ReBuild Haiti Trip Takes Off Soon
Category: Newsroom » Batc News - November 11, 2010
For Immediate Release 
ROSEVILLE, MN (November 11, 2010) In a short three weeks, the first group of ten Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC) volunteers are heading to Haiti on the 'ReBuild Haiti’ trip, the second group of fourteen leaves in four weeks. Eleven months after the earthquake, January 11, 2010, Haiti is working hard on “building back better.” BATC, working hand in hand with its Builders Outreach Foundation and local Haiti-focused organization, World Wide Village, is excited to help.
These 24 volunteers will be building two homes for two very deserving families. See what these volunteers experience as they post their reactions and stories daily during the two weeks of building on the Facebook page for the Parade of HomesSM.
Trip Volunteers
December 1-8
Curt and Dana Christensen: Lee Lyn Construction, LLC (Watertown)
Michael Hoppe: Corporate 4 Insurance Agency, Inc. (Twin Cities)
Jolynn Johnson: Crystal Kitchen Center (Crystal)
Tarry Logdson: RBC Tile & Stone (Twin Cities)
Tasha Soundara, Tish Watson: Ryland Homes (Twin Cities)
James and Jared Madsen, Erick and Mary Jo Lageson: James Barton Design Build, Inc. (SE TC)
December 8-15
Tracy, Mark, Becky and Ella Dahlin, Melissa Friederichs: Iron River Construction (Waconia)
Blair, Andy and Emily George: Ideal Construction Inc. (Blaine)
Steve Henjum: S.J. Henjum Design Build, LLC (Rosemount)
Chris Thompson, Matt and Brent Hanish: On the Level Inc. (Wayzata)
Steven Weakly: Brush Masters (Plymouth)
The BATC Volunteers will be traveling and building with the help of World Wide Village (WWV) is a local, non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to transform impoverished communities mainly by providing Christian education, health care, nutrition and micro enterprise opportunities to children and families. Haiti has been their geographical focus since 2001.
Randy Mortenson, the president of World Wide Village, has this update, “Just this week WWV Haitian staff have begun moving dirt in preparation for the two homes that BATC teams will be working on at two different locations within the Port au Prince area. After avoiding the potential large-scale disaster that Huricane Thomas posed, work is well underway. The recent outbreak of Cholera has understandably caused some concern throughout the WWV volunteer groups. We have been assured that the potential risk is minimal at best, because of the pre-existing healthy immune systems of Americans plus how unlikely it is that anyone travelling to Haiti would come into contact with the untreated water or poor sanitary conditions Haitians survive in. The 1.5 million people living in the makeshift ‘tents’ are certainly at great risk.”
The WWV partnership with BATC is a win-win development as both groups seek to make a tangible difference in the lives of at least two families. Funding from the initiative will provide housing for two families that are presently living in substandard conditions.
Contacts:
Michelle Bruhn, Builders Association of the Twin Cities: 651-697-7574 - michelle@batc.org
Jan Berg, Builders Outreach Foundation: 651-697-7563 - jan@batc.org
Randy Mortensen, World Wide Village: 651-777-6908 - rmortensen@worldwidevillage.org
More information and photos available upon request.