Volunteer with BonaResponds this weekend

With the school year winding down, we have many jobs waiting. The next few weekends will be very busy and we really need more volunteers than we have been getting. If you have been thinking of helping out, it would be a great time to do so! This weekend we will be cleaning up along the Allegheny River Trail, cleaning up a home/yard for a physically challenged individual, packing school supplies and soccer equipment for Haiti and Liberia, prepping a ramp (if we get enough volunteers we will begin putting up a wheelchair ramp), adding handrails to an existing ramp and maybe doing some trail work.  

To give us an idea of how many people will be helping, we are asking you to sign up here (next two weeks are listed) https://www.slotted.co/bonaresponds-spring-2015.

Times: 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Collections for Haiti, Liberia, and the US

Our next shipment is being readied!

Items will mainly be going to Haiti for schools. soccer, and garden programs.  However, we will also be shipping some items to the CYC-Liberia group and their orphanage there.  We will also be giving books (pre K- 12th grade) to local school children in NY and PA.

We will be packing supplies for Haiti and Liberia this Saturday. 

Please drop off new or lightly used soccer equipment (balls, shoes, whistles, etc), school supplies (paper, pens, pencils, calculators, backpacks), small gardening tools/work gloves, toys, or children's books to 104B in Swan or bring them to the lower parking lot (by the BonaResponds Trailer this Saturday between 10:35 and 11:15. (earlier is better as we will be able to sort and assign the donations to various groups.

Also we'd still love someone to sponsor shipping of a barrel (we fill each barrel with about $1000 of value--it costs us about $120 to ship) or to sponsor the water for the soccer practices ($30 a month) or to pay for a student scholarship (remember the last count was 23/60 in school, we want it up to 100%) at $20 a month (via HaitiScholarships)

Related articles

• Soccer programs in Haiti
• The Bishop of Jacmel Haiti on the importance of educatuon and how you can help

Soccer programs in Haiti

We are working with several soccer programs in Haiti...we will also be sending some soccer balls to Liberia and are looking for programs in need in the US.

Here is a video we had made in Les Cayes:


How can you help?

First learn about our programs, then collect soccer equipment (new or used) or make a donation :)

Rochelin is a good friend from Les Cayes Haiti.  He send pictures almost every Saturday Morning of the soccer practice there.  Thank you Rochelin not only for coaching and helping so much with the soccer program, but also for your work with trees and agriculture in Haiti. As I have told you, you are truly a #rolemodelhero! 

Here are some pictures:

 

But this post is not about Rochelin per se, it is about the children in the soccer program.

First the good news! It is awesome that they now have a soccer program--both male and female teams. This gives the children (now over 70 strong) something to hope for, something to do to stay off the streets, and some order in what can be a chaotic world. It teaches teamwork, exercise, and discipline. It is a start. It is a great start!

But too many of the players can not afford shoes. The program (Soccer for Peace) can can barely afford water for the players. Indeed they have had to shut down before for lack of funds for several years.

Only about 1/3 of the children in this program are currently in school. Working with HaitiScholarships we are trying to raise that number.

You can help. Donate money for their water. Donate used (or new!) soccer equipment (even sneakers and running shoes!) for their teams. Donate to HaitiScholarships for their schooling. Or just share this message. Maybe it will reach a soccer club, or a person who wants to sponsor a child, or pay for water for their practices.

We can do this. It is a small step to make Haiti (and the world a better place) but the longest journey begins with a step.

Donations can be made:

* Soccer (or school) equipment: 104B Swan Business Center St. Bonaventure NY 14778
* Monetary donations can be made viahttp://BonaResponds.org/
* Money for scholarships can be made via http://HaitiScholarships.org/

Equipment will also be going to programs in Leogane, Gonaives, and elsewhere in Haiti.