David's October 2016 Trip to Haiti

My October trip to Haiti is something I look forward to every year.  I wish I could bring you all with me.    It's together with your donations that we've been able to change lives and communities forever.  I'd like you each to see first hand how we, each making our own contribution in our own way to the KCH mission, have done that.

The students have just started school and are full of optimism and tenacity.  Summer camps and family trips are unheard of in our students' lives so many of them don't have anything to do during the summer.  The majority are glad to get back to a routine and sense of purpose in September and October when most schools resume classes. 

This year, we've added the Career Builder Workshop Series to the array of support offered to each and every student.  Through a grant from the JFL Foundation, students are now even more prepared than ever before for finding, holding onto and excelling in the job marketOur Career Coach leads the effort through 10, day-long workshops, one taking place each month of the school year.  Topics include resume writing, job target identification and research, interview preparation and even managing interpersonal conflict in the workplace.  There's also plenty of time built in for role-playing, an essential component for our young adults who often don't have any role models in the formal job environment.  I'm especially proud that the curriculum maintains a constant focus, not only on getting one's first job, but on circling back through the process to identify and get the next job, and the next and the next.  Until the KCH graduate is happy and gainfully employed in a fulfilling career. 

Together we've built an effective, sustainable and scalable model.  We'll replace our recent graduates but there will still be many deserving young adults in Haiti with tenacity and ambition but without the means to pay for school and the role models to show them how to look for a job.  And that's where we come in.  With your gift, and others like it, we will be able to change a life, a family's happiness and a community's well being forever.  Please consider becoming a monthly donor and telling a friend, colleague or family member who might be interested.

Dave Stephen