Renewal 4 Haiti is Making a Difference

Recently, I saw a news story about Renewal 4 Haiti, which is a small Colorado nonprofit organization that is continuing to help earthquake victims in Haiti. Renewal 4 Haiti was founded by Jodel Charles, who is a native Haitian and was living in Aurora, Colorado when the earthquake hit on Jan 12, 2010.

I decide to research Renewal 4 Haiti and gave Jodel Charles a call. He called me back and he was very pleasant to talk to and delighted to tell me about Renewal 4 Haiti.

Jodel Charles is a native Haitian that came to Colorado from Léogâne, Haiti nine years ago to study engineering. Since the earthquake, Charles has returned to Haiti many times to do what he could to help his native people. During his trips to Haiti, Charles talked to people and asked them what they needed and wanted. The common response was that people in Haiti wanted jobs and education so he founded Renewal 4 Haiti.

During the massive earthquake there was a hospital under construction and it was about two months from completion. This much needed hospital was going to be a trauma facility in Léogâne and was leveled during the Haitian earthquake. This hospital has become the main focus of Renewal 4 Haiti.

Charles told me that Renewal 4 Haiti is "A conscious decision to stay small and focused." The reasoning is that it's overwhelming to see the massive destruction in Haiti and to want to put everything back together at once. Haiti needs to be reconstructed one building at a time. In his colorful statements, Charles explained, "This is an elephant and you can't eat an elephant. We're taking it one bite at a time."

CAMEJO Project

The CAMEJO Project is currently the main focus of Renewal 4 Haiti. This project is building a new hospital for the people of Haiti in Léogâne. Renewal 4 Haiti will also build a vocational training center on this hospital campus to train and educate Haitians. The CAMEJO Project will help create jobs, provide the medical skills needed, and provide medical care to thousands of Haitians who need it.

Jodel Charles is hoping this project will be completed by 2012.

In the meantime, Renewal 4 Haiti has provided shelter for over 600 families, shipped over 60,000 lbs. of medical aid to Haiti, and constructed a 20-bed hospital that sees 100 patients a day. They have also provided school supplies to children.

How To Donate

To help Renewal 4 Haiti and the CAMEJO Project, you can donate by sending a check to:

Renewal 4 Haiti
18625 East Dorado Drive
Aurora, CO 80015

Ways to Volunteer

There are many ways to volunteer and all are appreciated by Jodel Charles. He told me of a school in Aurora, Colorado that donated all pennies. That's right, just pennies. Every teacher, student, parent, and neighbor donated all their pennies to Renewal 4 Haiti and Charles thought that was wonderful.

It's a great idea for schools to collect all pennies or nickels or dimes as a fundraiser to help Renewal 4 Haiti. Another simple fundraiser is to have a bake sale.

You can also help Renewal 4 Haiti by volunteering to do grant writing or other fundraising ideas.

Twitter, Facebook, Blogs

Jodel Charles would love to create more awareness through Twitter, FaceBook, blogs, and other social networking sites. Charles suggests that after you read this article, you Tweet it or pass the information on to your social networking site to help spread the news.

Join a Trip with Renewal 4 Haiti to Help Build the Project

If you'd like to join Renewal 4 Haiti on an upcoming one week trip to Haiti, you can fill out the form online by following this link. Charles said that everyone works for 6 days and then there's one day of vacation in which they will take you to a nice beach or somewhere away from the destruction. You pay for your airfare and meal costs which are about $10-$15 a day. Your transportation and lodging is taken care of. Of course, you won't be staying at a Marriott Hotel instead you'll be in a tent.

There is a trip in March and Renewal 4 Haiti will be building the pediatrics wing to the hospital. This trip is full and the next trip is in June.

The June trip is scheduled for the 12-19^th and they plan on building the surgical rooms and consultation rooms. Charles indicated that engineers will help build these rooms and medical personnel is needed.

Shop the Renewal 4 Haiti Store Online

If nothing else, you have to visit this online store. Charles told me that last year this site raised almost $15,000 to help his project. He said the top selling item is the cookbook and it's only $25.

You'll see many different items on here and they change every few months as Charles brings back paintings, pottery, wood carvings, and other items from Haiti that are made by Haitians. You'll find t-shirts, paintings, artwork, and a Haitian Strawberry cup. There's a family getaway to Colorado, an escape to Winter Park, and a Chauncey Billups autographed jersey among other items. You can visit the online Renewal 4 Haiti store by clicking store.

Charles jokingly estimates that about 250,000 more cookbooks need to be sold to completely fund the CAMEJO Project. So, if you need a cookbook or would like to buy one as a gift for someone else, please do so to help this wonderful project. All items purchased are tax deductible and will help support Renewal 4 Haiti.

Renewal 4 Haiti may be a small nonprofit but it's making a huge difference in the lives of Haitians. To date Renewal 4 Haiti has received a grant of $100,000 for the vocational center and a grant of $150,000 for the hospital. That's wonderful news but they still need to sell more cookbooks.

Sources: Jodel Charles, Founder of Renewal 4 Haiti
Renewal 4 Haiti
Denver's 9News