John Trani to Be Honored for His Commitment to Serving the Poor
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Feb. 17, 2016) Food For The Poor has been blessed over the years with many generous donors who have joined the charity in giving a voice to the millions who are not heard.
One of these generous donors is John Trani, who has been making dreams come true for the poor for more than two decades.
Over the years, Trani has helped build homes in Haiti and Jamaica, and has helped establish sustainable farming projects in Nicaragua. He points to 2010, when his daughter Erica gave him a book on social entrepreneurship as a pivotal point in his philanthropy. It was then that he decided not only to donate money to lift people out of poverty, but to empower them and teach them skills to be self-sufficient.
Trani will be recognized as the 2016 Lifetime of Giving Honoree at Food For The Poor’s There’s No Place Like Home, Making Dreams Come True dinner on Feb. 29 in Palm Beach.
“In God’s eyes, everybody is the same. We need to treat other people the same,” Trani said, explaining his motivation to give back to others.
After meeting with Food For The Poor staff, Trani chose to support an agricultural project in Nicaragua which led him to form the Greater Impact Foundation. Its mission is to fund social enterprises around the world.
In 2012, the Greater Impact Foundation teamed up with Food For The Poor to educate bean farmers on how to grow better crops and earn a living from the fruits of their labor. More than 800 Nicaraguan farmers are enrolled in the red bean farming program, which benefits a community of nearly 3,500 people. Under this project, farmers are learning new techniques, as well as marketing and management strategies.
“They’re able to send their children to school and buy backpacks for them. Essentially the way they live their lives changes for the better,” Trani said. “It’s not just a school or a house. It’s a way of life. They’re much more productive.”
Trani, a resident of Farmington, Conn., and Sunny Isles Beach in Miami-Dade County, is a former CEO of tool maker Stanley Works. He deeply values the importance of helping others, because he knows firsthand what it means to be poor. He recalls his mother bathing him in the kitchen sink as a young child because the home did not have a shower.
“Mr. Trani’s generosity through agricultural projects is an excellent example of how providing farmers with the proper tools and knowledge are a blessing for all involved,” said Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma.
Supporters of Food For The Poor have two wonderful opportunities to honor John Trani’s work and to help lift even more people out of extreme poverty and make their dreams come true.
Food For The Poor and Kyle by Alene Too are hosting a sip and shop event from 6 to 8 p.m., Feb. 18, at the fashionable women’s boutique, 233 Royal Poinciana Way, Palm Beach. A percentage of proceeds from sales during the event will benefit Food For The Poor.
The event will build excitement for Food For The Poor’s There’s No Place Like Home, Making Dreams Come True dinner. It will be from 6 to 10 p.m., Monday, Feb. 29, at the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, 2800 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach.
Committee members are Malcolm and Lorrain Hall, Amy Royster Bridger, Kimberly McGuire, Faith Morford, Robert and Janet Michel Nakushian, Sally O’Connor, Russell Sherrill, and Mary Frances Turner.
The evening will feature cocktails, fine dining, entertainment and a silent auction. Candy O’Terry, a musically gifted longtime Boston radio personality, will perform songs from her CD Dream Come True featuring tracks recorded with the Boston Pops, Grammy Nominee Jim Brickman and the legendary Livingston Taylor.
Proceeds will be used to build critically needed homes in Haiti and Jamaica.
For additional information regarding There’s No Place Like Home, Making Dreams Come True dinner, including tickets available at $500 per person, please call 888-404-4248 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/palmbeach.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry in 17 countries in 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. For more information, please visit FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]