Yes, I realize it has been almost 2 months since our last post and a few days over 6 months since the earthquake and you may have thought the Tents for Haiti Project quietly faded into the background...Well, you couldn't be more wrong!!
After our Hope for Haiti Marketplace and Spade & Trade for Haiti events, we did take a couple days to just breathe, but then, we got back to work!
Jim Frankenfield, who is a truck driver traveling down through Virginia, was given over 800 cases of bottled water as a donation from some Home Depots on his route. We have decided that since it's so expensive to ship, given the weight of the water, we'd try to "sell" it and use the money to buy supplies. That turned into folks having us at their yard sales (which is a great way to get donations!) and Jim took a whole lot out to a Transport for Christ rally in Lebanon. We are still looking for creative ways to change this water into cash for our Haitian friends....we are very grateful to the Souderton-Telford Main Streets for donating a space to us at the Indian Valley Farmer's Market. We've had some scheduling conflicts, but hope to get there this Saturday, July 24!
We were also extremely blessed by the generosity of the folks at Clemens Septic, who had a promotion during April and May that they would donate $10 for every septic tank pump out. They sent us a check for $2,000! Who'd have thought getting your septic tank pumped out would help a Haitian family at the same time! That just goes to show that no matter what your business, you can find a way to help!
Last Wednesday, July 14, we loaded up our third and final trailer full of relief supplies! Once again, we sent down tents, blankets, tarps, "Hope in a Bucket" and other items that were donated. I say "final trailer of relief supplies" because at this point, with all the generosity of this community, we have gotten to the point where every family in Cotes de Fer that required a tent has one, there are enough blankets and relief kits to go around and the people down there can breathe a sigh of relief...
So, you ask, are we done? NO WAY!!! We have committed, along with the folks at Water for Life, to rebuild 50 homes in Cotes de Fer. We will be giving you more details as we get them, but we have a blueprint for a 2-room house that will be built using Haitian labor, and these homes will be at a cost of $4,000.00 each.
To kick-off our refocusing from relief to rebuilding, we hosted a benefit concert at Souderton Mennonite Church on June 30, which featured the King's Strings. This is a very talented family, formerly from this area, now of Mechanicsburg, PA, consisting of a dad, John, a mom, Cindy, and 6 kids (Andrew, Jesse, Mariana, Isaac, Eden and HopeAnn). They play stringed instruments and piano and their offerings range from classical to folk, Broadway to worship, fiddle and beyond. During the course of the evening, we showed our Tents for Haiti video and took a freewill offering, where we were given almost $8,000.00- enough for 2 homes!! It was a wonderful evening of laughter, tears and answered prayers!
As we continue our various fund-raising efforts, we ask you to join with us in prayer. Firstly, that together we can reach our goal of seeing our Haitian friends in homes that are safe and sturdy and secondly, please pray how you can be involved. Would you be able to donate the cost of one home, or more? Would your business be interested in helping us build a house? We are looking for partners to help us by giving a few dollars or a few thousand. Every penny is one penny closer to helping a family get back to normal.
We in this community, are so blessed- we have SO much. Can we sacrifice a little so someone can have something?
If you'd like to contribute, checks in any amount can be made payable to Souderton Mennonite Church with "Haiti Relief" in the memo line. Mail them to the church at
105 W. Chestnut St. Souderton PA 18964.
Thank you and God bless!
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