Hope For Haitians Honors Ambassadors, Builds Homes
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Aug. 26, 2015) – The Hope For Haitians Board and Food For The Poor celebrated the 14th annual An Evening in the Tropics on Aug. 22 by honoring those on the front lines of serving the poor, and raising money for the destitute in a desolate area of Haiti called Garde Saline.
“Once again, we had a tremendous turnout for the banquet. Because of the support of everyone there, we are right on target to build another village that will be completed in 2016 for some of the neediest in Haiti,” said Chairman Pat Bachrodt, who has traveled to Haiti several times to meet children and their families helped by the group.
Even before the event, generous benefactors had stepped up to raise funds to complete another project championed by Hope For Haitians, Pope Francis Friendship Village II.
Hope For Haitians and Food For The Poor honored three guests with Ambassador For The Poor awards. They were Fr. Martins Emeh, for speaking on behalf of the poor; Ann McDaniel, for her selfless years of service; and Gregory McQueary, who has traveled twice to Haiti with other committee members.
Rockford-area resident Tom Lorden also has traveled to Haiti several times, and has dedicated himself and the group to transforming the lives of families in the very worst living conditions.
“We continue to try and improve the quality of life for people living in Haiti who are suffering from extreme poverty,” he said.
Master of ceremonies for this year’s An Evening in the Tropics was veteran broadcast journalist Mike Robinson. The evening featured a cocktail reception, silent auction, and formal dinner with friends and members of the surrounding communities.
Founding Trustees of the Hope For Haitians Board of Directors include: Patrick Bachrodt, Rev. David Beauvais, William Clancy, Tom Lorden and Peter Roche. Additional members include: Virginia Canavan, Patti Cottrell, Bill Derry, Michael Delany, Michael Gallagher, William Kalma, Justin and Theresa Kegley, Danny Lorden, Nancy Lorden, Robert McLaughlin, Gregory McQueary, Philip Nicolosi, Andrew Schultheis and the Rev. Geoffrey Wirth.
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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.
Kathy Skipper
Director of Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6614
[email protected]