Tessanne Chin

	Tessanne Chin
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COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 9, 2014) – The winner of Season 5 of NBC’s The Voice, Tessanne Chin, will sing at Food For The Poor’s  Building Hope Gala, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014 at The Polo Club of Boca Raton. Tessanne will perform her new single “Tumbling Down” to encourage attendees to replace poor families’ dilapidated huts in Ganthier, Haiti, with safe, permanent houses.

When asked how winning The Voice in December 2013 has changed her life, Tessanne says she keeps pinching herself.

“Tessanne’s reaction to the news that she won The Voice is similar to the immense joy and disbelief that destitute families experience when they are moved from their crudely built huts into sturdy Food For The Poor homes,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “Food For The Poor would like to thank Tessanne for generously lending her voice to lift families out of extreme poverty. The life-altering difference a new Food For The Poor house makes for families living in deplorable conditions is incredible. When a family expresses their gratitude for their new Food For The Poor house, it is not uncommon for them to refer to it as their piece of heaven.”

Building Hope Gala committee members Allison Venditti and Kara Seelye journeyed to the desert-like community of Ganthier with Food For The Poor in October to see firsthand the remote community’s needs. Both Boca residents were appalled by the residents’ living conditions. The barefoot children that emerged from the crudely built huts were covered in dust and malnourished.

“It is the worst situation I have seen,” said Venditti, a Building Hope Gala committee member. “The houses are made of little sticks and mud, with thatched roofs. These families are just trying to survive.”

Tickets to the Caribbean Carnival-themed Building Hope Gala are available at $250 per person. Please call 954-427-2222, ext. 6634 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/boca for additional information and sponsorship opportunities.

Jason Martinez, co-anchor for WPLG-TV ABC Local 10 Morning News and Local 10 News at Noon, will serve as the gala’s master of ceremonies for a second consecutive year. The evening also features an extensive silent auction, cocktail reception, gourmet dinner, and dancing. Bidding on silent auction prizes such as electronics, jewelry, vacations, golf and dining packages will offer guests opportunities to support the cause.

This year’s committee and Gregory Fried, owner of Gregory’s Fine Jewelry in Delray Beach, have devised a unique way to inspire gala attendees to contribute toward making a difference in the lives of others. For a donation at the event, guests will enter for the chance to win a stunning piece of jewelry donated by Gregory’s Fine Jewelry. The 18-karat white gold diamond earrings weigh 2.92 carats, and are valued at $6,000.

Jay DiPietro, President/COO/General Manager of Boca West Country Club, will be honored at the gala as the 2014 Ambassador For The Poor.

Committee members include Carlos Bodden, Matthew Bryant, Becky Carlsson, Kim Fox, Ronda Ellis Ged, Susan Krassan, Rene Mahfood, Dan Overbey, Tashia Rahl, Lauren Roberts, Kara Seelye, Deborah Shapiro, Renee Stetler and Allison Venditti.

Gala sponsors include AKA Printing and Mailing, Akoya at Boca West, Boca West Country Club, Dennis Charley & Associates, Inc., Dusco Doors, Ellis, Ged & Bodden, PA, Gregory’s Fine Jewelry, Miller Construction Company, Quadriga Art, LLC, Seaboard Marine, ShowTurf, The Harcourt M. and Virginia W. Sylvester Foundation, TD Bank, United Healthcare, VITAS Innovative Hospice Care, The Wallace Family, Workaway International and The Boca Raton Observer.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.