PITTSBURGH — A pandemic won’t stop FLM Haiti’s efforts to provide needed support for the Haitian people. In fact, the need is even greater this year as Haiti continues to fight the impact of COVID-19 and other ongoing challenges related to education, health care, and housing. With that in mind, the Functional Literacy Ministry (FLM Haiti) will hold its signature annual fundraiser as an ALL VIRTUAL event, including a celebration and art sale. The Virtual Celebration and Art Sale/Auction takes place on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, at 5:45 p.m.

“Excellence in the Grace of Giving” is the theme of this year’s event. During the celebration, Bishop Leon D. Pamphile, founder and Executive Director of FLM Haiti, will talk about the state of Haiti amid the COVID-19 crisis. In addition, volunteers will provide updates on the work in Haiti, and participants will hear testimonies from some of the people who are being served.

The keynote speaker is the Rev. Dr. Ronald E. Peters, the former president of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. He will reflect on his journeys to the mountainous rural communities and how faith and giving are manifest in the work FLM does on the island nation. Music will include songs from Haitian children (students from FLM Haiti’s K-13 school), plus soloist Anita Krupa, a music educator and graduate of Duquesne University’s Mary Pappert School of Music.

FLM Haiti is based in Pittsburgh and is celebrating 37 years of serving the people of Haiti through its House of David Medical Clinic, a school that teaches 600 students in elementary through high school, and more than 70 adult literacy centers. More than four years ago, the mission created an academy, the Excelsior Technical Institute, to train Haitians with the plumbing, computer, and construction engineering skills to help rebuild their nation after the devastating earthquake of 2010.

“The needs of our Haitian brothers and sisters continue to be a priority for FLM Haiti; and with the onset of COVID-19, those needs are even greater. That’s why we decided to move forward with this annual event that provides the desperately needed funds to support FLM’s schools and medical clinic. We are so grateful for the teachers, doctors, and numerous volunteers who make these services to the Haitian people possible. This will be FLM’s first Virtual Celebration, and we are excited about this opportunity to celebrate the work that is being done,” Pamphile says.

The banquet remains a chief fundraiser for the nonprofit organization, where more than 90 percent of all the funding is used to support the work in Haiti.

The requested donation is $60 (which is 100% tax-deductible).

For more information, call: 412-784-0342. To purchase tickets online visit: flmhaiti.org/newsevents/

For sponsorship information, send an email to rbynum2124@earthlink.net.

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