UPDATE: Washington for Haiti: A benefit to aid the relief efforts of Fonkoze

January 19, 2010 3 Comments

When/Where: January 28th, 6pm-9pm at the Pike Brewery, 1415 First Ave Seattle WA

What: A Benefit to support the work of one of Haiti’s most well-established economic development organizations as they play a key role in emergency relief and long term reconstruction efforts.

Who: Hear from Melanie Howard, the Secretary of Fonkoze’s board of directors and from Charlene Balick of the Grameen Foundation as they describe the current situation and their organizations’ efforts to hasten relief and recovery.

Plus: Live music from Sunday Evening Whiskey Club

Cost: We are suggesting a $20 donation at the door, with all proceeds going directly to Fonkoze.

RSVP at our Facebook Event Page

Fonkoze is an acronym for the Haitian Creole phrase “Fondasyon Kole Zepòl” meaning “Shoulder-to-Shoulder Foundation.” The organization is dedicated to building the economic foundations for democracy in Haiti by providing the rural poor with the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty. With over 700 staff working out of two dozen offices around the country, Fonkoze is one of just a few organizations with the capacity to directly manage donations on the ground in Haiti. As an economic development nonprofit, Fonkoze will provide the means for Haitians to access financial support from loved ones overseas, an essential source of cash during the relief and reconstruction efforts.

Seattle Greendrinks, SeaMo, ReVision Labs, Global Washington, and Seattle Works have joined together to co-host “Washington for Haiti” in recognition of the urgent need for support. Some may ask why it is necessary to hold an event, rather than just encouraging direct donations. We agree that direct donations are critically important, but we feel compelled to provide an opportunity for the Seattle community to gather and learn from experts and witnesses, since the more we know about the tragedy, the more likely we are to commit to supporting the long term changes needed to ensure that a disaster of this magnitude never happens again.

We are sobered by the fact that this was not a natural disaster but a human disaster. In 2001 we experienced a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Western Washington. Although some infrastructure and buildings required extensive repairs, not a single life was lost. Compare that to the tens of thousands of lives lost in the 7.0 magnitude quake in Haiti, and the implications are clear: poverty exacerbates the impacts of natural disasters.

Event Sponsors:

Quick Facts	Haiti	Washington State
Population	10 million	6.6 million
GDP	$11.6 billion USD	$315 billion USD
Area	28,000 square kilometers	184,000 square kilometers

About Seattle Greendrinks: Seattle Greendrinks is a non-profit organization dedicated to convening and building Seattle’s environmental community. Founded by Gabriel Scheer in 2003, this volunteer-run organization has a membership of over 3400 environmentally-minded individuals from all sectors.

About SeaMo: SeaMo hosts networking events and speakers series and provides a website that serves as an events calendar, jobs board, community forum, and news source. The mission is to connect the microfinance community through events, online services and opportunities for collaboration.

About Re-Vision Labs: Re-Vision Labs helps values-driven organizations become more culturally, environmentally, and economically sustainable by incorporating work traditionally segregated into public relations, marketing, sales, change management, and IT. Using online and offline tools and strategies combined with potent storytelling, Re-Vision Labs works with our client-partners to deliver collaborative, thriving, and powerfully productive community movements.

About Global Washington: Global Washington is a broad-based membership association that promotes and supports the global development sector in the state of Washington. Composed of non-profit organizations, foundations, businesses, government and academic institutions, our members work collectively to build a more equitable and prosperous world. Global Washington convenes members to generate new opportunities for growth, strengthens member organizations to increase their impact, and advocates across key global development issues at the local, national, and global level.

About Seattle Works: Seattle Works offers opportunities for people to serve as active volunteers, informed voters, savvy charitable donors and knowledgeable community leaders. From one-time service projects to board training to dialogues with elected officials, their goal is to harness and enhance the energy, creativity and diversity of Seattle’s 20- and 30-somethings to build a thriving community.

Featured