The second annual Hope for Haiti 5K is over and the results are in… together, we raised $7,500 net profit for our Community Center Project! Way to go team! We also had two children sponsored at the event.

Although so many of you have been a part of making this event happen, I wanted to mention a few noteworthy contributions by our team members:

The first floor of the Chauffard Community Center is almost complete and it is time to finish what we have started! There is a construction team headed down to put a ceiling on the first floor and build two mission bunk houses for future volunteers. The second floor, which will house classrooms and a library is scheduled to be completed in March. So far, we have raised $70,000 towards this project,but we are still in need of the final $20,000 to complete the building next year. This is where you come in!

We have two events coming up to raise support for the people of Chauffard, and we would love for you to be involved!

World Record Event

When: Thursday, Novemeber 17, 2011 at 6:00pm

Where: The Center for Health, Fitness and Sports Performance  (Hilton Head Island, SC) map

Yvette Carrigan, a current partner in the CPI Child Sponsorship Program, is creating a world record for number of bodyweight squats while balancing on an exercise ball. She hopes to raise money and awareness for CPI’s work in Haiti! In past events she has reached over 300 squats, but she is aiming for much higher in her attempts to set a world record.

We will have information about our Child Sponsorship Program as well as our Community Center Building Project at the event. If you are interested in sponsoring her (per squat) through donating to our building program please contact us!

2nd Annual Hope for Haiti 5K Run & Walk

When: Saturday, January 28, 2012 (Registration at 6:30am and Race at 8:00am)

Where: First Presbyterian Church on Lake Hollingsworth (Lakeland, FL) map

Last year’s Hope for Haiti 5K was a huge success with over 250 registered racers! We raised the first $10,000 for our building project through our wonderful racers and sponsors! With this money and the help of Bartow Ford we were able to purchase a truck that has proven to be an invaluable asset to the building process over the past few months. This year, we intend to raise the rest of money need to finish the Chauffard Community Center and we need your help! We need sponsors, runners, advertising volunteers, and race-day volunteers. If you are interested in supporting in any of these ways, please contact us.

All of CPI’s work in Haiti is made possible through supporters like you and here is your opportunity to be involved! We hope to hear form you soon!

The CPI Guys and Gals

Our Clermont partners have blessed the people of Chauffard again by sponsoring 12 students through the CPI Child Sponsorship Program. This church has been a committed partner to CPI and the village of Chauffard for the past few years. The Crossing Church continues to donate time and energy towards the long-term vision of sustainable development through building relationships and sharing resources. Because this congregation travels to Haiti about 2 times a year, they have built relationships with the people in the village that will last for years to come.

Three months ago, during their last trip into the mountainous region of Chauffard, they completed several projects and programs that greatly impacted our Haitian brothers and sisters. Pastor Kendal led a pastoral conference where four churches came together to grow in the knowledge of the Word, while Nurse Troyce was able to give deworming medication to every child that came to her clinic. In addition, the group conducted VBS and english classes throughout the week to satisfy the children’s hunger for learning and education.

We cannot begin to thank The Crossing Church enough for their prayers and partnership over the years, and we look forward to our future together. If you live in the Clermont/Orlando area and are looking for a passionate and loving church to get plugged into, check out them out this Sunday!

- The CPI Guys and Gals

Sponsorship Note: The Crossing Church sponsored the last 12 students that we have at the moment. Jennie and Marissa will gather information for the next 25 students during the October 20-24 trip.  If you wish to sponsor a child, please check back the last week in October, or contact us to sign up now and be the first to pick your student!

It’s that time of year again! The summer trips this year were a huge success and now it is time to move on with state-side work. If you are in the Lakeland area and have been involved or wanted to be involved in CPI’s work in Haiti, then this is your time!

Over CPI’s last four years working in the village of Chauffard, we have been able to build relationships with the locals and bring short-term aid. The Chauffard Community Center Project is the birth-child of  a combined long-term development vision that we share with the people of this village and we are excited to see the effects that this building will have over future generations.

Last year at this time, we began fundraising to start this project for the people of Chauffard.  The center will be used by a school, a church, in addition to providing adult education, water catchment, medical services, and more.

We are pleased to announce that CPI has received a donation to build the first floor, which is now under construction! JeanClaude will be constructing the first floor out of concrete and block, and hopefully completing this task by time our December team arrives. CPI volunteers will then build the roof of the first floor and the entire second floor out of wood. The plan is for the center to be completed at the end of our March trip.

Our efforts are now focused on raising support to build the second floor and two mission bunkhouses. We need your help! In order to complete the second floor, we need monetary and material donations, as well as volunteers to assist in the construction process. Contact us if you have a desire be apart of enriching the lives of our Haitian partners!

The CPI Guys and Gals

An Explosive Event

Thank you, everyone, for all of your support this past Saturday! The first annual Hope for Haiti 5k Run and Walk was a smashing success.

Over 228 racers. Over 270 people made a personal statement that they support the work for Chauffard, Haiti and CPI’s Haitian friends who live there.

Take a second to let our sponsors know how much you appreciate their support. Congratulations to all of our Heroes of Hope who helped raise above and beyond their registration fee, which was a huge help for our Haitian friends.

Get Haiti 5k Photos Here

Check out all of the awesome photos, provided by Nate Mundell, here: CPI Haiti – Hope for Haiti 5k Run and Walk Photos.

Watch for Updates

The Hope for Haiti 5k Race is planned for being an annual event. Be sure to watch your e-mail for updates on the results from this year, updates from our progress in the field, as well as plans for next year’s awesome race!

We’re Headed Back to Finish What We Started

As you know, our team was unable to rebuild the homes in July due to red-tape and corruption in the port.

However, Jonathan worked diligently to get our supplies out of the port and we have been preparing to return to Haiti with a small team to build the homes. Our team will be in Haiti next week (October 7-10).

Our plan is to complete at least 1 home while teaching the locals how they are constructed. With the newly acquired skills and a model to refer back to, they will then be able to use all the materials to complete the remaining homes.

Here is our team:

Jonathan Capre (Haiti Team Leader)
John Foley
JJ Smith
Leah Higginbotham
Shawn Maguire
Bobby Brigman
Kenny Ellis

In addition we will be delivering the school uniforms and supply packets that many of you helped provide for the children in our free school.

As always, we plan on coming back with pictures and stories of another step forward in our mission. Until then, please keep us in your prayers.

There are over 50 children in the free school  in Chauffard, Haiti who  come every day to learn  and prepare for their  future.  The families of  these children are  responsible to provide at least one uniform for their  child to wear to school.

Although this seems like a small expense to us here in the U.S., it is a significant expense for the Chauffard families.

Our CPI team is working on the long-term challenges of the school and have some HUGE goals for 2011 (more to come later).  However, for now we thought we would invite our friends and partners to help us provide uniforms for the children who need them.

If you would like to provide a uniform for one of the children, the cost is $20 and includes shorts and shirt.

The uniforms will be delivered by the CPI team when they go to Chauffard in October.

Simply click on the “Donating” tab above and select the “Set Your Own Amount – One Time” button and follow the prompts.

The deadline for donating towards the uniforms is September 5th.

Thanks for your partnership!

The CPI Team

Months of work and dedication from both our U.S. and Haitian teams led to an amazing 14 days of impact in Chauffard, Haiti.

The Crossing Church team kicked things off with a medical clinic, children’s outreach, building demolition and leadership training workshops. Kendal Anderson (Pastor) and his team continue to invest in the future of Chauffard.

The First Presbyterian Church Team came the next week with 23 people. The team was amazing!

The building supplies – with which we were going to build homes with – were held up in the red-tape and chaos of the port. This meant we had to shift plans and redirect our efforts. We have become experts at “rolling with the punches” and trusting that God has his own trip agenda each time we go. So, here is a quick summary report of what our team was able to do with God’s re-assignments:

We sat down with a select group of Chauffard community leaders to truly hear their hopes, dreams, concerns, frustrations and vision for their future. These Visioning Sessions helps us know how to best partner with them as they do the hard work of developing their community.

Jennie and Marissa made several home visits to meet with, photograph and survey the families, to give us another perspective on the daily life of our friends in Chauffard. They also were able to distribute clothing and school supplies to these families.

The Children’s Team (led by Brian and Liz) led small group sessions with the Chauffard children learning English, practicing math, and playing games.

The whole team had the privilege of repairing the ravine road which had been washed out by a torrential downpour of rain. It was an awesome privilege to work with the locals and get the job done!

The Construction Team bought some materials and got busy on a whole new list of projects. They built benches and desks for the church/school, replaced and repaired doors and windows, and built a food pantry and shelving in the school building.

The team also built a platform system which allows the school and church to position the generator on the backside of the facility and run power to the main area. It may seem like a small thing, but this cuts down on the noise and smell of gas in the main meeting area.

The most encouraging aspect of all of this construction was the way in which it was done. Our team was committed to teaching the local Haitians how to use the tools and equipment we had brought so that they could use them for future projects. Most of the locals had never seen a circular saw or power drill. They were so eager to learn and practice the skills they were being taught.

Our team was also able to build 2 soccer goals and donate several balls and pumps. The locals could not get enough soccer. They proved to be much more adept at playing on the rocky surface than we were – no surprises there.

Regardless of whether we were busy with a project or waiting out a rainstorm – we kept our “main thing” the “main thing”…investing in the relationships we have with the Chauffard community.

One story has to be told (and shown in pictures). We were all under the tarp in the main building with over 50 locals (children and adults). We started leading songs and playing games and then someone suggested we have a dance competition (I think it was Jennie Ellis). Before we knew it, a circle had been formed and we all took turns dancing, laughing, playing and enjoying the gift of friendship and relationship God had given us. It was a blast!

We found an alternate water source and will begin thinking of possible solutions to capture, purify and pump the water up to the village area so the people will have better access to clean water.

Jonathan, who leads the Haiti team, deserves a HUGE “shout out” for his tireless, humble display of leadership and service to the U.S. teams and the people of Chauffard.

We are planning to send a small team back to Chauffard in Haiti to finish the House Project. The materials should be out of the port next week and then the Haiti team will transport the materials out to Chauffard. Our team will build at least one of the homes while training the locals so that they can complete the others.

Thanks again to all of our partners and friends who funded the house project, donated to send a team member on the trip, or who continue to support CPI through monthly contributions.

Click on the “Connect!” button at the top of the page
if you want to join this awesome cause.

Most Sincerely,

The “CPI Guys”
Kenny Ellis & Grant Nieddu

And all of the CPI Guys and Gals

KUDOS – here are some noteworthy achievements from our team members…

John Foley has invested big time hours and energy into soliciting building materials and then coordinating the loading of the supplies and materials into the sea container – which by the way, is en route to Port-au-Prince right now!  Way to Go John!

Several team members responded to the “Call to Action” and helped load the container on last Monday.  Way to Go!

Grant helped to coordinate the container shipment and transport – way to go Grant!

JJ Smith volunteered his time and energy to create the architectural drawings for the homes we are building.  The cool thing is – he then decided to join the team and we are thrilled to have him on board!

Leah is working on assembling a First Aid Kit for our team and she knows her First Aid – the list of items is thorough and well thought out.  Good work Leah!

Liz is helping several team members get prepared through her physical training and nutrition expertise.  She has also negotiated a great deal with the hotel in Fort Lauderdale.

Brian and Liz have met and begun to put the Creole/Kids Team plan together to go over with their team on the 28th.

Jennie and Marissa have met and begun to put their plan together for the family background and “day in the life” project.

Everyone on the team has been working hard to raise money, get vaccinations, obtain passports and arrange schedules to join a life-changing week!

Thank you so much, team!

Keep pushing, and we look forward to seeing you on Monday.

The CPI Guys