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
Showing posts with label Stephanie Crispinelli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephanie Crispinelli. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Celebrating hope out of tragedy:The two-year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake
Forty-two families in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, are waking up in new homes, in a new community, and with new hope this morning. The Journey of Hope Memorial Village, built by Food For The Poor to celebrate the lives, love and sacrifice of the Lynn University students and faculty, is being dedicated on the two-year anniversary of one of the most devastating earthquakes in the Caribbean nation’s history.
The group of 12 college students and two faculty advisors were on a Journey of Hope mission trip with Food For The Poor when at 4:53 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince. More than 230,000 lives were lost that day, including the lives of students Stephanie Crispinelli, Britney Gengel, Christine Gianacaci, Courtney Hayes, and Professors Patrick Hartwick and Richard Bruno.
“There are no words to express the depth of despair we felt for the students, their advisors, and for the people of Haiti when the earthquake happened,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “These young people wanted to make a difference and the love of service was in their hearts when they went to Haiti. It was vital that we did something in harmony with that purpose – something that would make their legacy eternal.”
The Journey of Hope Memorial Village honors that legacy and was constructed to relocate families, many of whom are earthquake survivors that were living near the garbage dump in Cite Soleil. The secure and healthy environment in Croix-des-Bouquets, which is nine miles east of Port-au-Prince, will provide a lot more than a sturdy home.
The village has an eight-room primary school that was built with earthquake resistant materials, and has sturdy concrete columns to allow for the addition of a second floor in the future, and a 10-unit sanitation block.
There’s a two-room community center, which is equipped with a generator and can be used for meetings and prayer services. Dozens of fruit trees were also distributed to the homeowners and a well was also drilled to provide fresh clean drinking water for the village.
The Journey of Hope Memorial Village is one of many examples of the work Food For The Poor is doing in Haiti. Since the earthquake, 2,681 concrete block homes have been built, a total of 12 schools have been constructed, reconstructed or repaired, and 1,020 computers have been placed in 53 schools throughout Haiti. Projects also include the installation of 45 water filtration units, the planting of 150,000 fruit trees, and the implementation of many self-sustaining projects.
“As we help to rebuild Haiti, it is imperative that we help to break the cycle of poverty,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “Our goal is not to keep the Haitian people dependent on charitable help, but empower one family at a time to become self-sustaining, self-confident, and self-supporting. Thanks to the support of our wonderful donors, we have faith that Haiti can and will be rebuilt.”
The dedication of this village comes at a time when the charity is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The ministry is entering 2012 with renewed hope and commitment for helping those without the basic necessities in life – housing, food and water.
“We are very optimistic about the challenges that lay ahead for Food For The Poor in 2012, not only in Haiti, but in all of the countries we serve. Our goal is to build 12,000 homes, dig 1,200 water wells, and ship 1,200 containers of food to help the destitute,” said Mahfood. “For three decades, Food For The Poor has been a servant of the poor, and with God’s blessing, we will be here as long as we are needed.”
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
The group of 12 college students and two faculty advisors were on a Journey of Hope mission trip with Food For The Poor when at 4:53 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince. More than 230,000 lives were lost that day, including the lives of students Stephanie Crispinelli, Britney Gengel, Christine Gianacaci, Courtney Hayes, and Professors Patrick Hartwick and Richard Bruno. “There are no words to express the depth of despair we felt for the students, their advisors, and for the people of Haiti when the earthquake happened,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “These young people wanted to make a difference and the love of service was in their hearts when they went to Haiti. It was vital that we did something in harmony with that purpose – something that would make their legacy eternal.”
The Journey of Hope Memorial Village honors that legacy and was constructed to relocate families, many of whom are earthquake survivors that were living near the garbage dump in Cite Soleil. The secure and healthy environment in Croix-des-Bouquets, which is nine miles east of Port-au-Prince, will provide a lot more than a sturdy home.
The village has an eight-room primary school that was built with earthquake resistant materials, and has sturdy concrete columns to allow for the addition of a second floor in the future, and a 10-unit sanitation block.
There’s a two-room community center, which is equipped with a generator and can be used for meetings and prayer services. Dozens of fruit trees were also distributed to the homeowners and a well was also drilled to provide fresh clean drinking water for the village.
The Journey of Hope Memorial Village is one of many examples of the work Food For The Poor is doing in Haiti. Since the earthquake, 2,681 concrete block homes have been built, a total of 12 schools have been constructed, reconstructed or repaired, and 1,020 computers have been placed in 53 schools throughout Haiti. Projects also include the installation of 45 water filtration units, the planting of 150,000 fruit trees, and the implementation of many self-sustaining projects.
“As we help to rebuild Haiti, it is imperative that we help to break the cycle of poverty,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “Our goal is not to keep the Haitian people dependent on charitable help, but empower one family at a time to become self-sustaining, self-confident, and self-supporting. Thanks to the support of our wonderful donors, we have faith that Haiti can and will be rebuilt.”
The dedication of this village comes at a time when the charity is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The ministry is entering 2012 with renewed hope and commitment for helping those without the basic necessities in life – housing, food and water.
“We are very optimistic about the challenges that lay ahead for Food For The Poor in 2012, not only in Haiti, but in all of the countries we serve. Our goal is to build 12,000 homes, dig 1,200 water wells, and ship 1,200 containers of food to help the destitute,” said Mahfood. “For three decades, Food For The Poor has been a servant of the poor, and with God’s blessing, we will be here as long as we are needed.”
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 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, 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
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Lynn University students rough it, paying tribute to friends’ legacies and the poor
For the third year, Lynn University’s Students For The Poor slept, ate and studied on the university’s lawn inside tents and a structure that portrays housing built by Food For The Poor in developing countries. By sleeping outside and limiting themselves to one meal of rice and beans a day the week of April 4-7, they brought attention to deplorable living conditions that exist in developing countries.
“While they are not going to starve, they will be hungry – while they will not be wet or cold, they will be inconvenienced by sleeping on the ground,” said Dan Hennessey, vice-president of Lynn University’s Students For The Poor, describing the state of the students mid-week. “The idea is by the end of the week students will be a little more cognizant of those who are less fortunate.”
Despite foul weather that drove Lynn University students from their tents Tuesday afternoon, the students persevered in their mission to spread awareness. The storm provided a glimpse at what Haiti and other developing countries face as the start of hurricane season looms in June.
“We want to get a better understanding of how people in a Third-World country live and eat,” said Tom Schloemer, a member of Students For The Poor, and survivor of the 2010 Haiti earthquake that took the lives of four Lynn students and two professors.
At the Thursday evening forum, five students shared videos created to pay tribute to their friends’ legacies and to the destitute. Students testified how traveling to countries like Jamaica, Haiti and Nicaragua with the nonprofit has positively changed their lives. Since 2008, the campus organization has partnered and traveled with the international relief and development agency Food For The Poor.
Sarina Peddy, 21, shared how her friend Stephanie Crispinelli inspired her and others to travel with Food For The Poor to Jamaica in June 2010 to retrace her steps and to experience what inspired Stephanie to travel the following year to Haiti. In less than three days, Stephanie’s family and friends, along with contractors and carpenters, built and dedicated a basic school called ‘Steph’s Place’ in Race Course, Clarendon, Jamaica.
Gwendoline Darguste, 20, transferred to Lynn University’s campus after her school in Haiti collapsed during the catastrophic 2010 earthquake. While in Haiti earlier this year, she observed that with the aid received things are a little better, but the “…country’s scars are deep and the screams were even louder.” She asked that the people of Haiti not be forgotten. She thanked Food For The Poor and Students For The Poor for “…fighting hard so her people can have a better life.”
International Relations major, Darguste, also translated the Haiti Consulate General, Greny Bicha Antoine’s message of thanks and remembrance. Consul Antoine told how one high school student realized he did not have the right to complain about not having the newest brand-name shoes to wear to a party, after he realized how blessed he was to have full mobility of both of his legs.
Lynn University’s professor of Criminal Justice, Sindee Kerker, attended the forum and beamed as her daughter, Sami, 15, presented how the mother-daughter humanitarian team tie-dyed their way to Nicaragua with Food For The Poor, to build a home for a family in dire need.
Proceeds from this year’s Students For The Poor week will be used to fund projects in the “Journey of Hope Memorial Village” in Anse à Veau, Haiti. Food For The Poor has dedicated this village to the 12 Lynn University students and two faculty members who were in Haiti on a mission trip when the devastating earthquake struck.
“We can’t forget the events that happened last year in Haiti, however a lot of the world and news has,” said Rebecca Block, acting president of Lynn University’s Students For The Poor.
Block, 22, remembers the students and faculty who traveled on Lynn University’s 2010 J-Term course to Haiti with Food For The Poor. The group arrived one day before the catastrophic earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince, instantly claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. Block chose to travel on the 2010 J-Term course to Jamaica.
“Words can’t even begin to express how much of an impact the 2010 J-Term course to Jamaica had on me,” said Robin Bouricius, a Lynn University Student For The Poor member. “Jamaica was a memorable trip that brought change and motivation into my heart. It was truly sad to see these people who don’t have the opportunities we have – struggling to get things like food and shelter.”
The Journey of Hope Memorial Village includes housing, access to sanitation, clean drinking water, and the supplies and resources necessary to raise chickens. Additionally, village residents will benefit from the construction of a community center that will provide a place for a health clinic and vocational training classes; a fruit tree orchard consisting of mango, citrus, avocado and breadfruit trees; and a nine-classroom school.
“I hope that someday people will understand the kind of trouble that other countries are in, and it shouldn’t take something as tragic as an earthquake to make people want to start helping out,” said Bouricius.
For $3,200, Food For The Poor can build a single-unit home with sanitation and a kitchenette to replace a crumbling shack that leaks when it rains. Since 1982, Food For The Poor has constructed more than 72,650 new housing units in the countries served with concrete foundations, locking doors, windows, and a zinc roof with hurricane straps.
“Our goal is to keep awareness alive and educate people about what they can do to help,” said Block.
To support their effort, make checks out to Food For The Poor and include a special reference number “SC# 64619” so the money can be attributed to Lynn University’s Students For The Poor campaign.
You can learn more about Food For The Poor’s 2011 mission trips for college students by e-mailing missions@foodforthepoor.com. You can also involve your school in Food For The Poor’s mission by calling 1-877-654-2960, ext. 6988 or e-mailing churchschool@foodforthepoor.org.
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
“While they are not going to starve, they will be hungry – while they will not be wet or cold, they will be inconvenienced by sleeping on the ground,” said Dan Hennessey, vice-president of Lynn University’s Students For The Poor, describing the state of the students mid-week. “The idea is by the end of the week students will be a little more cognizant of those who are less fortunate.”
Despite foul weather that drove Lynn University students from their tents Tuesday afternoon, the students persevered in their mission to spread awareness. The storm provided a glimpse at what Haiti and other developing countries face as the start of hurricane season looms in June.“We want to get a better understanding of how people in a Third-World country live and eat,” said Tom Schloemer, a member of Students For The Poor, and survivor of the 2010 Haiti earthquake that took the lives of four Lynn students and two professors.
At the Thursday evening forum, five students shared videos created to pay tribute to their friends’ legacies and to the destitute. Students testified how traveling to countries like Jamaica, Haiti and Nicaragua with the nonprofit has positively changed their lives. Since 2008, the campus organization has partnered and traveled with the international relief and development agency Food For The Poor.
Sarina Peddy, 21, shared how her friend Stephanie Crispinelli inspired her and others to travel with Food For The Poor to Jamaica in June 2010 to retrace her steps and to experience what inspired Stephanie to travel the following year to Haiti. In less than three days, Stephanie’s family and friends, along with contractors and carpenters, built and dedicated a basic school called ‘Steph’s Place’ in Race Course, Clarendon, Jamaica.
Gwendoline Darguste, 20, transferred to Lynn University’s campus after her school in Haiti collapsed during the catastrophic 2010 earthquake. While in Haiti earlier this year, she observed that with the aid received things are a little better, but the “…country’s scars are deep and the screams were even louder.” She asked that the people of Haiti not be forgotten. She thanked Food For The Poor and Students For The Poor for “…fighting hard so her people can have a better life.”
International Relations major, Darguste, also translated the Haiti Consulate General, Greny Bicha Antoine’s message of thanks and remembrance. Consul Antoine told how one high school student realized he did not have the right to complain about not having the newest brand-name shoes to wear to a party, after he realized how blessed he was to have full mobility of both of his legs.
Lynn University’s professor of Criminal Justice, Sindee Kerker, attended the forum and beamed as her daughter, Sami, 15, presented how the mother-daughter humanitarian team tie-dyed their way to Nicaragua with Food For The Poor, to build a home for a family in dire need.
Proceeds from this year’s Students For The Poor week will be used to fund projects in the “Journey of Hope Memorial Village” in Anse à Veau, Haiti. Food For The Poor has dedicated this village to the 12 Lynn University students and two faculty members who were in Haiti on a mission trip when the devastating earthquake struck.
“We can’t forget the events that happened last year in Haiti, however a lot of the world and news has,” said Rebecca Block, acting president of Lynn University’s Students For The Poor.
Block, 22, remembers the students and faculty who traveled on Lynn University’s 2010 J-Term course to Haiti with Food For The Poor. The group arrived one day before the catastrophic earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince, instantly claiming hundreds of thousands of lives. Block chose to travel on the 2010 J-Term course to Jamaica.
“Words can’t even begin to express how much of an impact the 2010 J-Term course to Jamaica had on me,” said Robin Bouricius, a Lynn University Student For The Poor member. “Jamaica was a memorable trip that brought change and motivation into my heart. It was truly sad to see these people who don’t have the opportunities we have – struggling to get things like food and shelter.”
The Journey of Hope Memorial Village includes housing, access to sanitation, clean drinking water, and the supplies and resources necessary to raise chickens. Additionally, village residents will benefit from the construction of a community center that will provide a place for a health clinic and vocational training classes; a fruit tree orchard consisting of mango, citrus, avocado and breadfruit trees; and a nine-classroom school.
“I hope that someday people will understand the kind of trouble that other countries are in, and it shouldn’t take something as tragic as an earthquake to make people want to start helping out,” said Bouricius.
For $3,200, Food For The Poor can build a single-unit home with sanitation and a kitchenette to replace a crumbling shack that leaks when it rains. Since 1982, Food For The Poor has constructed more than 72,650 new housing units in the countries served with concrete foundations, locking doors, windows, and a zinc roof with hurricane straps.
“Our goal is to keep awareness alive and educate people about what they can do to help,” said Block.
To support their effort, make checks out to Food For The Poor and include a special reference number “SC# 64619” so the money can be attributed to Lynn University’s Students For The Poor campaign.
You can learn more about Food For The Poor’s 2011 mission trips for college students by e-mailing missions@foodforthepoor.com. You can also involve your school in Food For The Poor’s mission by calling 1-877-654-2960, ext. 6988 or e-mailing churchschool@foodforthepoor.org.
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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