CMAA Sponsors School House in Haiti after devestating earthquake

In January of this year, as you know, Haiti was devastated by an earthquake. Our membership offered their generous support to our own 38 Haitian employees through our Addison Reserve fund by raising $55,000. Once again we offer you our thanks and thanks on behalf of the numbers of family members of our staff that benefited from your generosity.

But what you may not know is that Addison Reserve’s commitment to provide continued assistance to the people of Haiti is an ongoing endeavor through our affiliation with the Club Manager’s Association of America (CMAA). CMAA founded the We Care Haiti Relief Aid program through which in April it presented a check for $55,000 to Friends of Petit Goave, Inc. Most of these monies will be spent to construct a safe, sturdy schoolhouse for the children of Petit Goave. $5,000 is set aside to underwrite operating expenses for the first year. Petit Goave, with approximately 70,000 residents, is located south of Port-au-Prince. Employment opportunities are mainly limited to unskilled and semi-skilled jobs and education is provided to just a few. Poverty and accessibility to schools make obtaining an education for the majority of children nearly impossible. Hundreds do not attend at all and many more abandon their education after the fourth grade. More than 400 of the local children walk four to five miles each way to attend school in neighboring Grand Goave.

Through the collaborative efforts of the CMAA, we are providing a much needed facility where children can attend classes in a safe environment, one that is superior to the often seen clay and branch structures. As author Allan Bloom opined, “Education is the movement from darkness to light.” We hope to bring some light to the darkness that has befallen the children of Haiti.