Tenth Annual Gala!

On November 5, 2015, Center of Hope (Haiti), Inc. celebrated its Tenth Annual Gala at Bryant Park Grill in New York City.  The energy and passion for bringing hope to children in Hinche was palpable.  We had the privilege of honoring two distinguished individuals—Duane L. Hughes, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the International Wealth Management unit of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, and Carine Jean-Claude, Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President, Legal Affairs of Arrow Electronics, Inc.—as well as the First Baptist Church of White Plains, led by Pastor Timothy Dalton.  Duane, Carine, and Tim, all had inspiring words about hope, love, and passion.

During the Gala we unveiled renderings of the new school buildings we intend to construct at our site in Hinche.  These new classrooms will create the space needed for us to expand our school through 9th grade, and allow us to return the existing building to its original purpose as an orphanage.  Designed by Steve Davis, a volunteer with Building Goodness Foundation, the classrooms will have space for teachers to continue teaching in a hands-on style, and we will also have room for a media center and science lab.

We are in the middle of a large capital campaign to fund the construction of the new classrooms.  At the Gala, we also launched our new App (search "COHH" and download it today in the App Store or on Google Play), developed in partnership with GYO Solutions and made possible by Skyrocket, through which you can read our blog, get updates on our work, and donate to the school campaign.  Duane Hughes generously offered to match a portion of the donations made that evening to our school campaign.  Thanks to Duane and the many others that night who heeded the words of Carine Jean-Claude to, “if you can, help”, we raised over $10,000 for our school.  Every one of those dollars will be matched by a long-time COHH supporter, bringing our total raised that night to up over $20,000.

Hope, Pastor Tim Dalton reminded us, is the best of things.  The Gala brought together over 150 individuals who share the hopes of the 68 children who attend the COHH school.  I know we were joined in spirit by countless others who contributed but could not attend, and we thank each of you for your generosity and well wishes.  All of us stand together with the children, families, teachers, staff, and administrators in Hinche to build hope.  Our friends at Raw Media Network put together this amazing video that beautifully captures this budding community.

Our hope, as we look to 2016, is to continue to educate and nurture the children in service to the Hinche community.  Building a new school building is essential to our mission and, with your continued support it will soon be a reality.  Please take a moment to donate today.