» Happy New Year from VHP! Looking Back and Jumping Forward Vassar Haiti Project

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Happy New Year from VHP! Looking Back and Jumping Forward

January 14, 2012 by admin

The year we now leave behind was one full of accomplishments both for VHP and Haiti. In Chermaitre, our students scored second place in regional testing, our medical partners successfully held multiple clinics, and community members planted over 5,000 trees throughout the village! As for VHP, our committees and initiatives kept busy, hosting sales, organizing events and all-together raising awareness and understanding of Haiti.

Below, four of our committees provide a quick summary of their activities in 2011, demonstrating how in its 10-year anniversary, the organization continues to display a drive for hard work and strength of vision. With members ready to dive back to work, we rest assured that 2012 will be a year of further success.

Merchandise

“This semester merchandise committee has continued to curate VHP’s art. We have started work on a student merchandise project to make Haitian artwork directly available to students. We continue to receive new paintings and handicrafts; be on the look out for beautiful iron sculptures and bowls, and underwater paper mache animals.”

– Laura Livingston ’12, VP for Merchandise

Outreach

“The entire Outreach committee has worked really hard this semester to do a lot of amazing things! Their hardwork and dedication has been inspiring for me to come up with new and exciting ways to challenge them! The Washington, CT sale and the Trinity Episcopal Church sale were both huge successes for VHP, and we hope to have another round of successful off-campus sales this spring!

We’re excited about the upcoming Convent of the Sacred Heart sale in Greenwich, and hope to see a bunch of new and old faces there, and are also planning a big collaboration with the Vassar Afterschool Tutoring Program (VAST) for next semester, where we can educate Poughkeepsie Middle School students about Haiti and VHP!”

– Lauren MacLean ’12, VP for Outreach

Programming

“The year started with the vibrant and entertaining Fruits & Shoots Open Mic Night. It was primarily a publicity event aiming to increase awareness about the Reforestation initiative, and to raise our profile on campus as a new VSA organization. In October, VHP was invited to set up an art exhibition in North Atrium in one of Vassar’s sesquicentennial events, A Day at Vassar. We were honored to have the opportunity to represent Vassar in a meaningful occasion as such. We also managed to make some useful connections, which will hopefully pave the way to more exciting collaborative events in the future. Furthermore, in collaboration with the Office of Health Education, we held a 5K Halloween Run just before the unexpected snowstorm hit the area. These two events in October helped raised our visibility among the Vassar community and beyond. Right before Thanksgiving break, we organized a two-day handcraft sale in College Center. It was VHP’s first ever student-oriented Thanksgiving sale; we had a bunch of special deals to thank the community for supporting us over the past 10 years, and the sale was successful beyond our wildest imagination. The last event of fall semester was a huge collaboration with five ALANA organizations – Tropical Escape! It was a warm night of delicious food and lovely student performances.

The Programming team this year is wonderful and awesome. We are so impressed by everyone’s enormous enthusiasm and exuberant energy, especially that of the new members. We are grateful for the support from the VHP general body, who has shown great dedication turning up to help out at events, even at 7am on a Saturday morning. There are many more exciting events in store this semester, and we look forward to our members stepping up to spearhead these events.”

– Cindy Fung ’14 and Charlotte Ong ’14, VPs for Programming

Medical

“Through the Trinity Church and St. John’s Church sales, we are half way toward our $23,000 goal to build the clinic. We are looking to finish raising capital in the first half of next semester, with the Sacred Heart sale. We have received word that constuction on the clinic has begun. Until the structure is complete, clinic days will be held twice a month in the adjacent church. The clinic is currently staffed by Dr. Billy Racine, a nurse/pharmacist, and an administrator. Once the clinic has completed, we estimate a yearly budget of $7,000 to hold 2-3 clinic days per month.

Looking forward:

Next semester, the medical initiative will be working toward finalizing the supplies and finances for the clinic in preparation for VHP’s March trip to Haiti. We will be taking an inventory of the medical supplies that VHP currently has, and we will be working with Dr. Racine to determine what supplies VHP should bring to Fierville. We will be working with poughkeepsie health providors to raise the necessary donations. By the end of the semester, we look to apply to several grants that will fund the clinic in the coming years.”

– David Bridgman-Packer ’12, Medical Initiative Director