I have been in fundraising for almost twenty years. During this time, I have witnessed incredible generosity. The ones that have impressed me the most have not been the large gifts, but the sacrificial gifts. Now fundraising success depends on large, transformative gifts. But the individuals that make those gifts often have the financial backing […]
On our last trip to Haiti, I took a picture of a row of our water bottles. We just take water for granted. The local water there isn’t safe for us to drink, so we buy five-gallon jugs of “Culligan” water and use that water for drinking, brushing teeth, or cooking. It’s so easy to […]
Recently, we dedicated a school on the island of LaGonave, Haiti. It is named the Rob Marchand Education Center (RMEC), after my best friend who died of cancer four years ago. His wife and kids, along with my wife and a friend were able to attend the dedication, distribute RMEC backpacks and RMEC t-shirts. We […]
I was listening to a speaker who had just returned from Guatemala. She was talking about how happy the children were. She talked about how excited the kids were to receive worthless toys from McDonalds and other toss-away trinkets. She said they were so happy with nothing, when we have everything here. It hit me […]
One of the things I love about Haiti is their proverbs. They have many: A leaky house can fool the sun, but it can’t fool the rain. If work were a good thing, the rich would have grabbed it a long time ago. People talk and don’t act. God acts and doesn’t talk. A little […]
It’s Eclipse Week and it has been described as a “once in a lifetime” experience for some, especially here in the United States. Certainly, it is an event that comes along rarely and is a day that is marked as a day to remember. I was holding down a button in my car and it […]
We were sitting around one night on our trip to Haiti and one of the team members shared they had taken pictures of kids on their cell phone and then showed the pictures to the kids. Some of the children weren’t sure which one of the pictures was them – they’d never seen their own […]
Our team just returned from a trip to Haiti. In addition to being a fun group, we actually got some work accomplished. The main purpose was to begin the building of a school. We dedicated the Rob Marchand Education Center, in honor of my good friend who passed away a couple years ago. It is […]
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” This morning I received information that friends in Haiti are receiving torrential rains again. A student’s bed and clothes were soaked and roads were difficult to pass. Dr. William is on his way with a medical team […]
What happens when a child or grandchild does something funny? What happens when a spouse or coworker does something stupid? What happens when you have terrible travel connections? We tell a story! We are “hard-wired” for story. It’s how we make sense of the world, it’s how we explain and understand, and it’s how we […]