major areas of focus for Food For The Poor, all with the goal of meeting the immediate needs of the poorest of the poor and helping the destitute rise out of poverty. Some Food For The Poor accomplishments in Jamaica:
  • The charity continues to replace dilapidated shacks across the island with safe, permanent housing. Since inception, the nonprofit has built 33,389 housing units in Jamaica. Today, thousands of poor remain on the waiting list to receive a Food For The Poor house.
  • More than 18,500 containers of essential goods have been shipped to Jamaica since 1982. These items have been distributed to clinics, prisons, schools, and underserved neighborhood institutions.  
  • Seventeen fishing village initiatives, fruit tree planting projects, animal husbandry and agricultural programs provide food and income, which help to create self-sustaining communities.
  • Food For The Poor continues to provide clean water, build schools, training centers, and clinics, and to support nursing homes and orphanages.  
To mark the island’s golden anniversary, Food For The Poor launched 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 schools that have been deemed as an unfit space for children to learn. 
“It is important for those who have decided to leave Jamaica to pursue their dreams abroad 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.”  

The Consulate General of Jamaica Miami Sandra Grant-Griffiths, will honor Food For The Poor and Robin Mahfood, on Saturday, Aug. 18, for the charity’s long-term commitment to Jamaica.

Other honorees include Bevan “Duke” Earle, CEO, The Duke of Earle Group; Wayne C. Golding, Sr., Principal, The Golding Law Group; Pauline Grant, CEO, Broward Health North Broward Medical Center; Marlon Hill Esq., Partner, DelancyHill LLC, Miami; Honorable Dale V.C. Holness, Commissioner, Broward County Board Commissioner; Captain Barrington Irving, Aviator, Experience Aviation Ltd.; Dunbar McFarlane, General Manager, National Building Society of Cayman; Honorable Hazelle P. Rogers, Florida State Representative, District 94; Robert W. Runcie, Superintendent of schools, Broward County; Marlene Williams, Vice President, XEROX Corporation; and Clinton F. Wong, President, Skymark Development Company.

The Jamaica Nurses Association, Florida (JNAF) will also be honored.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as 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
       

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Patrick Park to join Arlette Gordon and Elizabeth Bowden as the 2013 Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures chairmen

Food For The Poor’s 10th annual Palm Beach Gala, Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures will be Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013, at The Mar-a-Lago Club, Palm Beach. The annual event is chaired by distinguished Palm Beach philanthropists Patrick Park (Grand Honorary Chair), Arlette Gordon and Elizabeth Bowden (Honorary Chairs), Herme de Wyman Miro (International Chair), Mary Frances Turner (Ladies Committee Chair) and Russell Sherrill (Men’s Committee Chair).

The Palm Beach community has worked to transform Gordon’s Village in Bluefields, Jamaica, since 2007. Proceeds from the 2013 Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures Gala will fund the expansion and renovation of Bluefields Health Centre. The clinic serves 25,000 residents with preventive and basic medical services, including pre- and post-natal care and pediatric care.

“Current clinic conditions are severely cramped and inadequate,” said Susan James, Food For The Poor’s Jamaica Country Manager. “Due to overcrowding in the waiting room, patients needing treatment, including pregnant mothers and sick children, often have to sit outside on the ground. With much needed renovation and expansion, the staff will be better equipped to provide medical service and patient care to those in the community.” 

In November, construction on the school named in Robert G. Gordon’s memory, near Gordon’s Village, will be completed. The school will serve approximately 100 disadvantaged children, and was funded with proceeds from the 2012 Palm Beach gala.

The Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures Gala opens with a superb wine tasting reception of selected wines sponsored by Dreyfus, Ashby & Co. Unique wine selections, jewelry and exotic escapes to such places as Hong Kong are among the varied prizes in the silent and live auctions. The evening culminates with a 4-course gourmet dinner and wine pairing.

For additional information regarding the Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures event, tickets, sponsorship and benefactor levels, please call 1-888-404-4248 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/palmbeach.

Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures 2013 committee members also include Franklyn de Marco, Michael Dixon, Henry and Mary Virginia Fong, Karen Mason, and Renee Smith.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as 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

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Take Steps to Feed the Hungry through Food For The Poor

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (August 1, 2012) - It’s never too early to start spreading the news about one of Food For The Poor’s most popular local fundraising events – the 5K Walk/Run For Hunger.

The 5K Walk/Run For Hunger Team Captains will show their appreciation by hosting a kick-off reception. Join them for an evening of live music, raffle prizes and drink specials at World of Beer at the Promenade at Coconut Creek, 4437 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Fla. on Thursday, Aug. 16 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Now in its seventh year, the 5K Walk/Run For Hunger will take place on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 17, at 7 a.m. at Quiet Waters Park, located at 401 South Powerline Road in Deerfield Beach, Fla. Every step taken by each participant will be a step toward raising much needed funds for life sustaining food for the people of the Caribbean and Latin America

But in order to help, you must register or donate. Please visit www.foodforthepoor.org/walk to register or to make a donation. This year, a generous donor has agreed to match every dollar raised with an additional dollar’s worth of food. While on the website, take advantage of free fundraising tips designed to help you reach your fundraising goal by sharing your ideas with family, friends, co-workers and contacts.

Cost of registration is $20 for adults and $15 for children ages 6-10. There’s no fee for children 5 and under. The registration cost includes a T-shirt. There will be refreshments, live music, balloon artists, face painters and more at this family event. To see the fun from last year’s event, please visit http://www.FoodForThePoor.org/walk2011

Special awards will be given to top finishers of each age group. Food For The Poor will be using AccuChip to provide state-of-the art timing and scoring. This service is used for running, triathlon, swimming, mud runs and biking events in Florida.

For more information, please call 954-596-4020 or send an email to events@foodforthepoor.org. You can also register the day of the event. Registration starts at 6:30 a.m., the run/walk begins at 7 a.m. and the awards ceremony is at 8 a.m.

The 5K Walk/Run is presented by Winn Dixie. Event sponsors are Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Corner Bakery, Reliv, Runners Edge, WATA, Wells Fargo, and World of Beer.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as 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.