What We’ve Done

We have wrapped it up for this year…

by Nancy & Nora on October 21, 2010

GH Community Garden

Takes A Long Deserved Rest

Our beloved Community Garden has earned it!!

107 bags of produce delivered to both FISH Pantry and PADS!   Not to mention the beautiful friends made and fun had while weeding, watering and harvesting side by side with some awesome volunteers.  A fruitful season, we’d say, in many ways. We’re told that our fresh produce deliveries were a hit in both pantries – we’ll remember that for next year as we blow kisses to the rows and rows of withering, tired stems that provided food for many families all through the summer.

Sleep well little garden.

We thank everyone for their help this season. The incredible teamwork is what put “Goodwill in Motion” during the growing season – and we blow kisses to all of you as well.  Thank you.  Thank you!!!

Our little Garden made the news!!

Click here to read ”Harvesting for the Greater Good”

in the Downers Grove Patch

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We’re Goin’ Back to New Orleans

by Nancy & Nora on October 21, 2010

Our destination?  International High School of New Orleans (IHSNO) located at L.E. Rabouin school building, a 1935 Art Deco style school in need of restoration, located in the Central Business District in New Orleans. Who’s goin’?  Twenty-three dedicated Global Hope volunteers. Our friends at the Louisiana Recovery School District will have us busy painting the worn walls of the school halls, repairing and drywalling the hallways where locker banks have been removed, designing and building a new 18 foot office reception counter, restoring the outside basketball courts and so much more. …And hopefully there will be time for some artistic touches before we wrap it up to return home.

Let us introduce our 2010 team of amazing volunteers:

Anna A., Connie C., John D., Mary D., John, Patti & Corinne E., Ted F., Margaret F., Nancy G., Ron & Mary H., Sue K., Ken & Marjie K., Mary L., Dickie & Teri N., Larry S., Jim S., Jon S., Michael & Doris T.

Some amazing volunteers are helping “behind the scenes” also:

Mary and Ron H. will drive our tools and supplies to New Orleans.

Gayle and Mike Mullins of Illinois Wolves AAU Basketball have donated a case of basketballs and nets.

Petie S., one of our Global Hope master carpenters, has been hard at work custom-designing the new office counter.

Dollar/Thrifty Rent a Car in New Orleans once again gave us a fabulous discount on our minivan rentals to get the volunteers to and from the work site.

And our generous host, Kent Ozborn, owner of the best place to stay in New Orleans, the French Quarter Firehouse, is once again extending a generous discount to our group.

Colorburst Printing of Downers Grove, our favorite not-for-profit, socially responsible, custom screen printer, is creating beautiful custom tee-shirts for our volunteers.

Visit us daily on this blog page to track our progress.

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Update on IMN Water Project – September 27, 2010

by Nancy & Nora on October 21, 2010

New  Video from IMN School

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!

YouTube Preview Image

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A Season of Bounty…

by Nancy & Nora on September 10, 2010

. . . at the Global Hope Garden

After a season of plentiful bounty, our GH Community Garden is winding down.  55 volunteers have tended our garden in so many wonderful ways – from weeding and watering to harvesting and delivering.

Downers Grove FISH Pantry and Downers Grove PADS have received almost 80 bags containing tomatoes, beans, squash, cucumbers, onions, beets, potatoes, peppers, radishes, etc to date.

Keith Kelly, Innovative Communications, filmed several volunteers gathering a morning’s harvest.  As always, Keith brilliantly captured the essence of GH at work.  Whether or not you’ve been out to visit the garden, this video is a must see!

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With about 4 more weeks of growing season, there is still time to sign up to volunteer.  To peak your interest further, read volunteer, Beth Krueger’s, Voice of the Garden Newsletters here.

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Update on IMN Water Project-September 2010

by Nancy & Nora on September 10, 2010

Running Water
at IMN School in Haiti!!

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.

Newly Finished Classroom

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GH Teams Up with Schools Count…

by Nancy & Nora on September 10, 2010

…to Deliver Supplies to Chicago Public Schools

On August 19th & 20th, 22 pallets of school supplies were distributed to 15 Chicago Public Schools, serving nearly 7,000 students.  Anna A. and her team of Global Hope volunteers devoted two days to delivering these supplies to the schools with the greatest need (a large percentage of homeless and low-income families).

Dick Flesher of Schools Count, a retired educator with a “get-it-done” attitude, bypasses bureaucratic obstacles and works directly with school principals. He takes and fills their orders by recycling used school supplies from area schools as well as purchasing new supplies where needed.  We support him in his passion for “starting all kids out on the right foot at the beginning of the school year”.

Anna, Jack, Caroline, Jim, Dickie, Teri and Mary worked with Dick’s many volunteers from Schools Count to complete this ambitious project.  Aside from the satisfaction of helping so many, they had the added pleasure of meeting appreciative staff members at several schools.  The experience, our team reports, was “priceless”.

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Busy in the Garden

by Nancy & Nora on September 10, 2010

Have you seen our Global Hope Garden recently?

We are sending a big shout out of THANKS to all our garden volunteers.
And, we have Theresa S-M. to thank for these pictures of how beautifully our garden grows thanks to all our helpers.

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Update on IMN Water Project-August 2010

by Nancy & Nora on September 3, 2010

IMN Principal, Maxandre Bien-Aime, talks about water project progress:

YouTube Preview Image

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!”

YouTube Preview Image

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Update on IMN Water Project-July 2010

by Nancy & Nora on July 28, 2010

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.

Best, Erik

http://www.haitipartners.org/the-blog/

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!!

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