Boca Raton gala one week away

Grammy Award-Winning Reggae Star to Perform in Boca

	Grammy-award winning reggae artist Shaggy, and The Hot Shot Band, will perform at Food For The Poor’s 20th annual Building Hope Gala, Feb. 6, 2015, at Boca West Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida.
Related Item: Reserve Your Seat

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 30, 2015) – It’s only one week until Grammy-award winning reggae artist, Shaggy, and The Hot Shot Band will perform at Food For The Poor’s 20th annual Building Hope Gala, Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, at Boca West Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida. Shaggy is currently up for another Grammy Award with his reggae album, “Out of Many, One Music.”

Mary Wong, President of the Office Depot Foundation, will be recognized as Food For The Poor’s 2015 Ambassador For The Poor at the gala for her philanthropic endeavors throughout the community. This year’s theme is old Hollywood glamour.

In time for Valentine’s Day, one of this year’s sponsors, J.R. Dunn Jewelers, in Lighthouse Point, Florida, will offer gala attendees an exclusive way to contribute to build critically needed houses for destitute families in Haiti. For a $100 donation at the event – with only 100 chances available – one guest will win a $5,000 shopping spree at J.R. Dunn Jewelers.

Attendees at the 20th annual Building Hope Gala will be invited to create a charitable legacy by pledging to build Food For The Poor houses for people in desperate need of adequate shelter in the area surrounding Pon Batay, Haiti. A gift of $3,200 will move a destitute family from their dirt-floor makeshift shack, into a permanent home.

“I would like to thank Shaggy, Mary Wong, and the Building Hope Gala committee members and sponsors for their dedication to build a tremendous amount of homes in Haiti at the gala’s 20th anniversary,” said Food For The Poor President/CEO Robin Mahfood.

Bidding on silent auction prizes such as artwork, electronics, jewelry, vacations, golf and dining packages also offer opportunities for guests to shop and support the cause. Silent auction prizes at the gala will range from a five-night stay at the beautiful Couples San Souci Resort in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, to the opportunity to be Sheriff for a Day with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

Live auction prizes will also be available exclusively to attendees. In addition to a ride in the clouds for two aboard the Goodyear Blimp based at the Pompano Beach Airpark; and a seven-day stay at one of Interval International’s member resorts; Chef Ron Duprat, a star on the reality TV show “Top Chef” has offered to share his passion for cooking to help build homes in his homeland of Haiti. At the Building Hope Gala, attendees can bid on a 12-course dinner for 25 guests prepared by the French-trained executive chef at the home of the winning bidder.

For additional information regarding the Building Hope Gala, including sponsorship opportunities and tickets, available at $250 per person, please call 888-404-4248 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/boca.

The Building Hope Gala Chairwoman is Rene Turner-Mahfood, and additional committee members include Wedler Alexandre, Carlos Bodden, Matthew Bryant, Becky Carlsson, Ronda Ellis Ged, LaMae Klos, Susan Krassen, Julie Mahfood, Tashia Rahl, Kara Seelye, Deborah Shapiro and Renee Stetler.

Gala sponsors include Club Managers Association of America, Dennis Charley & Associates, Blackbaud, DKB Trade Concepts Inc., Gregory's Fine Jewelry, Harcourt M. & Virginia W. Sylvester Foundation, Innovvaire, J.R. Dunn Jewelers, Leslie L. Alexander Foundation, McFFe Group, MOR Printing, Oceans 234, Office Depot Foundation, Premier Aircraft Sales, Seaboard Marine, TD Bank, Teemlink Ltd., The Calmark Group, The Levitetz Family Foundation, Trinity Direct, United Healthcare and The Boca Raton Observer.

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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Bishop Joins Board of Directors

Bishop Patrick J. McGrath Joins Food For The Poor's Board of Directors

	The Most Reverend Patrick J. McGrath has been appointed to Food For The Poor’s Board of Directors.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (January 30, 2015) – The Most Reverend Patrick J. McGrath has been appointed to Food For The Poor’s Board of Directors.

Bishop McGrath was named coadjutor bishop of San Jose by Pope John Paul II on June 30, 1998, and became the second Roman Catholic Bishop of San Jose, California, in November 1999, upon the retirement of The Most Reverend Pierre DuMaine.

Bishop McGrath’s commitment to serve will bring great help to the destitute families Food For The Poor serves. He has been an advocate for Catholic education in California for many years, and now he also will be a voice for poverty-stricken parents who cannot afford to feed their children, or send them to school.

Bishop McGrath has served as a valued member of the Education Committee of the California Catholic Conference since 2001. Born in Dublin, Ireland, Bishop McGrath is a past recipient of the Spirit of Ireland Award from the San Jose-Dublin Sister Cities Program.

“In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis inspires us to ‘change the world, to transmit values, and to leave this earth somehow better than we found it,’” said Bishop McGrath. “I believe that in its ongoing effort to feed the poor both spiritually and materially, Food For The Poor succeeds in making the earth a better place for many.”

Thanks to the generosity of Food For The Poor donors, the charity has distributed more than 70,000 containers of aid to the poor since its founding in 1982. Additionally, Food For The Poor donors have constructed more than 98,000 housing units for people desperately in need of adequate shelter, built or restored more than 200 schools, and completed more than 1,943 water projects that provide lifesaving water to hundreds of thousands of people in need.

For three consecutive years, The Chronicle of Philanthropy has ranked Food For The Poor as the largest international relief and development organization in the United States. The annual survey lists the top charities that raise the most donations from private sources.

Bishop McGrath will join other Food For The Poor board members at a meeting on February 25 at the charity’s headquarters.

“Many of Food For The Poor’s board members fight poverty in the field, alongside those we serve,” said Robin Mahfood, Food For The Poor President/CEO.   

Other distinguished board members, in addition to Mahfood and Bishop McGrath, include P. Todd Kennedy (Chairman), tax and estate planning attorney; William G. Benson (Vice Chairman), certified public accountant; Grace Bonina, business professional; The Most Reverend Pierre-André Dumas, Bishop of Anse-á-Veau and Miragoȃne, Haiti; The Right Reverend Leopold Frade, D.D., Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida; Rhonda Maingot, missionary in Trinidad; His Eminence Óscar Andrés Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B., Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Most Reverend Burchell McPherson (Treasurer), Bishop of Montego Bay, Jamaica; Lynne G. Nasrallah, Ed. D. , adjunct professor; and The Very Reverend Monsignor Honorable Gregory Ramkissoon, OJ, missionary.

“Please pray for Bishop McGrath, as we ask for the Holy Spirit to bless him and all of Food The Poor’s Board of Directors as they serve the poor,” said Mahfood.

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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Cheryl Ladd is an Angel

Honoree Cheryl Ladd Helps Food For The Poor Build Homes

	Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma presents Cheryl Ladd with the Ambassador For The Poor award at the Jan. 22, 2015 Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures gala.
Related Items: Donate to Build a Home See Cheryl Ladd's Trip to Haiti See Photos from the Gala and Pre-Events

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (January 27, 2015) – Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma named actress Cheryl Ladd an Ambassador For The Poor at the charity’s 12th annual Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures gala, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, at The Mar-a-Lago Club.

“This was the most successful Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures gala ever,” said Arlette Gordon, Gala Co-Chair.

“Cheryl Ladd is a woman of substance,” said Aloma as he introduced Ladd to the crowd of more than 175, and talked about getting to know her through her work with the charity.

Since 2011, Ladd has championed the needs of the destitute as spokesperson for Food For The Poor’s Angels Of The Poor program. During the gala’s live house rally, homes for 25 destitute families were pledged to be built in Jamaica. A generous donor has committed to match the number of homes raised.

Ladd and her husband, Brian Russell, traveled to Haiti from Jan. 20-21 with Food For The Poor representatives to see firsthand the dire situation of destitute families. The extreme poverty they saw a day before the charity’s gala was in stark contrast to the opulence of The Mar-a-Lago Club.

“I admire you for so many reasons,” said Aloma. “Especially for the many lives you have saved, and for going to Haiti. You are a woman of great faith.”

“Many times we had to stop filming because she was overwhelmed with emotion,” said Aloma. “The extreme heat from the sun beating down on the homes of plastic and metal did not deter Cheryl from entering the dirt-floor homes we visited to meet the poor. We saw many of her tears on this trip.”  

“To be in the presence of a warrior for the poor is a privilege,” said Ladd, of Aloma as he presented her with a statue of Christ as a beggar. “I know I was supposed to come and be with you tonight. I have seen what happens when you hold back death.”

Ladd’s eyes teared up as she relayed a message from one of the mothers she met while in Haiti: “You bring us so much hope, and you are an answer to our prayers. I want you to know I will be praying for you. God will speak through you to help us.”

“I hope that tonight you will open your hearts and answer the prayers of children and families living in severe poverty,” said Ladd. “Together we can bring hope and a chance for a better tomorrow for so many who fight a daily battle to survive.”

The gala was chaired by distinguished Palm Beach philanthropists Melania and Donald J. Trump (National Honorary Chairs), Patrick Park (Honorary Chair), Arlette Gordon and Elizabeth Bowden (Gala Co-Chairs), Hermé de Wyman Miro (International Chair), Mary Frances Turner (Ladies' Committee Chair) and Russell Sherrill (Gentlemen's Committee Chair).

The Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures gala opened with a superb wine-tasting reception provided by Dreyfus Ashby & Co. and Trump Winery, and culminated with a five-course gourmet dinner and wine pairing.

Live auction items included a Joseph Drouhin Beaune Clos des Mouches double magnum, signed by winemakers Laurent Drouhin and Veronique Drouhin, and by request at the gala by Gordon and Ladd – a Kaufmann de Suisse handmade 18-karat yellow gold and stainless steel callista amethyst bangle – a 12-course dinner for 25 guests prepared by Chef Ron Duprat, a star on the reality TV show “Top Chef” – and a week vacation in Italy. Additional exotic escapes, jewelry, handbags, fine wines, and golf packages were among the varied prizes in the silent auction.

The Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures 2015 committee members included Irma Anapol, Michael Cinque, Michael Dixon, Jean Dolan, Barbara Gilbert, Emilio Guerra, Lorrain and Malcolm Hall, Helene Karp, Moneca Kaufmann, Faith Morford, Michael Nadeau, Sally O’Connor, Daniella and Alfredo Ortiz, Carol Weltz, and Gail Worth.

Gala benefactors included Elizabeth Bowden, Michael Dixon, Helen Bernstein-Fealy, Arlette Gordon, Lorrain and Malcolm Hall, Helene Karp, Patrick Park (Park Foundation), Herme de Wyman Miro (The International Society of Palm Beach), Russ Reid, and UBS.

This year, members of Food For The Poor’s Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures gala committee hosted pre-event parties at two Worth Avenue stores. A percentage of the proceeds from sales at both events were donated to the gala’s house-building initiative in Jamaica. Moneca Kaufmann hosted a kickoff reception at Kaufmann de Suisse Jewelry Designers on Dec. 4, and Daniella and Alfredo Ortiz’s pre-event party at the Daniella Ortiz store on Worth Ave. on Jan. 13.

For additional information about Fine Wines & Hidden Treasures gala, please call 1-888-404-4248 or email carolc@foodforthepoor.org.

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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Longtime Donor Invests in Haiti

Boca Snowbird Invests in Sustainable Projects to Grow Haiti

	Anthony "Tony" Pestritto cut the ribbon to officially dedicate the school he built in Grand Boulage, Haiti, with Food For The Poor.
Related Items: Support the Bee Farming Program See Photos From the Haiti Trip

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 13, 2015) – A longtime Food For The Poor donor, committed to investing in Haiti’s future, recognizes he is alive by the grace of God and feels compelled to give back to others. “I could have died many times during my life,” said Anthony ‘Tony’ Pestritto, 88, a resident of Sea Isle, New Jersey and Boca Raton, Florida. “Life is finite – you never know.”

Pestritto’s passion over the years has risen from baking old-style, authentic, Sicilian bread in South Jersey at the family’s bakery, to building schools, and investing in sustainable projects throughout Haiti.

Pestritto traveled to Grand Boulage, Haiti, with Food For The Poor representatives in the fall to dedicate a school he built to give more than 540 students the best possible education. Before his generous donation, classes were conducted in a dilapidated building that lacked furniture and only had one latrine.

“Tony Pestritto is a man of action,” said Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor's Executive Director. “By investing in the education and training of people in Haiti, he has equipped them with the knowledge necessary to escape a life of poverty. There are future doctors, lawyers, teachers, and architects at Grand Boulage School, that without Mr. Pestritto’s vision and generosity would never realize their full potential.”

“Our heart’s desire is to take Haiti’s meager education system beyond its standing prior to the earthquake, to a system that grants every child a life-changing opportunity to receive a quality education,” said Delane Bailey-Herd, Haiti Project Manager for Food For The Poor.

During the school dedication ceremony, Pestritto emphasized that the keys to achieving your dreams are the desire, strength, courage and determination to realize your goals.

“Your treasure is this building,” said Pestritto, to the hundreds of students wearing blue and white uniforms in the open-air auditorium. “You must use the treasure inside of you, the magical keys of will, effort, and determination in learning. Then what you want to be in life will be unlocked. It is here, given to you by people who care and love you.”

These same life lessons permitted Pestritto’s relatives to successfully emigrate from Italy and, with hard work, steadily grow a business. The American way of life, and the way the bakery did business dramatically changed in 1942 with the start of World War II.  

Like other Americans, his brothers were drafted to fight, and Pestritto served in the Navy for a year before he was discharged.

“During World War II, because we were feeding the world with 16 million troops overseas, cities allowed victory gardens,” said Pestritto. “We always had fresh produce. I want to see that in Haiti.”

In September 2014, Pestritto invested in an agricultural project in the community of La Rochiquite, in Hinche, Haiti, to improve the productivity of small-scale farmers. The farmers have been provided oxen, plows, and agricultural irrigation pumps to help produce fields of corn, tomato, green pepper, and eggplant. The community’s proximity to the Guayamouc River helps with the irrigation of the gardens.

Pestritto and his late second wife, Agnes, also chose to invest in the training of 130 bee farmers with Food For The Poor in Central Plateau, Haiti. The farmers received training and supplies to start their operation.

“I am elated about this project,” said Pestritto. “I want milk and honey to flow all over the island. I want to see it happen one day. I want to see it grow.”

Pestritto and his first wife, Rose, were first inspired to donate to Food For The Poor after they heard a speaker at a church in Margate, Fla., who was from their parish in New Jersey. Intent on honoring her memory, Pestritto built Rosie’s Kitchen in 1999 with Food For The Poor to provide low-cost meals to factory workers in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Miss Universe Contestants to Tour Building

The 63rd Annual MISS UNIVERSE® Contestants to Visit Food For The Poor

	The reigning Miss Universe, Gabriela Isler from Venezuela, and Miss Universe contestants from select countries will visit Food For The Poor’s headquarters in Coconut Creek, Fla., on Monday, Jan.12 at 11 a.m., to learn about what the organization is doing in each of the countries they are representing.
Related Item: Video: What We've Done in Haiti

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 9, 2015) – The MISS UNIVERSE® contestants from select countries will visit Food For The Poor’s headquarters in Coconut Creek, Fla., on Monday, Jan.12 at 11 a.m., to learn about what the organization is doing in each of the countries they are representing.

“The MISS UNIVERSE® Pageant does so much to spotlight the wonderful and exotic cultures worldwide, while maximizing the potential of its contestants. We are honored to be granted this opportunity to show the pageant participants what Food For The Poor is doing in their homelands,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor.

The women will tour the Food For The Poor headquarters, where they will learn about housing, water, and educational projects implemented by the charity. The reigning Miss Universe, Gabriela Isler of Venezuela, along with the following contestants, will attend:

Miss Universe Dominican Republic, Kimberly Castillo; Miss Universe El Salvador, Patricia Murillo; Miss Universe Guatemala, Ana Mountúfar Urrutia; Miss Universe Guyana, Niketa Barker; Miss Universe Honduras, Gabriela Ordoñez; Miss Universe Jamaica, Kaci Fennell; Miss Universe Mexico, Josselyn Garciglia; Miss Universe Nicaragua, Marline Barberena;, Miss Universe Panama, Yomatsy Hazelwood De La Rosa, Miss Universe St. Lucia, Roxanne Didier-Nicholas, and Miss Universe Trinidad, Jevon King.

Monday is the fifth anniversary of the 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti. Miss Universe Haiti, Christie Desir, also will be at Food For The Poor, which has worked tirelessly to help the country rebuild.

The 63rd Annual MISS UNIVERSE® Pageant will take place in Doral-Miami and will air live from the FIU Arena on NBC, Sunday, Jan. 25 (8-11 p.m.) with simulcast in Spanish on Telemundo. The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) is a Donald J. Trump and NBCUniversal joint venture, which uses its global grassroots reach to empower women to be self-confident and strive to be their personal best.

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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Businessman Values Giving Back

Major Building Hope Gala Sponsor Knows What Giving Me

	Jay DiPietro was honored as the 2014 Ambassador For The Poor. His fundraising efforts, along with fellow members of the Club Managers Association of America, helped build the first Food For The Poor school in Haiti following the massive 2010 earthquake.
Related Items: Reserve Your Gala Table Donate to Help Build a Home in Haiti

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 9, 2015) – Through hard work and perseverance, one of Food For The Poor’s major Building Hope Gala sponsors has been able to succeed in life, and generously bless other disadvantaged children.

Philanthropist Jay DiPietro, President/COO/General Manager of Boca West Country Club, deeply values the importance of helping others, because he knows firsthand what it means to be poor.

“When I was a kid I grew up in the slums; my brothers and I, we had it really rough,” said DiPietro, who delivered newspapers before and after school when he was just 10 and a half years old. “We were first generation, our parents were immigrants, and my father struggled to make enough money to support us.

“We knew what it was like to go to bed hungry; not as bad as the kids in Haiti, but compared to other Americans we were really in bad straits,” said DiPietro, who grew up in Boston. “You know, you wish and you pray, and you hope to God you will get out of it and my mother always said ‘work hard, just keep working hard, and you will get out.’ Thank God we live in America. We are the luckiest people in the world.” 

Last year, DiPietro was honored as the 2014 Ambassador For The Poor. DiPietro was recognized for more than 20 years of charity work throughout Palm Beach County. His fundraising efforts, along with fellow members of the Club Managers Association of America, helped build the first Food For The Poor school in Haiti following the massive 2010 earthquake.

Mary Wong, President of the Office Depot Foundation, whose philanthropic endeavors are also recognized throughout the community, will be recognized as Food For The Poor’s 2015 Ambassador For The Poor at the 20th annual Building Hope Gala on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, at Boca West Country Club in Boca Raton.

Food For The Poor remains committed to its building initiative in Haiti. From January 2010 to December 2014, the charity built or restored 35 schools in the Port-au-Prince region, and constructed 5,015 two-room homes in Haiti.

Attendees at the 20th annual Building Hope Gala will be invited to create a legacy by pledging to build Food For The Poor houses for people desperately in need of adequate shelter in the area surrounding Pon Batay, Haiti. A gift of $3,200 will move a destitute family from their dirt-floor makeshift shack, into a permanent home.

This year’s sponsor, J.R. Dunn Jewelers, in Lighthouse Point, Florida, will offer gala attendees an exclusive way to contribute to build critically needed houses for destitute families. For a $100 donation at the event, guests will enter a chance to win a $5,000 shopping spree at J.R. Dunn Jewelers.

Shaggy and The Hot Shot Band will perform at the gala, while chef Ron Duprat – who appeared on the reality TV show “Top Chef” – has offered to share his passion for cooking with attendees to help build homes in his homeland of Haiti. At the event, attendees can bid on a 12-course dinner prepared by the French-trained executive chef for 25 guests at the home of the winning bidder. Additional silent auction prizes will include electronics, jewelry, vacations, golf and dining packages. This year’s theme is old Hollywood glamor.

For additional information regarding the Building Hope Gala, sponsorship opportunities and tickets, available at $250 per person, please call 888-404-4248 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/boca.

The Building Hope Gala Chairwoman is Rene Turner-Mahfood, and additional committee members include Wedler Alexandre, Carlos Bodden, Matthew Bryant, Becky Carlsson, Ronda Ellis Ged, LaMae Klos, Susan Krassen, Julie Mahfood, Tashia Rahl, Kara Seelye, Deborah Shapiro and Renee Stetler.

Gala sponsors to date include Club Managers Association of America, Dennis Charley & Associates, DKB Trade Concepts Inc., Gregory's Fine Jewelry, Innovvaire, J.R. Dunn Jewelers, Leslie L. Alexander Foundation, McFFe Group, MOR Printing, Oceans 234, Office Depot Foundation, Premier Aircraft Sales, Seaboard Marine, TD Bank, Teemlink Ltd., The Calmark Group, The Levitetz Family Foundation, Trinity Direct, United Healthcare and The Boca Raton Observer.

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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Five Years after the Haiti Earthquake

Haiti Earthquake, Five Years Later
Food For The Poor Remains Persistent in the Recovery Effort

	Food For The Poor has built 5,015 permanent two-room concrete block homes with water and sanitation components, providing more than 30,000 earthquake survivors with a safe and secure place to live outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Related Items: See What We've Done in Haiti Donate to Help Haiti Rebuild

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 7, 2015)

Food For The Poor, which began working in Haiti in 1986, promised to remain with the people of Haiti on their long road to recovery after the January 2010 earthquake – and the charity is living up to that commitment.

Since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, Food For The Poor has:

• Built 5,015 permanent two-room concrete block homes with water and sanitation components, providing more than 30,000 people with a safe and secure place to live. An average Haiti household consists of six family members.
• Installed 90 water filtration units that purify 900,000 gallons of clean water a day, which equates to 180,000 individuals who now have access to clean water.
• Drilled 372 wells and pumps, providing more than 1.1 million people with clean water each day.
• Built or restored 35 schools in the Port-au-Prince area, which have an enrollment of 12,173 students.
• Shipped 5,098 containers, which include rice, sardines, beans, rice/soy meals, medicine, medical supplies, school and dorm furniture, tile, shoes, hygiene items, household items, cleaning supplies, and construction supplies.

 “The fifth anniversary of the earthquake should serve as a reminder of the sheer will of the human spirit to survive. The people of Haiti have had their share of natural disasters, yet they refuse to give up. And this organization will not give up on them,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “The rebuilding of Haiti is not going to be a quick fix, so we will continue on our path, which is to help one family and one village at a time.”

At 4:53 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2010, a sudden shift in a fault triggered a catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake near Haiti’s bustling capital of Port-au-Prince. More than 250,000 people were killed that day and an estimated 1.3 million were left homeless.

According to the International Organization for Migration, 92 percent of the displaced have left the camps in Haiti. As of June 2014, there were more than 103,500 people living in 172 camps scattered throughout the Port-au-Prince region. Helping people to get out of the dangerous conditions of living in tent cities remains a priority of Food For The Poor, as it helps families to renew their lives.

Click www.FoodForThePoor.org/earthquakevideo to watch a video about some of the projects Food For The Poor has implemented in Haiti in the five years since the earthquake struck.

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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.