Our organization grew out of our founding directors’ involvement through the Ministry to Haiti of Sacred Heart Church in Southbury, CT. After a delegation of parishioners visited several parishes in Haiti, Sacred Heart Church prayerfully decided to twin with the parish of Our Lady of Sorrows in Grand Boulage. In 2009 a covenant was entered into between the two parishes. After the earthquake in 2010, realizing the great needs of the people of Haiti, and in particular the needs of this rural community, the inaugural Hoof it for Haiti 5K Road Race became the first fundraiser for this supportive relationship. In the fall of 2011, the Seeds of Hope Dinner Gala was added. Since then, these two fundraisers have been the principal sources of financial support for doing the work we wish to accomplish in the village of Grand Boulage.
In 2014 a tragic event occurred which drove our ministry to improve the health of this remote village. The principal of the village primary school died needlessly and prematurely due to complications from an abscessed tooth; due in large part to the lack of healthcare in the village. So, in 2015 plans began to form to bring some kind of access to health care in the village. Meetings with Food for the Poor, Partners in Health and Dr. Wilkens Gilbert, a partner with Medical Aid to Haiti, resulted in the first ever mobile medical clinic coming to Grand Boulage on October 10, 2016. This mobile clinic was delayed by one week due to Hurricane Matthew. On that first day, over 100 patients were seen by the 4 Haitian physicians who traveled up the rocky mountain road; some patients having walked hours to be seen.
Board of Directors
David Rohlfing, Chairman, Director Joseph Pasqualucci, Vice Chairman, Director Bruce Palmatier, Treasurer, Director Kevin Kauffman, Secretary, Director Mark Bialobrzeski, Director Susan Cassidy, Director Mark DePalma, Director Christine Granja, Director Fr. Robert Kwiatkowski, Ex-officio Director Yanick Thomas, Director Peter Valentino, Director Susan Weaving, Director
Financial Forms
Seeds of Hope for Haiti, Inc. is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization