Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Palm Beach philanthropists continue building in Gordon’s Village

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 30) – Palm Beach philanthropists Patrick Park (Grand Honorary Chair), Arlette Gordon and Elizabeth Bowden (Honorary Chairs), thanked attendees at Food For The Poor’s 10th annual  Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures gala for their continued support. Proceeds from the Jan. 24 gala at The Mar-a-Lago Club will fund the renovation of the Bluefields Health Centre in Gordon’s Village in Bluefields, Jamaica.

“Thank you on Bob’s behalf,” said Arlette. “This was my late husband’s favorite charity – he appreciated the fact that Food For The Poor is a good steward with donations, and that more than 96 percent of all donations go directly to programs that help the poor.”

Park responded by saying, “This memorable evening with friends reminds us of our many blessings and inspires us to help the underprivileged in the Caribbean and Latin America who are in desperate need of assistance.

The Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures gala opened with a superb wine tasting reception of selected wines sponsored by Dreyfus, Ashby & Co. and Republic National Distributing Company. Unique wine selections, jewelry and exotic escapes to such places as Hong Kong were among the varied prizes in the silent and live auctions. The evening culminated with a four-course gourmet dinner and wine pairing.

Louis Jadot Moulin-a-Vent Gamay 2012, a Burgundy from France, was selected to complement the first course of English Pea Risotto with Parmesan and Blistered Tomatoes. The second course of Duck Confit Crepes with Rum Raisin Syrup was served with Torres Vina Esmeralda Moscatel 2011 from Penedes, Spain. Ratti Barbera d’Alba from Italy was served with the Veal Chop stuffed with Apple and Brie entrĂ©e. Fonseca Porto Bin 27 from Portugal complemented the trio of cheeses with sweet jams, honey and fruit.

Additional committee members include Mary Frances Turner (Ladies’ Committee Chair), Russell Sherrill (Gentlemen’s Committee Chair), Michael Dixon, Henry and Mary Virginia Fong, Emilio Guerra, and Brownie McLean.

Jenna Wolfe, co-anchor of NBC Weekend TODAY, served as master of ceremonies for Food For The Poor’s Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures gala.

Wolfe’s participation is especially meaningful because she was born in Kingston, Jamaica and has seen the country’s poverty firsthand. The proceeds from the gala will fund the expansion and renovation of the Bluefields Health Centre. On a daily basis, the staff of the health care facility struggles to provide basic medical care to their patients, including pregnant mothers and sick children. 

The Palm Beach community has worked to transform Gordon’s Village in Bluefields, Jamaica, since 2007 by establishing a self-sustaining fishing village and development projects in the community. The project, named in honor of Robert G. Gordon, replaced dilapidated shacks with more than 125 safe, permanent houses, constructed a school for 80 children, built a fish processing facility and provided residents with access to water and sanitation.

In addition to Food For The Poor’s international mission, the organization also supports nonprofits that serve South Florida’s neediest.

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.

Friday, January 18, 2013

School in Jamaica dedicated in honor of Palm Beach Philanthropist

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 17) – Students enthusiastically waved letters that spelled out the word “Thanks” to welcome Food For The Poor representatives and the charity’s 2012 Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures Event Chairman to the Robert G. Gordon Memorial Bluefields Basic School dedication ceremony on Jan. 12 in Jamaica.

The school project, named in honor of Robert G. Gordon, will serve more than 100 students each year and was constructed with funds raised at the 2012 Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures Gala.“Robert’s love of life was large,” said Paul Marino, the 2012 Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures Gala Event Chairman. “It was through his efforts and years of dedication that we were able to build an entire community in Bluefields, Jamaica. We cherish it in his memory.”

The Palm Beach community has worked to transform Gordon’s Village in Bluefields, Jamaica, since 2007 by establishing a self-sustaining fishing village in the community. Over the years, the groups raised money to replace dilapidated shacks with more than 125 permanent houses, construct a school for more than 100 children, build a fish processing facility, and provide residents with access to clean water and sanitation.
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. Proceeds from the gala will fund the expansion and renovation of Bluefields Health Centre in Bluefields.

The Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures Gala will open with an exquisite wine tasting reception sponsored by Dreyfus, Ashby & Co. and Republic National Distributing Company. 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 with wine pairing.

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.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Reggae Entertainers Tarrus Riley and Dean Fraser To Perform at Food For The Poor’s Building Hope Gala

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 10, 2013) – Award-winning reggae artist Tarrus Riley and saxophonist Dean Fraser have partnered with the South Florida-based nonprofit Food For The Poor to help build desperately needed homes for the destitute in Jamaica. Riley and Fraser will perform at Food For The Poor’s annual Building Hope Gala on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 at The Polo Club of Boca Raton.

Proceeds from the gala will build safe and secure new homes with sanitation for 65 impoverished families in Canaan Heights in May Pen, Jamaica. Attendees will be invited to create a legacy by pledging to build critically-needed houses during the charity’s live house-rally.Celebrated Jamaican-American reggae artist Riley is famous for his hit singles “Stay With You” and “She’s Royal.” The EME Awards (Excellence in Music and Entertainment) honored Riley as Male Vocalist of the Year (2011) and Cultural Artiste of the Year (2011). Riley also won the Youth View Award for Cultural Artiste of the Year (2011). In 2012, with the release of the acoustic album “Mecoustic,” Riley, Fraser and the Blak Soil band toured Europe.

Jamaican saxophonist Fraser has contributed to hundreds of reggae recordings, including the instrumental version of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” and toured extensively with Luciano. In 1993, he was awarded the Musgrave Medal by the Jamaican government in recognition of his services to music. Recently, the hit maker has been recording, producing and touring with singers Riley and Duane Stephenson.
For additional information regarding the 2013 Building Hope Gala, sponsorship levels, and tickets, available at $250 per person, please call 1-888-404-4248 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/boca.

Committee members for the 2013 Building Hope Gala include Laurie Braden, Kelly Brauner, Becky Carlsson, Melissa Davimos, Ronda Ellis Ged, Ronda Gluck, Michele Greene, LaMae Klos, Robin Ranzal Knowles, Julie Mahfood, Rene Mahfood, Pamela Matsil, Cathy Moabery, Jill Perea, Tashia Rahl, Kara Seelye, Natasha Singh, Renee Stetler, Holly Strogoff, Allison Venditti, Patricia Wallace, and Traci Wilson.

“The Building Hope Gala is not just a saying – we are building hope and homes for families,” said Becky Carlsson, a gala committee member, after her December 2012 trip to Jamaica. “I am amazed that it is 2012 and that people live in such extreme poverty.”
Master of ceremonies, Jason Martinez, co-anchor for WPLG-TV ABC Local 10 Morning News and Local 10 News at Noon, traveled to Jamaica in August to cover the island’s golden jubilee.

Gala sponsors include AKA Printing and Mailing, Aljoma Lumber, American Nicaraguan Foundation, Bank United, Bluegreen Corporation, The Boca Raton Observer, Dennis Charley & Associates, Inc., Dusco Doors, Ellis, Ged, & Bodden,  Franklin Dodd Communications, GA Telesis, Gregory’s Fine Jewelry, Quadriga Art, LLC, Seaboard Marine, TD Bank, and VITAS Innovative Hospice Care.

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, January 9, 2013

Mission Group and Lutheran Coalition Bring Hope to Guatemala

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Members of St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., present women in Vista Bella, Guatemala, with sewing machines.
Members of St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., present women in Vista Bella, Guatemala, with sewing machines.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 9, 2013) – Wearing brightly colored neon T-shirts and wide grins, members of St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., empowered women in Vista Bella, Guatemala, by presenting them with nine sewing machines while on a mission trip with Food For The Poor. The enthusiastic smiles exchanged instantly united the group of 19 who traveled late last year with the South Florida-based nonprofit.

“I was so excited to bring the sewing machines to the ladies as a way to offer hope for their future,” said Karen Kuehnert, the mission leader at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church. “My heart went out to these women after seeing that they only had three sewing machines, and a [thread] serger to work with.  [They have] no lights to sew by, just two windows and a half-roof over the dirt floor. The beauty of their fabric creations is only what can give them pride, but the conditions under which they work limits how much they can produce, causing defeat.”

Food For The Poor development projects for women include vocational training courses in baking and sewing, group aquaculture and animal husbandry projects, access to clean water, permanent housing and shelter, and food for expecting mothers.

The sincere gratitude they received from the Guatemalan women moved Kuehnert to commit to covering the training center’s monthly rent and cost of supplies.

“After hearing about the rent they pay and [the] cost for goods, I felt compelled to pay their rent for at least the next year,” said Kuehnert. “I am praying for guidance and direction concerning fundraising to build a vocational center for these ladies to sew under better conditions, and be able to use it to teach others this skill and possibly other skills, like baking, candy making, knitting, crocheting, pottery making – the ideas are endless. And within this ‘Sewing Hope Center’ the Guatemalan women and children will learn about the hope they can have in Jesus.”

Mission group members also purchased food in a local market to prepare meals for approximately 80 students, helped to paint a school, and saw firsthand the poor’s need for access to housing, education and safe drinking water.

Travelers included Roland and Lyla Buuck (Waukesha, Wis.), Laura Elmer (Ft. Wayne), Julie Godwin-Crum (Ft. Wayne), Olivia Hall (Ft. Wayne), Rebecca Graham (Ft. Wayne), Gary Hagermann (Weston, Fla.), Karen Hall (Ft. Wayne), Erin Koglin (Ft. Wayne), Karen Kuehnert (Ft. Wayne), Natalie Kuehnert (Ft. Wayne), Jaime McNamara (Ft. Wayne), Heidi Marks (Ft. Wayne), David and Roslyn Reyes (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), Pastor Paul Short Jr. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.), James and Mary Whelan (Roslyn, N.Y.), and Mary White (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.).


In Guatemala, Food For The Poor partners with Caritas Arquidiocesana, The Order of Malta, and The Lutheran Church in Guatemala. The Rev. Ignacio Chan, President of the Lutheran Council of Guatemala, worked alongside Food For The Poor staff to explain to travelers how the charity is making a difference in the lives of the destitute.

In April 2013, members of the Lutheran Coalition will return with Food For The Poor to Pacomon in Salcaja, Guatemala, to inaugurate the school they raised money to build. The six Lutheran pastors to spearhead the initiative “Hope For Guatemala” first traveled in May 2012 to witness how Food For The Poor projects positively impact the lives of thousands of Guatemalans who previously lived in extreme poverty.

On their first day in Salcaja, they visited an outdoor classroom. The group was moved to build the school when they saw teachers were forced to teach from white boards tied to trees, and students utilized wood planks and cinder blocks to construct makeshift bench seats and school desks. Construction on the three-classroom school is being supervised by Rev. Chan.

The Lutheran Coalition is currently raising money to provide the community of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, with access to clean, safe drinking water. The Lutheran Church will be Food For The Poor’s in-country partner to help implement this project. Donations to Hope For Guatemala are accepted at www.FoodForThePoor.org/esperanza.

Members of the Lutheran Coalition include Pastor John Vaughn, of St. Paul Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Prior Lake, Minn.; Pastor Jeffery Skopak of Fountain of Life Lutheran Church and School (LCMS) in Tucson, Ariz.; Pastor Gary Bauch of St. John Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Hamlin, N.Y.; Pastor Kevin Wackett of Bethany Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Salisbury, Md.; Pastor David Winter of St. John Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Norwood Young America, Minn.; and Pastor Paul “Joe” Conner of Lamb of God Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Haines City, Fla.

To learn how your congregation can join the Lutheran Coalition’s mission, please contact Jayne Cunningham by calling 1-877-654-2960, ext. 6803 or emailing jaynec@foodforthepoor.com.

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.
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Thursday, January 3, 2013

Gratitude and Renewed Hope: Friendship Village Recipients Share Inspirational Stories from Haiti

Thanks to the generosity of the Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee and Food For The Poor, Darline has expanded her tiny business into a shop where she now sells a variety of items. Her business also has a small open-air restaurant where she sells dinners at night.
Thanks to the generosity of the Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee and Food For The Poor, Darline has expanded her tiny business into a shop where she now sells a variety of items. Her business also has a small open-air restaurant where she sells dinners at night.
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COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 3, 2013) – In areas once plagued by poverty, today live shopkeepers, seamstresses and bakers. Thanks to the generosity of the Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee and Food For The Poor, hope has returned to the lives of hundreds of families who have received new two-room homes. Located in Pierre Payen and Michaud, Haiti, both Friendship Villages and their 115 homeowners are doing exceptionally well.

“When we hear about women earning a living sewing and selling school uniforms in their own communities and in neighboring towns, or that children no longer have to walk miles to buy bread because they can now buy it in their own village, these are the rewards of our labor,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “It’s truly amazing to witness this positive transformation of so many families in a relatively short period of time. We can’t thank Boca Grande enough for their dedicated support.”

The residents in both villages want to thank their benefactors for providing the catalyst toward the priceless gift of self-sufficiency. To read some of the stories shared by the grateful individuals, visit foodforthepoor.org/storiesofgratitude.
There will be an inauguration of the Boca Grande Friendship Village II in Michaud, Haiti, January 14-17, 2013. Committee members and anyone who has a desire to experience this joyous celebration are invited to join the three-day trip with Food For The Poor.

“Meaningful change in Haiti will come through self-sustaining programs, allowing Haitians to take the reins of their own future by providing jobs that will help support the country’s people and local economy,” said Ben Scott, the Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Chairman.

Scott will address the Boca Grande Community at a reception on Feb. 21, 2013, at the historic Gasparilla Inn Beach Club, located at 445 Gilchrist Avenue in Boca Grande, Fla. He will announce plans for Boca Grande Friendship Village III in Manneville, Haiti.

Committee members include: Ben and Louise Scott, the Rev. Gary Beatty, the Rev. Brian Brightly, the Rev. Jerome Carosella, the Rev. Michelle Robertshaw, George and Lois Castrucci, Patricia Chapman, Ray and Iliene Corcoran, Randy and Sue Eddy, Charlie and Florita Field, Evelyn Finnegan, Lou and Corie Fusz, Stephen and Susan Jansen, Tom and Nancy Lorden, Colvin and Madelaine McCrady, and Peter and Elsa Soderberg. 

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.