A MESSAGE FROM MR. LARRY McDONALD JR., CHAIR OF THE WYS LEARNING ASSISTANCE COMMITTEE
Dear Friends and Family,
I cannot thank you enough for your support, as World Youth Served, Inc. and the HURRICANE MATTHEW RELIEF TASK FORCE (HM-RTF, which I am now a member of) continue to work with all our partners in the US and in Haiti to help the unfortunate in Jérémie. For those new to our relief efforts, World Youth Served, Inc. (WYS) is continuing to raise funds and provide relief to the citizens of Jérémie, HAITI. The city was hit very hard by Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 and most of the residents of the area have lost everything they own. Furthermore, in the aftermath of the hurricane, as many of the organizations did their PR stunt and left, the city of about 80,000 now finds itself struggling with basic necessities such as food and water.
World Youth Served's Hurricane Matthew Relief Efforts will be conducted entirely and directly by the World Youth Served Executive Committee, through its HM-RETF. Indeed, WYS is working to put together a delegation of six to twelve volunteers to fly down to Jérémie in 2017 and help with distribution of food and other supplies to 200 families in the area, materials that are vital to the proper functioning of the impoverished province. And after the delegation leaves, we intend to continue distributing food for as long as we have funds to purchase rice (a basic staple of Haitian meals) and other goods to send to Jérémie.
Using the donation links on this page, I stronly urge you to consider making a cash donation of $2,500, $5,000 or $7,500 that will go to the Learning Assistance Fund, with half of the proceeds going directly towards purchasing the goods and materials at very low cost and ensuring they are distributed directly to the families in the Jeremie, HAITI area. Ihave personally pledged to raise $20,000 for both endeavors. All donations will be tax-deductible (please see our 501c(3) charter on our website), and you will receive a receipt and a thank-you letter. You can make your selection of our donation level on any of the links on this page and you will be taken to our secure checkout page courtesy of PayPal.
The other half of the proceeds will remain with the WYS Learning Assitance Fund and support our continued efforts with our at-risk youth here in Metro and Greater Atlanta. To Recap, 2013, we paid to help a youth complete his GED and have an opportunity at advanced education. With no further funding in 2014, we couldn't complete the work. In 2014 and 2015, the WYS Board of Directors personally funded the WYS Learning Assistance Fund, as it received a request for helping a West Atlanta Family where all three children were raped by their guardians (see http://www.wys-inc.org/west-atlanta-family). We also agreed to collaborate with Buford City Schools in the support of another child rape victim, this one a 15 year-old young girl with severe socio-emotive disorders, arrested by Gwinnett County for throwing a water bottle at a police car, and then imprisoned at RYDC in Gainesville. When Buford City Schools pulled out, we were not able to continue support with funding. And even last year, we worked with two youth, one in Woodstock suffering from personality disorder, then other living alone with his single mother after his sibling died in DFCS custody.
If you would like to be part of the Hurricane Matthew delegation, or you'd like to volunteer with the WYS Hurricane Matthew Relief Task Force, please send us an email at hurricane.matthew@wys-inc.org. Otherwise, if you want to make a donation, you may use our links on this page.
With Compassion, Commitment and Character,
Larry McDonald, Jr.
Chair, Learning Assistance Commitee
World Youth Served, Inc.
