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:

December proved to be a great month for CPI’s building project in Haiti. The first floor of the Community Center is complete with a roof that is ready for the second floor to be built in March. The second floor will contain 8 classrooms for our current primary school and future secondary school. In order to complete this building project, CPI needs to raise $20,000 by the end of January and we need your help! Come out on January 28th for our Hope for Haiti 5K Run/Walk or contact us to become a sponsor of the event.

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

We are very excited to announced that you have helped us sponsor 24 children in Chauffard, Haiti. This sponsorship guarantees education and food for these wonderful children which, in turn, guarantees a more hopeful future.

For only $1 a day you can make a significant difference!

Sponsor a child today.

We just wanted to announce that we have had our 11th child sponsored!

Scherline Estime now has much needed worm medicine, a meal a day, and primary education for hope for a better tomorrow!

We still have yet to have our official launch party at Black & Brew on Saturday the 21st. Tell your friends and invite them to this awesome night.

Thank you all for partnering with us on behalf of Scherline, her family, and the wonderful community of Chauffard, Haiti.

Kenny and Grant

And all of The CPI Guys and Gals

We have 2 BIG announcements for you that we are extremely excited about!

1. CPI Child Sponsorship has launched
2. CPI Night at Black-N-Brew, Saturday, May 21st

1 – CPI Child Sponsorship Has Launched

CPI is THRILLED to announce that the child sponsorship program is ready for you!! We have 48 children waiting for a sponsor. Our school has 128 children and 2 teachers. As you know, that is not an environment conducive for learning. Education is the key to getting out of poverty in a country where the majority of the population is… illiterate.

For $30 a month you can begin to change this statistic. What would happen in the village of Chauffard if ALL of our students could read and write? GREAT things would happen. Please, please consider being a child sponsor. You can visit our website and begin the process today at: CPI Child Sponsorship

2 – CPI Night at Black-n-Brew, Saturday, May 21st

Come join us at Black-N-Brew on Saturday, May 21st to help us celebrate the launch of our Child Sponsorship Program. Nate Mundell will be displaying and selling photography created from his most recent trip to Haiti. A percentage of the delicious food and drink sales will go to CPI-Haiti. Drop in and show your support between 6:30 and 9:30!

Great people, great mission, great food and drink…don’t miss it!

Together, we are making a difference!

The CPI Team

As you can see from this picture, choosing to work in the remote village of Chauffard presents some challenges.  This is a picture of our team having just worked for hours to repair the road which had been washed out by a flash flood.

The road conditions and elevation in this picture are consistent with the 20 miles of road that lead out to Chauffard.  So, one of our consistent challenges has been securing transportation to get work teams, supplies, building materials and food out to our friends in this remote farming village.

That is why we are very excited to announce that we have purchased a truck with the funds we raised from the Hope for Haiti 5K and with the generous support of our newest partner, Bartow Ford. Denny Mullis and the Bartow Ford team were very generous in making this a reality.

It is an F-350, 4×4, with re-enforced suspension, all-terrain tires and an 11 foot truck bed. We have been looking for months and this truck met all of our criteria.  We are outfitting the vehicle and preparing to ship it in a few weeks.

The  last hurdle we need to overcome to get the vehicle down to Haiti and put it to good use is raising the additional funds needed for shipping and customs.  We need to raise $5,000 to complete the process.

If you are willing to help us get the truck to Haiti…

1. Mail check payable to “CPI” to:

530 Bonnie Drive
Lakeland, FL
33803,..  OR

2. Donate securely online by clicking on the “Donate” tab above

The Many Uses of the CPI-Truck:

• Transporting food & farm supplies
• Transporting building materials
• Transporting work/mission teams
• A transporting business for our Haitian team members