Celebration of Hope Gala Exceeds Haiti Homebuilding Goal with 35 Homes – 1.2 Million Meals Also Headed to Earthquake Victims in Haiti
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Oct. 4, 2021) For 35 vulnerable families in Kitis, Haiti, home soon no longer will mean living in mud and rubble, and being fearful of the rain soaking their belongings.
Supporters of Food For The Poor’s 22nd annual Celebration of Hope Gala exceeded this year’s goal of 25 homes to provide 35 homes for poverty-stricken families who have been praying for safe shelter.
The charity also matched every dollar raised for the homes with a dollar’s worth of food, providing 1.2 million lifesaving meals for families living in areas of Haiti’s southern peninsula devastated by the August 14 earthquake.
Dr. Lynne Nasrallah, the gala’s committee chair for more than two decades, expressed deep gratitude to Orlando-area donors and others for their support.
“Haiti continues to be in crisis because of the August 14 earthquake and ensuing tropical storm,” Nasrallah said. “Your presence and support tonight is so relevant during these desperate times in Haiti. We can’t do everything. But we can do something. A gift of a home will alter the course of a poor person’s life forever.”
Even more than 10 years after the 2010 earthquake, many families in Kitis, located in in Petit-Goâve, Haiti, continue to live in makeshift homes built from scraps.
The new two-room homes will include sanitation, a rain harvesting system for collecting water, furnishings and solar-powered light kits.
For the second year in a row, the gala was virtual. The event, which was livestreamed from the charity’s Coconut Creek headquarters last Saturday, began with a prayer for families affected by two Saturday disasters: an early morning flood in Port-au-Prince and a massive fire in the small island community of Guanaja in the Bay Islands of Honduras.
Award-winning recording artist Glacia Robinson performed three songs during the evening.
FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine commended the commitment of donors and the leadership of Nasrallah over the years for helping to build more than 1,000 homes for families in desperate need in Haiti.
“We each have the opportunity to make a difference in the life of another. And in so doing, heed the Second Commandment of loving thy neighbor,” Raine said.
“The truly remarkable outcome of the work we do is to spread joy to those who don’t really expect to know what it means to be joyful,” he added. “Instead, they live every day in hope that God may touch the soul of another who hears their desperate cry for help and is in a position to transform and materially change their life. Thank you for all that you have done and all that you are able to do.”
Committee members George and Kim del Campo said being involved with the gala has become a family affair over the past 20 years. In the beginning, their three sons joined them.
“I thought this would be a great way to further their ministry to God and to learn to help the poor,” Kim del Campo said.
“Now that our children are grown, they’ve gotten their wives involved, their families, their friends and even some of their employers have been sponsors,” George del Campo said. “It’s been an amazing testimony to living our faith and to see how we can make a difference in living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
To watch a recording of the event or to donate to the project, please go here: www.FoodForThePoor.org/celebration
The gala committee includes: Chair Dr. Lynne Nasrallah, Linda Bonnewitz, Bruny and Paula Compas, George and Kim del Campo, Ben and Nicole del Campo, Mike and Dr. Desirae Friend, Cynthia Hawkins, Dr. Anis Khalaf, Nicole Nasrallah, George and Joanne Olson, Lisa Padilla Ortiz, Nancy Padilla, Dwight and Lisa Saathoff, Liliane Santana, Tom and Jean Wilkes, Jean and Donna Wilson, Holly Wilson and Liz Zeitler.
Sponsors include Feed My Starving Children, Davita, Bravo Supermarkets, and McCoy Federal Credit Union.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]