COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (April 18, 2013) – Food For The Poor is proud to partner with TOMS to provide new shoes to children in some of the most impoverished areas of the Caribbean and Latin America. Children were so excited at one of the initial shoe distributions in Honduras that they stormed the beach to help unload boxes of TOMS Shoes from boats that had just arrived. Hoisting the boxes on their shoulders and hauling them in wheelbarrows, the children raced to the school, hoping to be first in line.
“One child was so overwhelmed by the newness and cleanness of the shoes that he did not want to put them on,” said Juan Ramon, the Cortes chapter coordinator for Cepudo, Food For The Poor’s Honduras in-country partner. “Eventually, he did put them on, and he was so proud of them.”
Even though it was a Sunday, the children dressed neatly in their school uniforms to receive their new pair of TOMS. TOMS Shoes were distributed at four schools in the poor coastal communities of Puerto Cortes, Honduras. There is no reliable electric or water source in the area, and the only available transportation is by horseback or on foot. Some children do not attend school because they do not have adequate shoes to wear. In addition, without proper footwear, children’s feet are vulnerable to cuts, injury and soil-transmitted infections. For these reasons, it is especially important that children have shoes to protect their feet.
“In developing countries, something as simple as a pair of new shoes makes a huge difference in the lives of these children,” said Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor’s Executive Director. “The TOMS Shoes that were distributed to these grateful children will continue to play an active role in the children's health, educational attainment, and self-esteem for many years.”
Through TOMS’ One for One®™ movement, new shoes will be distributed to children repeatedly as they grow. A pair of new shoes, in addition to meeting the basic needs of a child, increases their confidence, leading to better opportunities through an increase in the child’s school attendance.
“We have been able to help 100 percent of the students in the area, according to government records,” said Ramon. “This is a historic event for us and for the area. We have never been able to distribute such a large quantity of aid, and reach so many people at the same time. So far we have distributed new pairs of TOMS Shoes to more than 100 selected schools.”
Food For The Poor’s partners help with everything from self-sustaining aquaculture farms to feeding nutritious meals to school children.
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.
In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in a village in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One™. Since then, TOMS has evolved from a shoe company to the One for One company, and is now addressing an entirely new need around the world in addition to shoes through eyewear.
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Thursday, April 18, 2013
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
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
Monday, May 14, 2012
A gift of two schools A priceless legacy of learning for dozens of Jamaica’s children
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (May 9, 2012) – A mission trip to Jamaica with Food For The Poor ignited a spark in the heart of one young woman whose compassionate enthusiasm is making a positive impact in the lives of dozens of young children today.
“I believe helping the children is where everything starts,” said Rebecca Block. “As long as they have safe schools to learn and to thrive in, that is all that matters. It gives me joy, it gives me hope, and it makes me excited for the future of these kids.”
It all started when Block and a group of student volunteers from Lynn University traveled to the island nation in January 2010 with the international relief and development agency Food For The Poor. On that trip, Block said she saw many things, but when the group was told that schools were being closed due to improper classrooms and facilities, and children had nowhere to learn, she knew she had to help.
“I told my parents about my emotional trip and this need to do something positive about it. I brought up the idea of a school because of what I had heard, and my family agreed,” said Block.
With the support of the Hahn-Block Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Westlake Village, Calif., founded by Block’s parents nearly 15 years ago, the Morris Hall Basic School in St. Catherine, Jamaica, was built through Food For The Poor in 2010. Fast-forward two years, and Block’s determination has resulted in funding for a second school. The United Basic School, located in Pepper District, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, also will be built through Food For The Poor.
“Education is so very important because it provides people with an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty, but these much needed skills must be introduced to the minds of Jamaica’s children while they are very young,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “It’s unfortunate, but many school buildings in Jamaica need to be torn down and reconstructed, so Rebecca’s desire to get these basic schools built not only will help children now, but hundreds of children for years to come will benefit from her effort. She’s truly an amazing young woman.”
The future looks bright for 23-year-old Block, who will be graduating on Saturday from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. with a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and Public Relations. She says she’s then heading out to Los Angeles to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising for a degree in Visual Communications. Block says wherever she goes she will always remember Jamaica, and that the experience there has changed her life for the better.
Food For The Poor has constructed 41 basic schools in Jamaica since 2004, and has replaced 50 pit latrines with flush toilet systems in schools across the island.
To mark Jamaica’s golden anniversary on Aug. 6, 2012, 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.
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
It all started when Block and a group of student volunteers from Lynn University traveled to the island nation in January 2010 with the international relief and development agency Food For The Poor. On that trip, Block said she saw many things, but when the group was told that schools were being closed due to improper classrooms and facilities, and children had nowhere to learn, she knew she had to help.
“I told my parents about my emotional trip and this need to do something positive about it. I brought up the idea of a school because of what I had heard, and my family agreed,” said Block.
With the support of the Hahn-Block Family Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Westlake Village, Calif., founded by Block’s parents nearly 15 years ago, the Morris Hall Basic School in St. Catherine, Jamaica, was built through Food For The Poor in 2010. Fast-forward two years, and Block’s determination has resulted in funding for a second school. The United Basic School, located in Pepper District, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, also will be built through Food For The Poor.
“Education is so very important because it provides people with an opportunity to break the cycle of poverty, but these much needed skills must be introduced to the minds of Jamaica’s children while they are very young,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “It’s unfortunate, but many school buildings in Jamaica need to be torn down and reconstructed, so Rebecca’s desire to get these basic schools built not only will help children now, but hundreds of children for years to come will benefit from her effort. She’s truly an amazing young woman.”
The future looks bright for 23-year-old Block, who will be graduating on Saturday from Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. with a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and Public Relations. She says she’s then heading out to Los Angeles to attend the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising for a degree in Visual Communications. Block says wherever she goes she will always remember Jamaica, and that the experience there has changed her life for the better.
Food For The Poor has constructed 41 basic schools in Jamaica since 2004, and has replaced 50 pit latrines with flush toilet systems in schools across the island.
To mark Jamaica’s golden anniversary on Aug. 6, 2012, 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.
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
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Eight 4 Third World Hope rebuilds hope and schools in Jamaica
It’s sometimes difficult to imagine that some of the children on one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean are learning their ABC’s and 123’s inside crumbling structures, and are using 100-year-old pit latrines that are literally falling apart.
This was the case for nearly 200 basic and primary school-aged children who live in Jamaica’s mountain communities of Concord and Bensonton in St. Ann, and in McCook’s Pen, St. Catherine.
“It’s very difficult for many here in the United States to fully comprehend the deplorable condition of many of these schools in Jamaica,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “In spite of cramped classrooms, decaying desks and chairs, limited school supplies, and having to use pit latrines, these children are learning. They and their teachers deserve a much better environment for their educational needs.”
Eight 4 Third World Hope, a Rochester, N.Y. based-organization, is making a big difference in the lives of the children in this part of Jamaica through Food For The Poor. Deacon Kevin Carges traveled on his first mission trip to Jamaica with the ministry in 2006. Moved by what he saw, in 2009 he founded the charity Eight 4 Third World Hope at St. John Fisher College, and with the help of six members from the college Class of 1984 began changing lives.
In their first project, funds were raised to rebuild the Concord Sacred Heart Early Childhood Institution. Their second project was the completion of a facility with separate and private restrooms for boys and girls. The dangerous pit latrine at Bensonton Primary School was replaced with seven flush toilets, urinals, and four sinks. Now a third project is in the works to rebuild the basic school in McCook’s Pen, which is peppered with holes and gaps in its wooden frame.
Eight 4 Third World Hope and several of its members recently traveled back to Jamaica, with Food For The Poor to see firsthand the fruits of their labor. The New York charity’s founder says they are very eager to complete the McCook’s Pen project.
“God’s hand has been present with all of us,” said Carges. “This trip has provided our members with an opportunity to get hands on experience and to see the need, to be inspired to help the children to get an education and to have a brighter future.”
Food For The Poor has constructed 41 basic schools in Jamaica since 2004, and has replaced 50 pit latrines with flush toilet systems in schools across the island.
To mark Jamaica’s golden anniversary on Aug. 6, 2012, 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.
To support the building initiative in McCook’s Pen, tax-deductible donations can be made through the secure website at www.FoodForThePoor.org/eight4thirdworldhope.
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:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com
This was the case for nearly 200 basic and primary school-aged children who live in Jamaica’s mountain communities of Concord and Bensonton in St. Ann, and in McCook’s Pen, St. Catherine.
“It’s very difficult for many here in the United States to fully comprehend the deplorable condition of many of these schools in Jamaica,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “In spite of cramped classrooms, decaying desks and chairs, limited school supplies, and having to use pit latrines, these children are learning. They and their teachers deserve a much better environment for their educational needs.” Eight 4 Third World Hope, a Rochester, N.Y. based-organization, is making a big difference in the lives of the children in this part of Jamaica through Food For The Poor. Deacon Kevin Carges traveled on his first mission trip to Jamaica with the ministry in 2006. Moved by what he saw, in 2009 he founded the charity Eight 4 Third World Hope at St. John Fisher College, and with the help of six members from the college Class of 1984 began changing lives.
In their first project, funds were raised to rebuild the Concord Sacred Heart Early Childhood Institution. Their second project was the completion of a facility with separate and private restrooms for boys and girls. The dangerous pit latrine at Bensonton Primary School was replaced with seven flush toilets, urinals, and four sinks. Now a third project is in the works to rebuild the basic school in McCook’s Pen, which is peppered with holes and gaps in its wooden frame.
Eight 4 Third World Hope and several of its members recently traveled back to Jamaica, with Food For The Poor to see firsthand the fruits of their labor. The New York charity’s founder says they are very eager to complete the McCook’s Pen project.
“God’s hand has been present with all of us,” said Carges. “This trip has provided our members with an opportunity to get hands on experience and to see the need, to be inspired to help the children to get an education and to have a brighter future.”
Food For The Poor has constructed 41 basic schools in Jamaica since 2004, and has replaced 50 pit latrines with flush toilet systems in schools across the island.
To mark Jamaica’s golden anniversary on Aug. 6, 2012, 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.
To support the building initiative in McCook’s Pen, tax-deductible donations can be made through the secure website at www.FoodForThePoor.org/eight4thirdworldhope.
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:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com
Thursday, January 26, 2012
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
“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
Friday, January 20, 2012
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
- 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
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
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
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
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Boca Grande meets goal in Pierre Payen and changes lives
Boca Grande Friendship Village, a picturesque community that’s nestled between majestic mountains, dozens of fruit trees, a river, and an ocean has transformed the lives of hundreds of people in Pierre Payen, Haiti. Thanks to the caring residents of Southwest Florida’s Boca Grande community, pastel colored houses now sit in a valley that was once occupied with mud huts.
“Boca Grande has been a tremendous blessing for many families in Pierre Payen, but most importantly, they’ve restored hope and the desire to dream again into the lives of so many,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “To help the residents of Friendship Village to become even more self-sustaining, Boca Grande completed their second phase earlier this year, which included a nine-room basic school, 22 more homes with sanitation and cisterns, two solar-powered street lamps, 150 more fruit trees and a cow farm.”
The Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee was working through Food For The Poor to build homes in the Artibonite Region of the country long before the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in 2010. Later that year, 40 double-unit homes equipped with kitchenettes, sanitation and 200-gallon plastic water cisterns to collect rain water were constructed. A water treatment system for the entire community, 500 fruit trees, an animal husbandry project, a community chicken farm, a community center with a solar-powered system to provide electricity, and a five-room vocational school were also provided.
“I had to stand all night when it rained in the past. I had no place to lie down because of the mud inside the house. Now, I can sleep when it rains and not get wet,” said one Friendship Village resident. “No one in the past would let their kids even come to the village because it was considered too backwards. Now, everybody comes to visit us,” said another.
Ben Scott, chair of the Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee, has now turned his focus toward Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince, and the town of Michaud. Progress is taking place, but not fast enough for the hundreds of thousands of earthquake victims who are still living in tent cities nearly two years later. It has become the goal of Boca Grande to build as many homes as possible, with the help of Food For The Poor, for earthquake survivors.
“Our next project will begin in February 2012,” said Scott. “There are more than 500,000 people who are still homeless, but we have to focus on helping one family at a time.”
Michaud is a small, impoverished town with approximately 10,000 residents and was once considered the backyard of Croix-des-Bouquets. It sits in the middle of farmlands, which land owners used to cultivate sugar cane for the Haitian American Sugar Company in the mid-80s, before its closure. Today, residents rely upon seasonal agriculture for survival, mainly millet and some sugar cane, which they sell in the marketplace.
Boca Grande’s goal through Food For The Poor is to provide 40 families in Michaud with 40 double-unit houses, which will include sanitation units and water tanks. Each family will also be given two solar-powered lanterns; four solar-powered street lamps will be installed in the community in 2012.
Scott, along with donors of the Pierre Payen project and Food For The Poor staff from the Coconut Creek office will be traveling to Haiti the week of Nov. 14 for the dedication of the village and the nine room basic school.
Committee members include: Ben and Louise Scott, the Rev. Gary Beatty, the Rev. Jerome Carosella, the Rev. Read Heydt, George and Lois Castrucci, Patricia Chapman, Ray and Iliene Corcoran, Charlie and Florita Field, Lou and Corie Fusz, Stephen and Susan Jansen, Tom and Nancy Lorden, Colvin and Madelaine McCrady, and John and Pauline Mendez.
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 Grande has been a tremendous blessing for many families in Pierre Payen, but most importantly, they’ve restored hope and the desire to dream again into the lives of so many,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “To help the residents of Friendship Village to become even more self-sustaining, Boca Grande completed their second phase earlier this year, which included a nine-room basic school, 22 more homes with sanitation and cisterns, two solar-powered street lamps, 150 more fruit trees and a cow farm.”The Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee was working through Food For The Poor to build homes in the Artibonite Region of the country long before the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in 2010. Later that year, 40 double-unit homes equipped with kitchenettes, sanitation and 200-gallon plastic water cisterns to collect rain water were constructed. A water treatment system for the entire community, 500 fruit trees, an animal husbandry project, a community chicken farm, a community center with a solar-powered system to provide electricity, and a five-room vocational school were also provided.
“I had to stand all night when it rained in the past. I had no place to lie down because of the mud inside the house. Now, I can sleep when it rains and not get wet,” said one Friendship Village resident. “No one in the past would let their kids even come to the village because it was considered too backwards. Now, everybody comes to visit us,” said another.
Ben Scott, chair of the Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee, has now turned his focus toward Haiti’s capital city of Port-au-Prince, and the town of Michaud. Progress is taking place, but not fast enough for the hundreds of thousands of earthquake victims who are still living in tent cities nearly two years later. It has become the goal of Boca Grande to build as many homes as possible, with the help of Food For The Poor, for earthquake survivors.
“Our next project will begin in February 2012,” said Scott. “There are more than 500,000 people who are still homeless, but we have to focus on helping one family at a time.”
Michaud is a small, impoverished town with approximately 10,000 residents and was once considered the backyard of Croix-des-Bouquets. It sits in the middle of farmlands, which land owners used to cultivate sugar cane for the Haitian American Sugar Company in the mid-80s, before its closure. Today, residents rely upon seasonal agriculture for survival, mainly millet and some sugar cane, which they sell in the marketplace.
Boca Grande’s goal through Food For The Poor is to provide 40 families in Michaud with 40 double-unit houses, which will include sanitation units and water tanks. Each family will also be given two solar-powered lanterns; four solar-powered street lamps will be installed in the community in 2012.
Scott, along with donors of the Pierre Payen project and Food For The Poor staff from the Coconut Creek office will be traveling to Haiti the week of Nov. 14 for the dedication of the village and the nine room basic school.
Committee members include: Ben and Louise Scott, the Rev. Gary Beatty, the Rev. Jerome Carosella, the Rev. Read Heydt, George and Lois Castrucci, Patricia Chapman, Ray and Iliene Corcoran, Charlie and Florita Field, Lou and Corie Fusz, Stephen and Susan Jansen, Tom and Nancy Lorden, Colvin and Madelaine McCrady, and John and Pauline Mendez.
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
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Determined to build a school, 11-year-old needs your help
In May, 11-year-old Rachel Wheeler traveled to Haiti to dedicate the village for which she fundraised for two years. It was built with the nonprofit Food For The Poor. The residents in “Rachel’s Village” greeted her with a hero’s welcome, clapping and singing songs of praise and thanks. It was here, in the coastal village of Kay Piti, in Leogane, among the new vibrantly painted homes, that Rachel realized that not all children are able to attend school. Determined to make a difference, Rachel’s new goal is to build a school.
“I want to build a school because they need education to make their lives better so they can learn and teach their own children how to have a better life,” said Rachel Wheeler, who was named one of America’s 2011 top 10 youth volunteers out of approximately 29,000 applicants.
Rachel’s school will be constructed in Reap de Morel, Leogane, near the epicenter of the January 2010 earthquake. Prior to the earthquake, 250 students from kindergarten to the sixth grade were registered and attended the school. Classes are currently held in a one-room, makeshift structure that floods when it rains. Rusted sheet-metal, pieces of wood and blue tarps offer students little protection from the weather.
“Without education, Haiti will never be able to improve the lives of its people,” said Rachel, who is preparing to enter the sixth grade at Zion Lutheran School in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
While in Haiti, Rachel and her family visited the Food For The Poor-sponsored school Ti Aiyti in Cité Soleil. The students, dressed in blue and white uniforms, greeted guests with laughter, smiles, handmade cards, and performances.
“I believe that knowledge is power,” said Julie Wheeler, Rachel’s mother. “Education is the solution to poverty. Seeing the school in Cité Soleil gave me hope, those children are the future leaders of their country.”
In addition to providing supplies, Food For The Poor also supports school feeding programs. For many poor children, the nutritious meal they receive at school may be their only meal of the day. The meals not only help a child concentrate, learn and develop, but they also serve as a powerful incentive for parents to send their children to school.
“Rachel is an incredible young lady who has dreams of a better life for poor children,” said Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor’s Executive Director. “With the construction of this school, children from Rachel’s Village and the surrounding area will be able to wear uniforms, walk proudly to school and learn how to read and write.”
Food For The Poor’s August 2011 newsletter features a young girl who said that if God could answer any of her prayers, she would ask Him to answer two. “I’d ask God to help my family, because the living conditions here are very bad. And I’d ask God to send me to school,” said Filona Bernard, 13, who is unable to attend school because there is not enough money for a school uniform, books, and other essentials.
“I like school because I think that without school, you can’t succeed in life. You can’t be anything,” said Filona, who watches her six younger siblings while her mother is at the local market, selling mangoes for five cents apiece.
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# 80982” to accurately route your donation to the school-building effort.
Months ago, as Rachel boarded a Food For The Poor fishing boat to leave Rachel’s Village, the residents called out and waved to her from the beach, saying, “You are always welcome here. Please come back.” It is as if they knew Rachel’s determination would someday bring her back to Haiti.
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 throughout 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:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com
“I want to build a school because they need education to make their lives better so they can learn and teach their own children how to have a better life,” said Rachel Wheeler, who was named one of America’s 2011 top 10 youth volunteers out of approximately 29,000 applicants.
Rachel’s school will be constructed in Reap de Morel, Leogane, near the epicenter of the January 2010 earthquake. Prior to the earthquake, 250 students from kindergarten to the sixth grade were registered and attended the school. Classes are currently held in a one-room, makeshift structure that floods when it rains. Rusted sheet-metal, pieces of wood and blue tarps offer students little protection from the weather.
“Without education, Haiti will never be able to improve the lives of its people,” said Rachel, who is preparing to enter the sixth grade at Zion Lutheran School in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
While in Haiti, Rachel and her family visited the Food For The Poor-sponsored school Ti Aiyti in Cité Soleil. The students, dressed in blue and white uniforms, greeted guests with laughter, smiles, handmade cards, and performances.
“I believe that knowledge is power,” said Julie Wheeler, Rachel’s mother. “Education is the solution to poverty. Seeing the school in Cité Soleil gave me hope, those children are the future leaders of their country.”
In addition to providing supplies, Food For The Poor also supports school feeding programs. For many poor children, the nutritious meal they receive at school may be their only meal of the day. The meals not only help a child concentrate, learn and develop, but they also serve as a powerful incentive for parents to send their children to school.
“Rachel is an incredible young lady who has dreams of a better life for poor children,” said Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor’s Executive Director. “With the construction of this school, children from Rachel’s Village and the surrounding area will be able to wear uniforms, walk proudly to school and learn how to read and write.”
Food For The Poor’s August 2011 newsletter features a young girl who said that if God could answer any of her prayers, she would ask Him to answer two. “I’d ask God to help my family, because the living conditions here are very bad. And I’d ask God to send me to school,” said Filona Bernard, 13, who is unable to attend school because there is not enough money for a school uniform, books, and other essentials.
“I like school because I think that without school, you can’t succeed in life. You can’t be anything,” said Filona, who watches her six younger siblings while her mother is at the local market, selling mangoes for five cents apiece.
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# 80982” to accurately route your donation to the school-building effort.
Months ago, as Rachel boarded a Food For The Poor fishing boat to leave Rachel’s Village, the residents called out and waved to her from the beach, saying, “You are always welcome here. Please come back.” It is as if they knew Rachel’s determination would someday bring her back to Haiti.
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 throughout 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:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Second school sustains Stephanie Crispinelli’s legacy
Wearing blue shirts that read “Failure is not an option,” Lenny and Lin Crispinelli have continued to build their daughter’s legacy, erecting a second school in Jamaica with the nonprofit Food For The Poor. Energized by the fast-paced construction, a group of 33 friends and family members discussed plans for a third school before ‘Steph’s Place II’ in Clarendon, Jamaica, was even finished.
“We’ve got to keep this going,” said Lin, at the work site of Steph’s Place II. “Everybody is so excited – it has been a wonderful experience. It has helped us so much in our healing.”
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Jenna Constantino read the poem she wrote for Stephanie’s memorial service in 2010.
The poem read, in part:
“We celebrated her life in the beginning,
We are celebrating her life now,
But Stephanie celebrated life in the middle,
And here’s a glimpse into how…..
She loved her family deeply,
She didn’t take life too seriously,
She wasn’t afraid to be different,
She broadened her horizons, and
She cared for those in need.”
With the school completed in just two days, the group had plenty of time to follow in Stephanie’s footsteps. Group members fed lunch to handicapped children, created arts and crafts with AIDS-affected children, shot soccer goals with orphaned boys, and cared for at-risk girls.
“The experience we had in Jamaica will stay in our hearts forever,” emailed Teri Palotta, to the group. “We didn't know Stephanie, but after this trip we can see and feel what a wonderful and special young woman she was. It was a true pleasure to meet, work, and spend time with each of you.”
Stephanie’s family and friends also had the opportunity to visit ‘Steph’s Place,’ the school they built last year in Race Course, Clarendon, on the school’s Career Day. Students dressed as nurses, teachers, businessmen and military officers to welcome the visitors.
“You could feel the pride and joy the community had, and that is what allowed us to see the difference the school would make in their lives,” said Nikki Fantauzzi, who had been with Stephanie in Haiti on a Food For The Poor mission trip when the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck in January 2010.
“We are trying to give children in this area an opportunity for a safe learning environment, so they have the opportunity to have a fulfilling education,” Lin said.
To help continue Stephanie’s mission, please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the special source code “SC# 80749” to accurately route your donation to the school-building effort. Donations can be mailed to Food For The Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. All gifts are tax-deductible.
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 throughout 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:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com
“We’ve got to keep this going,” said Lin, at the work site of Steph’s Place II. “Everybody is so excited – it has been a wonderful experience. It has helped us so much in our healing.” At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Jenna Constantino read the poem she wrote for Stephanie’s memorial service in 2010.
The poem read, in part:
“We celebrated her life in the beginning,
We are celebrating her life now,
But Stephanie celebrated life in the middle,
And here’s a glimpse into how…..
She loved her family deeply,
She didn’t take life too seriously,
She wasn’t afraid to be different,
She broadened her horizons, and
She cared for those in need.”
With the school completed in just two days, the group had plenty of time to follow in Stephanie’s footsteps. Group members fed lunch to handicapped children, created arts and crafts with AIDS-affected children, shot soccer goals with orphaned boys, and cared for at-risk girls.
“The experience we had in Jamaica will stay in our hearts forever,” emailed Teri Palotta, to the group. “We didn't know Stephanie, but after this trip we can see and feel what a wonderful and special young woman she was. It was a true pleasure to meet, work, and spend time with each of you.”
Stephanie’s family and friends also had the opportunity to visit ‘Steph’s Place,’ the school they built last year in Race Course, Clarendon, on the school’s Career Day. Students dressed as nurses, teachers, businessmen and military officers to welcome the visitors.
“You could feel the pride and joy the community had, and that is what allowed us to see the difference the school would make in their lives,” said Nikki Fantauzzi, who had been with Stephanie in Haiti on a Food For The Poor mission trip when the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck in January 2010.
“We are trying to give children in this area an opportunity for a safe learning environment, so they have the opportunity to have a fulfilling education,” Lin said.
To help continue Stephanie’s mission, please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the special source code “SC# 80749” to accurately route your donation to the school-building effort. Donations can be mailed to Food For The Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. All gifts are tax-deductible.
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 throughout 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:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Rebuilding schools, renewing hope in Haiti
The sounds of school bells ringing and children chatting away as they hurry off to class soon will be returning to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. It’s been 17 months since a massive 7.0 magnitude quake tore apart the earth there, destroying everything and everyone near its epicenter, including 80 percent of the schools.
In May, the ground shook again, but this time it was from the use of heavy machinery clearing sites for schools. Food For The Poor is building the Jean Marie Guilloux primary and secondary school, the first of four schools slated to go up in and around Haiti’s capital.
The two-level building will have a total of 16 rooms including, six classrooms, an administrative office, and a canteen on the first level. Six more classrooms, a library with a computer lab, plus a music room will make up the second level. Each classroom will accommodate 40 students and a teacher. All of the new schools will have a walkway with a canopy and stairway, along with a water well and septic system.
There will also be a grassy courtyard to provide students with a secure place to relax or play in between classes. Each school is being built with pre-fabricated earthquake resistant materials. The schools are also designed to resist a Category 5 Hurricane, which is a storm with wind speeds above of 155 mph. More than 3,400 students will benefit from the construction of the four new schools.
“This is a blessing for Haiti, especially in Port-au-Prince because we lost so many students that day, along with their many dreams,” said Lesly Clervil, Food For The Poor’s Haiti Project Manager. “The rebuilding of these schools will bring back hope and pride to the children.”
Shortly after the devastation, many devoted teachers and countless volunteers, determined to help students return to a sense of normalcy, made makeshift classrooms from tents and scraps of fabric. These classroom settings often were under trees, or in open fields away from the potential danger of falling debris. Desks and chairs were put together from whatever salvageable materials they could find.
“After seeing this, we knew we had to help,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “Getting the children back into safe buildings, with the proper desks and adequate supplies, became one of our top priorities. I am proud to say that goal is being fulfilled. We must provide Haiti’s children with the educational tools needed to prepare them for future success – self-sustaining success – to one day rebuild a beautiful and better Haiti.”
According to the charity’s project manager, each school will take approximately two months to construct. Now that the debris has been cleared from the site, and the concrete foundation has been poured, completion of the first school is expected by the end of July.
“Words cannot express the excitement we feel for the thousands of school-aged children in Port-au-Prince who will now be able to take advantage of a good education and the immense gratitude for all whose generosity and hard work are making this dream a reality,” said Mahfood.
Last November, Food For The Poor celebrated the opening of a school in Petit Goave, the first school the charity opened after the earthquake.
The new schools are:
• Jean Marie Guilloux, 12 Classrooms
• St. Francois D’Assise, 12 Classrooms
• Marie Clarac, 16 Classrooms
• George Marc, 21 Classrooms
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:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com
In May, the ground shook again, but this time it was from the use of heavy machinery clearing sites for schools. Food For The Poor is building the Jean Marie Guilloux primary and secondary school, the first of four schools slated to go up in and around Haiti’s capital.
The two-level building will have a total of 16 rooms including, six classrooms, an administrative office, and a canteen on the first level. Six more classrooms, a library with a computer lab, plus a music room will make up the second level. Each classroom will accommodate 40 students and a teacher. All of the new schools will have a walkway with a canopy and stairway, along with a water well and septic system.There will also be a grassy courtyard to provide students with a secure place to relax or play in between classes. Each school is being built with pre-fabricated earthquake resistant materials. The schools are also designed to resist a Category 5 Hurricane, which is a storm with wind speeds above of 155 mph. More than 3,400 students will benefit from the construction of the four new schools.
“This is a blessing for Haiti, especially in Port-au-Prince because we lost so many students that day, along with their many dreams,” said Lesly Clervil, Food For The Poor’s Haiti Project Manager. “The rebuilding of these schools will bring back hope and pride to the children.”
Shortly after the devastation, many devoted teachers and countless volunteers, determined to help students return to a sense of normalcy, made makeshift classrooms from tents and scraps of fabric. These classroom settings often were under trees, or in open fields away from the potential danger of falling debris. Desks and chairs were put together from whatever salvageable materials they could find.
“After seeing this, we knew we had to help,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “Getting the children back into safe buildings, with the proper desks and adequate supplies, became one of our top priorities. I am proud to say that goal is being fulfilled. We must provide Haiti’s children with the educational tools needed to prepare them for future success – self-sustaining success – to one day rebuild a beautiful and better Haiti.”
According to the charity’s project manager, each school will take approximately two months to construct. Now that the debris has been cleared from the site, and the concrete foundation has been poured, completion of the first school is expected by the end of July.
“Words cannot express the excitement we feel for the thousands of school-aged children in Port-au-Prince who will now be able to take advantage of a good education and the immense gratitude for all whose generosity and hard work are making this dream a reality,” said Mahfood.
Last November, Food For The Poor celebrated the opening of a school in Petit Goave, the first school the charity opened after the earthquake.
The new schools are:
• Jean Marie Guilloux, 12 Classrooms
• St. Francois D’Assise, 12 Classrooms
• Marie Clarac, 16 Classrooms
• George Marc, 21 Classrooms
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:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Stephanie’s Mission builds schools and houses in Jamaica
In their continuing effort to honor their daughter's legacy, Lenny and Lin Crispinelli will travel to Jamaica for a second time to follow in Stephanie's footsteps with Food For The Poor. In less than two days, the team of 33 friends and family members will build a school to serve children, like the ones that first inspired Stephanie's enthusiasm to "Do work" on a mission trip with the charity.
One of the people making the trip, Nikki Fantauzzi, was with Stephanie in Haiti with a group from Lynn University on a Food For The Poor mission trip when the 7.0 magnitude earthquake instantly claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Fantauzzi, a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, drove four boxes of educational supplies from the Crispinelli's home in New York to Food For The Poor's headquarters in Coconut Creek, Fla. On Monday, May 23, before they left for Jamaica, the group stuffed backpacks for the children who attend Gimme-Me-Bit's school in Clarendon, Jamaica.
“Even though Stephanie is no longer physically here, through the work of her friends and family her mission and dream of making a difference continues,” said Fantauzzi.
Construction of this school named ‘Steph’s Place II’ will begin on Fantauzzi’s birthday. Through Fantauzzi’s Champions For The Poor web page, you can donate to help complete Steph’s Place II.
“Stephanie’s parents are doing a tremendous amount of good for Jamica’s youth by constructing a school each year in her honor,” said Robin Mahfood, Food For The Poor’s President/CEO. “By providing disadvantaged children with the opportunity to learn, Stephanie’s parents guarantee her memory, and her passion for serving others will continue to live in many hearts.”
While in Jamaica, Stephanie’s family and friends will also visit the school they built last year, ‘Steph’s Place’ in Race Course, Clarendon. The other sites to be visited are the same places Stephanie experienced while in Jamaica on her first mission trip with Food For The Poor. In her footsteps, group members will feed lunch to handicapped children, create arts and crafts with AIDS-affected children, shoot soccer goals with orphaned boys, and care for at-risk girls.
This year, in addition to funding Steph’s Place II, three homes for destitute families have been built with resources collected through the Stephanie Crispinelli Humanitarian Fund. At W R Berkley Corporation’s annual holiday party in Greenwich, Conn., Lin Crispinelli and friends successfully auctioned off a Wizard of Oz-themed gingerbread house, paying for the first installation of Steph’s Place II. Yorktown Jewelers and its customers have helped to host and support fundraisers that promote Stephanie’s mission.
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.
Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com
One of the people making the trip, Nikki Fantauzzi, was with Stephanie in Haiti with a group from Lynn University on a Food For The Poor mission trip when the 7.0 magnitude earthquake instantly claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Fantauzzi, a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, drove four boxes of educational supplies from the Crispinelli's home in New York to Food For The Poor's headquarters in Coconut Creek, Fla. On Monday, May 23, before they left for Jamaica, the group stuffed backpacks for the children who attend Gimme-Me-Bit's school in Clarendon, Jamaica.
“Even though Stephanie is no longer physically here, through the work of her friends and family her mission and dream of making a difference continues,” said Fantauzzi.Construction of this school named ‘Steph’s Place II’ will begin on Fantauzzi’s birthday. Through Fantauzzi’s Champions For The Poor web page, you can donate to help complete Steph’s Place II.
“Stephanie’s parents are doing a tremendous amount of good for Jamica’s youth by constructing a school each year in her honor,” said Robin Mahfood, Food For The Poor’s President/CEO. “By providing disadvantaged children with the opportunity to learn, Stephanie’s parents guarantee her memory, and her passion for serving others will continue to live in many hearts.”
While in Jamaica, Stephanie’s family and friends will also visit the school they built last year, ‘Steph’s Place’ in Race Course, Clarendon. The other sites to be visited are the same places Stephanie experienced while in Jamaica on her first mission trip with Food For The Poor. In her footsteps, group members will feed lunch to handicapped children, create arts and crafts with AIDS-affected children, shoot soccer goals with orphaned boys, and care for at-risk girls.
This year, in addition to funding Steph’s Place II, three homes for destitute families have been built with resources collected through the Stephanie Crispinelli Humanitarian Fund. At W R Berkley Corporation’s annual holiday party in Greenwich, Conn., Lin Crispinelli and friends successfully auctioned off a Wizard of Oz-themed gingerbread house, paying for the first installation of Steph’s Place II. Yorktown Jewelers and its customers have helped to host and support fundraisers that promote Stephanie’s mission.
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.
Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com
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