The 1% Project

The 1% Project

Background

One month ago today I left Port-au-Prince.  Today Kristin and I had lunch with a client / friend who encouraged me to go on the trip and I shared with her my top 3 takeaways from the trip (at bottom).

I also shared that I saw devastation (earthquake, poverty) beyond my frame of reference, experienced a deep emotional connection to the people I met, but as for how the trip changed me, as of this afternoon I still didn’t have a solid answer.  Just a few minutes ago I figured out how to make this trip real and lasting to me.  I decided to create The 1% Project.

What does HFAP Do?

Currently they have a medical team providing free clinics in Port-au-Prince.  They run a schoolfor 160 kids K-5.  The youngest kids at the school smiled and played with us.  As Kristin moved from classroom to classroom the older the elementary aged kids got, the less they smiled.  Life is hard there.  HFAP cares for 5-8 kids at a time in their orphanage.  This weekend 4 women graduated from their entrepreneurship program and the women have earned seed money to start micro-businesses.

Why I Give to HFAP

I stood shoulder to shoulder with Haitians helping Haitians.  My hand literally reached out and handed sandwiches to Haitian children the same ages as my children, your children, your grandchildren.  I trust the leadership of Haiti Foundation Against Poverty.  I vetted this organization, wrote my own checks, helped them build a building, and walked the four corners of this organization.  My promise to you; HFAP is good and ready for the throughput of your investment into direct ground-level aid.

Why The 1% Project

My business is built on clients trusting us with very personal projects.  Clients invest tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to trust our firm to make a fantastic plan for their home, come make a mess of things, and recreate their home to better fit their lives.  Nowadays, it’s a small $1M business whose relationships, I believe, will generate $10,000 for Haiti Foundation Against Poverty in 2011.  Beyond my clients I have a network of phenomenal professionals & friends.  You who read this are The 1% Project – $10,000 in direct aid to be raised by partnering with you. Currently we’ve raised about $4,000.

What I have heard from casual conversations is that many of us want to give, but it feels like everyone always wants something.  It is a struggle to know how to make an immediate impact on human suffering.  Sometimes it’s just easier to numb out and just live our lives.

Kimberle

Be a 1% Project Partner

I’m asking you to quantify my relationship with you and to quantify your relationship to Haiti.  You didn’t ask for this, no one likes a guilt trip, and some among us will say it over reaches relational norms, and you bet it does!  But let’s try this together anyway.

I am inviting you to take our dollars to the streets of Port-au-Prince. The international aid community has to struggle with the institutional corruption of the Haitian government.  NGOs are doing fabulous work, but they also are targets, and the need is too great to wait.

The Final Pitch

Nika

If you want to see the good of humanity amidst the devastation of an earthquake, join The 1% Project.  If you are able, you will enjoy giving.  Show yourself the power of reaching out to help the widow and the orphan.  For me, the act of opening myself to experience the pain of people I’ve looked in the eye and worked alongside is what now compels me in this project.  Please show me that a volunteer trip can ripple beyond the volunteers.  Show me that what happens in Haiti matters in your household, and I will show you that what you do in your household matters in Haiti.

Next Actions

1) Write a check – big or small

Haiti Foundation Against Poverty

PO Box 120105
Grand Rapids, MI 49528
(616) 608-6606
Email: haitipoverty@gmail.com

2) Give online: http://haitipoverty.org/

3) Visit the Blog: http://haitifoundationagainstpoverty.blogspot.com/ (This is what spoke to Kristin and started us on this journey.)

4) Google: Haiti Foundation Against Poverty

5) Like them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/haitifoundation

6) Read about them in The Grand Rapids Press: LINK HERE

7) Pass the link to this information on via email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

Tell me what you’ve done so that I may celebrate with you and thank you.

Haiti Takeaways for Ben:

1. Solidarity – I witnessed that humans loved by God as much as I am struggle to eat even once a day.  They struggle for clean (cholera-free) water, a roof that is not tarpaulin, and the hope of education.
2. Corruption – Government in its most basic roles must be trustworthy.  Haiti’s government is corrupt and non-functional.
3. The Power of One – I saw the power of individuals, really a small band of Haitians & Americans, who touch hundreds of lives every day with food, water, education, jobs.  There is hope & progress made by individuals taking action to impact the world.