Hello and welcome to Kind Acts for Haiti!
Ever since the Jan 12 earthquake happened, I’ve been searching for a way to help out the survivors and what’s left of the country. Donating money never felt enough, and each new article and each new photo just devastated me; all I wanted to do was take off down to Haiti and do whatever I can to help. Thankfully, I finally found a way to do so through the Colline Foundation. I can’t describe how happy I am to be able to go and if nothing else, just hold someone’s hand and hug them and tell them it’s going to be alright.
On August 9, I will be traveling to Leogane, Haiti to volunteer with the Colline Foundation. The Colline Foundation was founded in 2009 to “initiate philanthropic endeavors using the school Colline Academie as our base.” Unfortunately, the thriving Colline Academie was destroyed in the earthquake, and since then, founders Jimmy Toussaint and Gary Dargenson have been using the foundation to provide opportunites for those that wish to personally lend a helping hand to Haiti…. Like me!
And like my co-volunteer Ali McEwen, who had the brilliant idea of fundraising before our departure. She asked Jimmy Toussaint what she could do and his response was:
“the community in Leogane have been stressed out for a very long time now. The epicenter was closer to them than anyone else in Haiti, but yet they received very little attention after the quake. If we can host a community event, they will be thankful for it. Just something to keep their minds of their daily struggle. This event can have live performances by local musicians, a DJ and food. The cost can be upwards to $2,000. USD. And, it would actually be a big turn out.“
So, along with Ali, I will be performing random acts of kindess each day for the next 30 days, and for each $100 raised, I will volunteer for a day at a local charity or organization. I’m open for suggestions of kind acts and maybe this will inspire kind acts in others.
Please donate and bring some relief and joy to the community of Leogane!
Thank you and take care,
Jess Lemmon
