More than a Thousand Homes and Counting: Orlando-area Residents Celebrate Two Decades of Transforming Lives in Haiti
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Oct. 15, 2019) For two decades, the Food For The Poor Celebration of Hope Gala has been the channel from which answered prayers flowed, and this year’s event was no different.
Committee Chair Dr. Lynne Nasrallah spoke passionately about the gift of giving back to a room of nearly 200 guests who attended the 20th Annual Celebration of Hope Gala on Oct. 5, at the Rosen Shingle Creek, Orlando. She expressed deep gratitude to Orlando-area philanthropists for past support, and exceeding this year’s goal of 25 homes to 30 homes for families in Maché Mango, Petit Goave, Haiti.
“A Food For The Poor home typically provides shelter for six family members, so your donation of 1,000 homes means you have sheltered 6,000 people, which is 6,000 adults and children who are no longer living in mud and rubble,” Nasrallah said. “Jesus said, ‘and whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of water… truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.’ (Matthew 10:42) You have done more than give a cup of water. You have made dreams come true.”
Food For The Poor Executive Vice President Ed Raine and Food For The Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma presented Lisa and Dwight Saathoff, Mayte and Ralph Asencio, Marriott Hotels, Kathleen and Tre’ Evers, and Louise and Patrick Rainey with small-scale versions of “Jesus the Beggar,” as expressions of gratitude for their commitment to serving the poor.
Longtime supporter Patrick Rainey said he and his wife also have benefited from giving back.
“To see the hope, encouragement and joy that you bring to people, lifting them up to new lives is truly inspiring, and that’s what drew Louise and I to get involved with Food For The Poor,” Rainey said. “It also has given us the opportunity to go to places and do things we never would have been able to do.”
“Fundraising for secure homes in Haiti is the primary goal of the Orlando gala, but the Orlando-area community has given so much more, including community centers, a medical clinic and a fruit tree farm,” said Aloma. “The community of Maché Mango is a farming community that is well-known for cultivating mangos, but there is a dire need for safe homes. Many families are cramped into makeshift dirt-floor living spaces, with no running water or proper sanitation. The gift of these 30 homes is going to make a tremendous impact in the lives of 30 families.”
Committee members include: Event Chair Dr. Lynne Nasrallah, Linda Bonnewitz, Paula and Bruny Compas, Kim and George del Campo, Nicole and Ben del Campo, Viviana and Jacob del Campo, Tammie T. Cooper, Cynthia Hawkins, Luz and Yani Jusakos, Kathy Kinchla, Nicole Nasrallah, Joanne and George Olson, Nancy Padilla, Lisa and Dwight Saathoff, Liliane Santana and Family, Donna and Jean Wilson, and Holly Wilson.
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 poor 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 orphaned or abandoned children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Wanda Wright
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
[email protected]