We received a new video from John Engle of Haiti Partners. WOW, you have to watch it to see the amazing progress that has been made.
With the help of our Global Hope supporters, we really made an impact in this school community – hearing John express his appreciation sounded nothing short of melodious. Viewing actual photos of what we set out to do felt beyond good. Thanks to this video, the results and recipients of all of our efforts have shapes and colors and textures and voices and faces. We really are “goodwill in motion”. YOU really do make a difference!
After Global Hope donated funds for the well water project at IMN Community School in Haiti, Maxandre and his hard-working staff immediately set out to make this major priority a reality. The well was dug, the pumps set, PVC pipes and a foundation for the water tank were installed. In less than 30 days, IMN had running water! See Maxandre’s video below.
The next order of business was a water purification system – which is being installed thanks to additional funds granted by the employer of a Kids4Good mom.
We are grateful to be one of the three Chicago-area non-profits (Global Hope, Schools Count & Kids4Good) who helped to rebuild and reopen IMN Community School just months after the earthquake. Additionally, our combined efforts paid teacher’s salaries and provided clean drinking water to the community.
All of you good-hearted supporters are in large part the reason for all of this wonderful news. Together, we successfully put “goodwill in motion’. Check out the online Tribune Local article about this project. And then check the Chicago Tribune Local print edition article on September 16– TribLocal print editions: Darien, Downers Grove, Willowbrook, Woodridge, Burr Ridge and Westmont.
IMN Principal, Maxandre Bien-Aime, talks about water project progress:
And, here is some related news from Erik Badger of Haiti Partners: Update on IMN water project
“Last week I (Erik Badger) visited IMN for the first time since the well had been completed. Though the storage system is still in the works, the well is functioning great and the school is thrilled to have it! In the short video update below I explain a little bit about how the water project is designed and used.
It’s a great success for IMN to have – for the first time ever – its own water source. The students, staff and surrounding community are very grateful, as is Haiti Partners. Many thanks to Global Hope, Kids4Good, and all of Maxandre’s supporters in Chicago and elsewhere for making it happen!”
We are proud to share more wonderful news on our Haiti Water Project. Below is a progress report from Erik Badger of Haiti Partners. We are equally excited to share a photo account of “running water” now available to IMN School and local community in Darbonne from Maxandre Bien Aime (Director of IMN School). Tears, smiles, cheers – we express it all as we witness the fruits of our “goodwill in motion”
From: Erik Badger
Date: July 20, 2010 5:05:42 PM CDT Subject: update on IMN water project
It has been about 3 weeks since Global Hope awarded Haiti Partners/IMN the grant for the water project and much progress has already been made. Though the first update isn’t, technically speaking, due yet (because of banking issues the funds only arrived in Haiti this week), I thought I’d share a few significant developments now.
The well has been dug and they have tapped into the water table
The manual water pump has been fitted in the well and set in concrete
Pipes have been set for installation of the electric water pump
A water tank has been selected
Maxandre is working with school staff to create a management system to oversee maintenance, distribution and security of the system
As you know, we also received a grant from Reed Elsevier for the water purification system. In an effort to free up more funds for the original IMN post-quake reconstruction and assistance project, we asked Life Giving Force if they would be willing to give us the purifier at a reduced cost of $5000. They agreed, provided we support them to fundraise for the remaining $3000. This, I believe, will work to everyone’s advantage as promoting the project will help Life Giving Force spread the word about their extraordinary product while simultaneously promoting the cause of IMN. I’m already working with Life Giving Force to make this happen. We hope to have the funds raised by the beginning of the school year. In the meantime, Maxandre will use water purification tablets to make sure the water is safe.
I’m attaching several pictures Maxandre sent. Also, I will be at IMN August 3rd, so you can expect another update not long after that (provided the internet is reliable).
Please share this update with your Board and supporters as you see fit. If you have any questions for me, please don’t hesitate to be in touch.
The Board and supporters at Global Hope are proud to have been a part of this project. Thank you again to Amicus Foundation for their generous funding. It is empowering to be able to see so much progress, made so quickly, through our efforts and those we partnered with on this project: IMN School, Schools Count, Kids4Good, and Haiti Partners – What a Team!!
For Haiti relief, Global Hope’s journey started with a commitment to:
use our volunteer’s time and resources in a meaningful way by creating a hands-on project,
wisely and swiftly put into action the donations we received,
and, to ask for help, since we would be working far from home without being on site
Global Hope turned to some trusted not-for-profit partners for help and guidance and found exactly what we were looking for! We want to share the “results” of these efforts. Perhaps a road map of sorts will tell the story best.
Dick Flesher, of Schools Count, Visits Haiti in April 2010
First, we’ve had the pleasure of partnering with Dick Flesher of Schools Count for many years now.Dick is tireless in his dedication to education and the well-being of young students.
In April he traveled to Mixte Nao Community School (IMN School) located in the heart of the earthquake devastation in Haiti and has since been raising funds to rebuild the school. Dick introduced us to Kids4Good, a Darien school youth organization that has had a relationship with IMN School since 2007.
We were blown away by the enthusiasm and goodwill expressed by Kids4Good. They not only raise money for IMN School by hosting fundraisers, the children from both countries exchange beautiful artwork with expressions of hope and encouragement.
IMN School - Before the Earthquake
Kids4Good along with Schools Count raised and continue to raise money to rebuild the first phases of IMN School in Haiti. All donations to Kids4Good are channeled through a not-for-profit organization on the ground in Haiti — Haiti Partners.
Haiti Partners helps Haitians change Haiti through education.Schools Count, Kids4Good, and Haiti Partners, brought together by a deep concern for the needs of others, also have one important person in common. His name is Maxandre Bien-Aime.
Maxandre is the Director of the Mixte Nao Community School (IMN School). He has visited Kids4Good in Darien several times and, since the earthquake, speaks of the plight of his community and school and raises awareness for his plans to rebuild. With the generous funding from Schools Count and Kids4Good, the first phase of rebuilding the school has been completed and the children were thrilled to receive their much needed school supplies.
Schools Count Corp and Kids4Good have been busy getting the children school supplies
Over the years, he and Kids4Good developed a special relationship and members of Kids4Good were able to see what these Haitians have been able to accomplish with their generous funding and it sustains their desire to continue to expose the plight of Maxandre’s community and school.
We are so grateful to Schools Count, Kids4Good and Haiti Partners – their “connections” and guidance opened doors for Global Hope to enter and to make a difference in the lives of these friends in need.
We discovered that IMN School is an alternative school with 136 students, and because of Schools Count and Kids4Good — it was the first to open its doors, just two months after the Haiti earthquake.
We learned from Kids4Good that Maxandre’s staff had been working with no pay since it reopened. We realized that the students of IMN School and their families were not the only people left homeless – the school’s staff faced the same dire challenges. When we entered the picture, the physical structure of the school was already in a phase-by-phase rebuilding process. So, Global Hope focused on the needs of the staff and discovered that $2600 could pay the salaries of the entire staff (9 teachers and 3 administrative members) for a two month period. That felt impactful. Because of your donations and the Whole Foods One-Dime-at-a-Time Program, Global Hope has donated $2600 to IMN School for salaries.
Newly Finished Classroom
We also learned that the water supply to the school remained an urgent matter. They were walking a very long distance with buckets and wheelbarrows just to get to a reliable water source. We requested details on cost and efficiency to remedy the problem. We learned that the first step was to build a well for water storage. After studying the facts, Global Hope has just donated $4800 to IMN School to return a supply of water to the school grounds.
We feel honored to be in a position to help in Haiti through these donations to IMN School. There are many Thank You’s in order:
to each and every one of you who gave a donation for Haiti,
to our friends at Whole Foods, Willowbrook for allowing us to participate in the One-Dime-at-a-Time program, and
to our friends the Erickson and Cronin Families with the Amicus Foundation, whose generous private grant this year, allowed Global Hope to fund the entire sustainable water supply for this school and community.
You helped to return a school, a community – a group of students and teachers – to the business of education and better living conditions. A school operates with water-on-site, and with rooms echoing the sounds of both teaching and learning. This shines brightly as an example of what can be accomplished when Global Hope, its community of volunteers and some incredible “like-minded” individuals and organizations work together and literally become “Goodwill in Motion”.
We are happy to have begun this story here for you, and to know that you are now a part of the story too. Please visit the links on this page to learn more about the beautiful people of Haiti and these most generous organizations.
Global Hope supporters, give yourselves a pat on the back!
Our fund raiser in partnership with Willowbrook Whole Foods
exceeded our expectations!
We appreciate all the support we received from Whole Foods, their customers, and the many friends of Global Hope who participated. As the recipients of the Willowbrook Whole Food’s One-Dime-At-A-Time Program for the first quarter 2010, we raised $2,016. The Global Hope Board has earmarked this for a specific relief project in Haiti — we added these funds to individual donations received for Haiti Relief and used them to help fund staff salaries during the reopening of IMN School, Darbonne, Haiti. Read the details in our Blog on IMN School in Haiti.
So, because of such generosity, we are shouting out to all of you:
Thank you so much for making Sunday such a SUCCESS!!
The “Goodwill in Motion” this past Sunday at our “Hands-On Day for our Neighbors in Haiti” event was a sight to behold!! The fervor of volunteers working together in one large room was an experience to behold. Words fall short in an attempt to describe 66 volunteers, working side-by-side, heart-to-heart and hand-to-hand – each moved by the desire to help the sick and wounded by supplying hospital sheets and tourniquets – each connected by the wish to add dignity to the multitude of burials by decorating sheets for palls.
The morning began with a moment of reflection – our intention was to make a difference in the wake of this earthquake disaster. For the next five hours a crescendo of love and compassion directed busy hands to sort, cut, design, paint, glue, iron, fold, pack and label hundreds of sheets and pillowcases for a total of 43 boxes packed, sealed and ready for delivery by days end:
- 167 decorated palls,
- 1,109 nondecorated palls and sheets,
- 5 boxfuls of tourniquet fabrics and
- 40 sets of new packaged sheets, at final count
Outstanding!!
Our “gifts of love” were carefully packed and sealed and transported to Munster, Indiana where John Shattuck, a member of Friends of the Orphans, will ensure safe delivery to Haiti. Some sheets will go to St. Damien’s Hospital in Port au Prince and will be used for bedding – some for tourniquets. Many will be used to bury the dead.
We were moved by the volunteers who turned out this past Sunday. We are inspired by their willingness to help and we are thrilled to have such a long list of people and businesses to thank. We Give Many Thanks to these Many Heroes:
Perma-Seal Basement Systems
Jennifer Wolfe Photography
Keith Kelly/ Innovative Communications
Berto’s Deli
Prairie Yoga
The Yoga Place
Yoga Among Friends
2HotYoga & Pilates
Shala Yoga
Conrady School Adventure Club
Students at Sutherland School
The Quilt Basket in Downers Grove
Plus, all the many more generous folks who donated the bed sheets and pillowcases, money, food, supplies and time!
For us, this event – this roomful of neighbors helping neighbors – brought into focus how small this world truly is. “Who isn’t our neighbor?” becomes the better question. People reaching out to people is where Global Hope comes in. A hand in need reaching to a hand extended in service is where our volunteers come in. We applaud our community of volunteers – they performed magic at this event – magic that will be felt all the way to Haiti. Enjoy a special view of that magic with this video of the event from our friend Keith at Innovative Communications:
Sunday, February 7th 9:00am-2:00pm
Perma Seal, 513 Rogers, Downers Grove
Thank you to all who RSVP’d – all our Volunteer spots all filled!
We called out to all of you for sheets and pillowcases – and your loving donations are flowing in. Thank you and keep them coming! This project is in support of our neighbor, John Shattuck, who serves on the board for Friends of the Orphans and travels to Haiti regularly to personally transport much needed supplies. Because many of the sheets must be cut down to various sizes before he can deliver them to St. Damien’s Hospital outside of Port au Prince, Haiti, we call out to you once more. This time we need your hands.
We will cut sheets down to specific sizes for tourniquets needed in the hospital.
We will also cut sheets down to specific sizes for palls needed for burials and we will adorn these with religious and inspirational markings and glued on “fabric art”.
We will press and reverently fold our “hands-on” work and pack them according to shipping guidelines to ensure safe delivery to Haiti.
Please bring your own scissors, permanent markers (Sharpies work well – and they come in assorted colors), craft glue, craft paints, craft trim, and appropriate embellishments.
We will supply additional craft glue, paints, fabric scraps for “glue on art”, markers and various embellishments. Water and snacks will be provided.
Bedsheets and Pillowcases for Haiti in partnership with “Friends of the Orphans”
Your part:
Collect new or slightly used sheets and pillowcases (any size) and drop them off by Feb 7 to:
Yoga Among Friends, 4949 Forest Ave., Downers Grove
John Shattuck, a board member for Chicago-based, Friends of the Orphans, will deliver the sheets to a hospital/orphanage in Tabarre for desperately needed bedding to accommodate the huge influx of patients, and for transporting patients to and from the hospital. Shifting from the more familiar focus of “rescue”, these sheets and pillowcases may also be used as palls for burial. Your donations will be respectfully and lovingly decorated in order to use them for this purpose. In an effort to improve the severely inadequate burial conditions for earthquake victims, Mr. Shattuck assures us that our donations will insure that as many victims as possible be “buried with dignity”. Take a minute to learn more about Frankfort resident, John Shattuck, and his work to help Haiti in this newspaper article.
Global Hope’s part:
Coordinate expedient delivery of sheets and pillowcases to the appropriate destination.
More Ways You Can Help –
In Partnership with One-Dime-At-A-Time Program at Whole Foods, January 1 to March 31, 2010
We are directing all proceeds from the Willowbrook Whole Foods “One-Dime-at-a-Time” Program toward relief efforts in Haiti in the most efficient manner possible. So spread the word – the more who shop and bring their own bags to this location – the greater the difference we can make.
Monetary Donations
Monetary donations are always appreciated and presently all will be used to fund relief efforts in Haiti. Click here to contact Global Hope to ask a question or make a donation.
Global Hope holds the vision of
“helping those in need who dwell amidst the effects of this “inconceivable disaster”.
“an overwhelming public response to any and all means for helping Haiti”.
“thousands upon thousands of people in Haiti finding relief from any and all efforts to help”
Happy New Year!
See our blog post about what we’ve accomplished this Holiday Season! We’d like to thank everyone for their efforts in 2011 as we look forward to a great year ahead
Blog Post
The “Goodwill in Motion” this past Sunday at our “Hands-On Day for our Neighbors in Haiti” event was a sight to behold!! The fervor of volunteers working together in one large room was an experience to behold. Words fall short in an attempt to describe 66 volunteers, working side-by-side, heart-to-heart and hand-to-hand – each moved by the desire to help the sick and wounded by supplying hospital sheets and tourniquets – each connected by the wish to add dignity to the multitude of burials by decorating sheets for palls.
Our “gifts of love” were carefully packed and sealed and transported to Munster, Indiana where John Shattuck, a member of Friends of the Orphans, will ensure safe delivery to Haiti. Some sheets will go to St. Damien’s Hospital in Port au Prince and will be used for bedding – some for tourniquets. Many will be used to bury the dead.
We will cut sheets down to specific sizes for tourniquets needed in the hospital.
