HOAS Receives Grant from W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Hope on a String is incredibly proud and excited to announce that we have received a commitment of support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation for 2012.  This grant of $14,000 will allow us to improve educational opportunities for vulnerable children in Corail, Arcahaie by increasing the engagement opportunities and operational efficiency at our site over a six-month period starting in April 2012.

With the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s support, Hope on a String will be working to improve the operational capacity of its facilities in Corail.  In doing so, we will increase our ability to provide attractive and fulfilling educational opportunities for our enrolled participants.  We will also increase our engagement of a broader cross-section of the local population, particularly vulnerable children.  Through this project, we will significantly upgrade our community center’s capacity for impactful programming, effective learning environments, and prospects for participatory engagement and social change.

Hope on a String will conduct the implementation of the project in a manner that will itself engage the time, energy, and talents of our members and the community at large.  By incorporating Hope on a String participants and residents of Corail into the execution of the project, we will create critical opportunities for community engagement that contribute to our broader organizational goals.  We will make use of local resources in order to maximize the long-term sustainability of not only this project, but also to further incorporate the leadership of Haitians into our efforts to increase social capital and community empowerment through participation in music and skill-building initiatives.

We firmly believe that this project is vitally important to our goal of building a platform for community engagement and local capacity that is critical to Haiti’s long-term development.  We believe that Hope on a String is uniquely qualified to address these objectives as a result of our commitment to working hand-in-hand with the residents of Corail and the region of Arcahaie.  All of our actions as an organization are founded on the principle of collaborating with local individuals to build engagement at the grassroots level.  This grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation will help us amplify our impact as we seek to help Haitians achieve social transformation and economic development in their lives and in the communities in which they live.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, established in 1930, supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and southern Africa.

For further information on the foundation, please visit www.wkkf.org

HOAS Board Member Runs to Raise Support!

One of our team is working hard, literally, to raise funding support for Hope on a String.  Christina Bechhold, a member of our Board of Directors, will be running a half-marathon and needs your help!

As a member of Hope on a String's Board of Directors and longtime distance runner, Christina is thrilled to participate in the More Magazine Women's Half Marathon on April 15th in New York’s Central Park to raise awareness and funds for the tremendous work being done in Corail, Haiti.

Your tax deductible donation will go directly to programming at the The HOAS Community Center which offers classes in music appreciation, guitar, percussion, recorder, voice and dance, all free of charge. English language classes, adult literacy, public speaking and leadership are recent programming additions added in direct response to community demand.

 

http://www.crowdrise.com/HOAS-HalfMarathon

 

Thank you so much for your support!

HOAS Hosts Haiti en Scene in Corail

Ayiti en Scene performance March 2012 from Amanda Rathbun on Vimeo.

On March 24^th, Hope on a String pulled off an amazing community-building event.  We hosted Haiti en Scene, a theatrical troupe from Port au Prince, for a performance in our community center in Corail.  To accommodate the set-up for such a large performance, we relocated our Saturday classes to the local primary school which graciously let us use its facilities for the afternoon.  Haiti en Scene arrived with their singers, dancers, band, and crew to set up and rehearse all day.  Hope on a String, with the help of community group Pi Love, cleaned up the community center and arranged dozens of chairs and benches to prepare for the performance. 

Hundreds of people - adults and children from the community, people from nearby mountain town Ti Bois, Hope on a String members from Arcahaie, friends from Mercy Corp, and the Barr Foundation – were in attendance.  People filled the center, under the star-studded sky, awaiting the performance. 

Haiti en Scene gave an entertaining and moving performance, reflecting pieces of Haiti’s complicated history through its show "La Cite des Lumieres".  There was a tremendous sense of elation, enthusiasm, and pride that filled Hope on a String’s center.  After the performance, Haiti en Scene welcomed the members of the audience on stage while the band continued to play.  People filled the stage, dancing and singing, with the performers – mothers dancing with their children, friends dancing with each other!  It was a moment of tremendous empowerment for Hope on a String and one that the people of Corail will be talking about for a long time.

                         

Best Ways to Keep up with Hope on a String

We strive to keep our friends and supporters up to date with all of our news and recent developments.  But we know that it can be hard to keep track of all the various data streams at your disposal.  So while we will always post big news, compelling stories, and relevant articles here on this blog, we also want to recommend that you follow our Facebook page and Twitter feed to stay on top of our work.

                                                                           

Recently, we've been posting photos like this one on Facebook and Twitter on a fairly frequent basis.  We'd love it if you'd head over there now, "like" our page, and comment on anything you see.  We want to have a dynamic conversation with everyone in our universe so we can improve and grow.

See you there.

- The Hope on a String team

HOAS is a officially a US 501(c)3 nonprofit!

Friends, Champions, and Supporters,

I'm writing to pass along some exciting news.  Hope on a String has received its 501(c)3 certification from the Internal Revenue Service.  All donations made to our organization after January 12, 2011 are retroactively tax deductible on your 2011 income tax returns.  Additionally, all future contributions will also be tax deductible.

We cannot thank you enough for you support and generosity over the past year.  We could not have gotten to where we are now without your advocacy.  Your vote of confidence, by way of your donation and support, means so much to us as we build the future of our organization.

On behalf of the entire Hope on a String team, please accept my deepest gratitude.

Yours in solidarity,

Bennett