By Suzanne Schmidt
Staff Writer
The need in Haiti is still great even two months after the earthquake, especially for the Maranatha Orphanage.
A Wesley Chapel family is doing what they can to help the orphanage where they just adopted two children, Gino, 3, and Samuel, 3 by having a F-U-N-draiser from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. March 12 at BounceU, 5419 Village Market in Wesley Chapel. Jen and Tim Pearson and their daughter’s Zoe, 7, and Addie, 4, are all working together to raise money for Heartline Ministries, a nonprofit organization in Haiti that runs the orphanage.
“It will be an open bounce where parents can drop off kids and come back in two hours or they can stay and watch,” Pearson said. “The event is open to kids of all ages. We are hoping for a great big turnout.”
Pearson and her daughter Zoe along with her friends Judah Otero, 7, and Hannah Concepcion, 8, could not wait to do everything they could to help the children in Haiti. They already had a bake sale that raised about $1,000.
“The kids really wanted to do this,” Pearson said. “They are special kids. They have already given every dime they had in their piggy banks. It is almost like they can’t do enough. They already had the bake sale, but the kids wanted to have a fun fundraiser for the kids.”
Debbie Kopycienski, owner of BounceU, said she is happy to help.
“I was taught to always give back,” Kopycienski said. “This is my way to help and be a part of the community.”
Pearson and her husband were two years into the process of adopting two children from Haiti when the earthquake hit. The week of the earthquake, Tim went to Haiti to pick up kids from the orphanage.
“The earthquake expedited everything because we were so close to finishing the process,” Pearson said. “My husband spent a week there. He helped bring 17 kids to the states to be adopted.”
Pearson said her sons are still adjusting to their new environment.
“I can’t imagine life without them,” Pearson said. “It is like they have always been here. We are so glad they are home.”
Now instead of just taking care of kids, the orphanage has been turned into a hospital.
“They have four children remaining there and they have turned it into a hospital until things can be back to normal,” Pearson said. “They are now taking care of tons of people young and old.”
Even before the earthquake, Pearson and her family have been working to help people in Haiti. She and her husband and a few other families in Wesley Chapel have a nonprofit organization called Praxis Haiti. The organization was recently incorporated.
“We have gone to Haiti as a family,” Pearson said. “I love the children of Haiti. We have been trying to help for a couple years. There is so much that needs to be done. So many people in Haiti need help.”
This fundraiser is for Heartline Ministries because they are already an established nonprofit there in Haiti, but Pearson said she is looking forward to future fundraisers because they will be raising money for Praxis Haiti. She said she hopes it will become an international organization one day.
“We are trying to help with long-term sustainability,” Pearson said. “We want to help them to have things that can be reproduced even if we are not there. Also they need schools, running water and other health-related facilities. This is just the first of many fundraisers we hope to have. We are looking for sponsors and partners for not just this event but also in the long term.”
For more information, visit PraxisHaiti.org.
If you go:
- What: open bounce
- When: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. March 12
- Where: BounceU, 5419 Village Market in Wesley Chapel
- Admission: $8
- For information or to help visit PraxisHaiti.org
