Project HOPE Awareness Raiser Was a Huge Success!

On Wednesday, February 10, we teamed up with Victoria’s Diner in Roxbury and some business friends to try something new.  It was an evening dedicated to Project HOPE’s lifesaving work in Haiti.  Brian MacQuarrie, a Boston Globe reporter and author of a recent story on the Globe’s front page about this work, spoke for about a half-hour on his trip, the people he had met, and explained some of the photos that accompanied his story.  Brian left us at about 6:45 to attend another event elsewhere, and the group stayed until 8:00 to talk about what we had heard, and how to solve the problem!

The group discussion was fascinating and enlightening, and I want to share it here for two reasons.  One, I hope someone will read it who has an idea of what to do about it, and with any luck we might find ourselves with a discussion in the comments section.  Two, I want to offer our experience as an example to other worthy charities who might consider the “awareness raiser” format.

I just want to thank a couple of our business friends who came together to purchase the appetizer buffet for the evening.  TechNetworks of Boston, which provides I/T solutions to businesses and nonprofits; Parents Forum, a grassroots organization concerned with family life issues; and Kristopher Callahan, a veteran political campaign manager, all came together to help put the event on, and I’m grateful to them.

Between questions for Brian and discussion after the event, the group was impressed by Project HOPE’s success getting volunteer doctors, facilities and supplies to and from Haiti.  But we were concerned by the sheer enormity of the problem and the apparent lack of other infrastructure outside the operating-room setting, as crucial as that work is.  Participants wondered whether mental-health professionals were working in Haiti, as well as other types of professionals whose expertise and volunteer time will be needed in the rebuilding of that country.  One interesting idea was whether idling U.S. construction professionals could be brought to Haiti, Project-HOPE-style, in an effort to help Haiti rebuild, and build in a safer way with better materials.  I thought this was a very worthy idea and wonder whether anyone reading this might have an idea.

We did not ask for money at the event, though we provided online “donation stations” for those who felt moved to give.  Direct fundraising was not the point of the evening.  We created community, gathered ideas, and engaged with each other in figuring out how we could best help.  Everyone felt like it was a very well spent evening.  Multiplied across an organization at scale, with volunteer management, this Awareness Raiser is one way to build a strong supporter base for a cause we can all believe in.