Don Moen, Food For The Poor team up to build homes

Christian music artist Don Moen is sharing his talents with the international relief and development organization Food For The Poor so that homes can be built for those who have no shelter. His upcoming six-city Canadian tour will kick off on May 30.

This isn’t the first time the artist has collaborated with the charity. In 2004, he traveled to Jamaica and was moved to partner on homebuilding. Then in 2010, after the earthquake in Haiti, he visited Port-au-Prince and an area in Cap-Haitien called Shada, and came back to the United States inspired to change lives.

"I've seen firsthand the work being done through Food For The Poor bringing hope, comfort, and encouragement in tangible ways to those who need it so desperately,” said Moen, a singer, songwriter and worship leader. “I'll never forget the look on the faces of the people who were given keys to a new home and a new life, thanks to Food For The Poor."

Since the earthquake, Food For The Poor has built more than 2,000 permanent two-room homes in Haiti. With more than 800,000 people still living in tents and other temporary structures, the need remains great. Food For The Poor can build a house in Haiti for $3,200.

“God has given Don Moen a great talent for singing and songwriting, and Food For The Poor is blessed that he has chosen to help us in our mission,” said Samantha Mahfood, Executive Director of Food For The Poor Canada. “We hope to be able to build many more homes as a result of this partnership.”

For more information and ticket outlets, go to www.UniteProductions.com.

Concert Schedule:

Monday, May 30, 7 p.m.: North Pointe Community Church, 14025 - 167 Ave., Edmonton AB T6V 1J5

Tuesday, May 31, 7 p.m.: First Assembly Church, 6031 Elbow Dr. SW, Calgary, AB T2V 1J4

Thursday, June 2, 7 p.m.: Broadway Church, 2700 East Broadway, Vancouver, BC V5M 1Y8

Friday, June 3, 7 p.m.: Calvary Temple, 400 Hargrave St., Winnipeg MB R3B 3A8

Saturday, June 4, 7 p.m.: Cedarview Alliance Church, 2784 Cedarview Rd., Ottawa ON K2J 4J2

Sunday, June 5, 7 p.m.: Queensway Cathedral, 1536 The Queensway, Etobicoke ON M8Z 1T5

Food For The Poor, the third-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 agency 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
Food For The Poor
Public Relations Director
954-427-2222 x 6614
kathys@foodforthepoor.com

Marlins, Food For The Poor celebrate Inspiration Village

When representatives of the Florida Marlins and Waste Management walked into Inspiration Village in Malfety, Haiti, last week, the residents greeted them with marching bands, dancers and words of deep gratitude. Hundreds of men, women, and children gathered in front of the community center to thank the team that raised funds and awareness to build much-needed housing.

In addition to the opening of the village, the group also visited the poor in an area called Shada, near Cap-Haitien. The garbage-filled landscape there is peppered with crude shacks, unclothed children dirty from the mud, and mothers whose eyes have been robbed of any hope. Shada literally means misery in Creole, and it was a stark contrast to the new village.

“Inspiration Village has a truly perfect name. For those fortunate enough to escape the inhuman conditions of Shadda, this village is a life saver,” said Sean Flynn, Marlins Senior Vice President of Marketing. “By just looking into the faces of those in Inspiration Village, you can see the wide-eyed look of hope, happiness and comfort; feelings that were absent in the despair of the Shadda community.”

In addition to Flynn, Marlins representatives P.J. Loyello, Senior Vice President of Communications and Broadcasting; Angela Smith, Director of Community Outreach, Billy The Marlin and Marlins front office staff made the trip to Haiti. Dawn McCormick, Community Affairs Manager for Waste Management, also traveled to Haiti to see the houses that company helped to build.

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 to offer the opportunity for further education including vocational skills and training in agriculture and animal husbandry. These services will help the farmers achieve better results, and enable them to support their families and make the community sustainable.

"The Florida Marlins were extremely proud to team up with Food for the Poor on this extraordinary project,” Loyello said. “Inspiration Village has provided 41 families a home, as well as safety and dignity, as they get their lives back together after the natural disasters over the last couple of years. This project has certainly been an inspiration for all of us who've been involved."

A little girl who now lives in Inspiration Village summed it up for residents and visitors when she stood on the porch of the community center, and with the help of a translator, expressed her feelings.

“Today, we can say with the help of Food For The Poor and the Marlins, that there is no more sleeping in the rain, no more living in the sun. We have clean sanitation, where before we had to go in the bushes. Now, we say down with cholera, down with malaria, down with other diseases, because of you.”

The need for housing in this area exceeds the homes Inspiration Village already provides. If you are interested in assisting with additional housing projects, please visit www.foodforthepoor.org/homesforhaiti to make your donation today.

To view additional photos from the inauguration ceremony, please visit Food For The Poor's Facebook page.

Food For The Poor, the third-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 agency 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.

Contacts:

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

Carolina Perrina
Florida Marlins
Director, Business Communications
305-626-7389
cperrina@marlins.com

Orlando Residents Replace Haiti’s Tents and Shacks with Permanent Homes

At the 11th annual Food For The Poor Orlando event, supporters gave the people of Haiti New Hope, New Beginnings. Event proceeds will be used to construct critically needed homes and sanitation in Emmanuel Village V, in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. The village will house those who have been displaced by the earthquake, and those who are living in the Prolongé swamp and the slums of Shada.

“The situation in Haiti is very serious,” said Robin Mahfood, CEO/President of Food For The Poor, at the Oct. 22 event. “The people of Haiti need everyone’s help to build safe, permanent homes in Haiti.”

Food For The Poor’s building of homes in Haiti is limited only by the nonprofit’s funding.

“I pray Food For The Poor receives a donation for $50 million so we can build as many homes as possible throughout Haiti,” said Mahfood. “There are so many people who are suffering in Haiti. Their anguish truly hurts my heart.”

New Hope, New Beginnings event sponsor, Winter Park Construction and its staff, used drills and hammers to build a 12-by-12 foot house in the hotel’s ballroom at Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Spa. As guests walked through the modest house, they were able to visualize and appreciate the significance that receiving a Food For The Poor home makes in the lives of the destitute. Food For The Poor can build a safe, permanent house for $2,600; one with a latrine costs $3,100.

During the past 10 years, the passion and commitment of the Orlando community has built more than 500 housing units in Haiti through the Emmanuel Village Home Building Project in Cap-Haitien, Thomazeau and Gonaives.

“More than 1 million people were displaced by the earthquake, some of whom have been forced to live under tarps, blankets and tents,” said Dr. Lynne Nasrallah, Event Chairperson. “You restore hope each time you are able to move families from their dilapidated shanties, and give them the key to a home with a concrete foundation and a roof that does not leak.”

At the gala, Nasrallah gave a detailed and compelling account of her recent journey to Haiti. In July, a handful of Orlando residents traveled to Haiti with Nasrallah on a Food For The Poor-sponsored mission trip to witness firsthand the conditions of the people and to see how the nonprofit continues to improve their lives and living conditions throughout the country. Together they journeyed through swamps, inaugurated a village, served hot meals at Food For The Poor’s distribution center in Port-au-Prince, visited a home for handicapped children, and learned how self-sustainable initiatives empower villages and increase in-country production of food.

The evening included live music, a silent auction, house rally, and a four-course dinner followed by dancing. Bidding on silent auction prizes offers opportunities for guests to shop and donate to the cause at the same time. Prizes included exclusive art and collectibles from the Caribbean and Latin America, designer jewelry, vacations, golf and dining packages.

Committee members include: Anibal & Maritza Beltran, Linda Bonnewitz, Vendla Daverman, The del Campo Family, Cynthia Hawkins, Jackie Heaps, Dr. Aida Jimenez and Isabel Jimenez, Kathy Kinchla, Donna Larson, Tom Murphy, Paul Mylod, Desirae Nasrallah, Nicole Nasrallah, Nancy Padilla, Lisa Padilla, Amira Rivera, Diane Rogers, The Santana Family, Lee Sayago, Marie Schwarz, Gandy Thomas, Jean & Donna Wilson, Kelly Wilkes, and The Winger Family.

Food For The Poor, the third-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 agency 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.