In the immediate aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in January 12, 2010, designers Dayanne Danier and Jenny Batista joined hands to help the children of Haiti through the arts. The two traveled to Haiti and designed an after school program that taught 125 children of the MEVA school arts and craft, English, Spanish vocabulary. One year later, Danier returned to work with the organization Haiti Outreach Ministry and its vocational sewing instructors in Cite Soleil for a two week seminar designed to teach pattern drafting and construction. In 2012, Dayanne Danier and Jenny Batista teamed up again by forming the organization Fleur De Vie to continue supporting community outreach in areas that need it the most.
Hearts with Haiti was founded in 2001 by a group of like-minded friends and supporters that had known the wonderful mission of the St. Joseph Family for years. They recognized a need for an official nonprofit organization in the United States to support the homes of the St. Joseph Family, Haiti, and provide an avenue for tax-deductible donations from other supporters throughout the United States. Today, our Board Members have been to Haiti hundreds of times, led thousands of volunteers from throughout the United States, Canada, and abroad, and worked together with the St. Joseph Family to establish a community of support that spans all fifty states. During this time, this grassroots enterprise has raised nearly $6 million for the St. Joseph Family and done so with very minimal administrative overhead.
Our Board and staff are comprised of a team of smart, dedicated individuals who take their volunteer and professional responsibilities very seriously. Many of us travel to Haiti one or more times a year on mission trips and personal visits with the Family, and we communicate regularly with the St. Joseph staff, through cell phone, email, Skype, IM, and Facebook. We like to stay in touch with the programs our contributions support, and we are always encouraged when we see our donors’ gifts “in action.”
This is a ministry of faith, trust, and heart. We have worked with the St. Joseph Family through times of plenty and times of scarcity – through joy and grief – and through disaster and resurrection from the rubble. We have seen the lives of hundreds of young people in Haiti shaped by this mission, and our U.S. supporters regularly report their own transformative change. While Hearts with Haiti and the St. Joseph Family are two separate entities with separate governance, staff, and practices, we share many common memories, goals, and work in partnership as a family united in a common vision – to enable Haiti’s children to be the very best they can be and inspire the lives of others through their servant leadership.
Together with the St. Joseph Family, we realize that we depend each and every day on the goodwill of our supporters to have the faith, courage, and conviction to support a ministry working towards sustainable change in Haiti. Today we need your support more than ever as we seek to fully rebuild all the facilities destroyed during the devastation of the 2010 earthquake and keep the SJF going strong for years to come.
Raleigh, NC 27607 USA
Sow a Seed is a registered 501(c) (3) non-profit, volunteer-based organization that works with struggling orphanages in the Caribbean region, assisting them with food, shelter, education and healthcare. Founded and managed by a team of young Haitian-American professionals, Sow a Seed has been operating since 2004 with the financial support of leading foundations and corporations. The organization also benefits from individual donations.
Our mission is to bring hope, reduce hardship and promote sustainable change in the lives of impoverished children, placing a special focus on orphans in the Caribbean.
Miami Lakes, FL 33016