Dec 12th, 2011

Give the gift of hope this holiday season

We are so touched and inspired by the contributions so many of you are making to the What If? Foundation during this holiday season, some in honor of family and friends.  If you are still looking for the perfect holiday gift, please consider giving the gift of hope by supporting nutritious meals and school scholarships for children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The What If? Foundation will send a beautiful card to the person you are giving the gift in honor of, acknowledging the donation you made in their name and sharing with them the powerful impact it will make.

There are also 2 other ways you can support the programs we fund in Haiti during the holidays and all year long:

1) Consider the gift of Margaret Trost’s book, On That Day Everybody Ate: One Woman’s Story of Hope and Possibility in Haiti. You can read more about the book on Amazon.com. (One friend of What If? decided to give a copy of the book to each of her 8 nieces and nephews for Christmas, so that they could all learn a bit more about Haiti and the What If? Foundation!)

2) Sign up for GoodSearch (which includes GoodShop and GoodCoupons) so that a donation is made to the What If? Foundation each time you shop online or search the internet.

Again, thank you all for your support!

Dec 8th, 2011

Margaret meets with students of different ages in the Bay area

This was a special week for me, as I had the opportunity to speak with two groups of students about Haiti and the work of the What If? Foundation. On Monday, I met with cultural anthropology students at Merritt College in Oakland.  They had just finished reading my book, On That Day, Everybody Ate, so they were eager to hear how the programs are doing today and to discuss the injustices that continue to oppress the Haitian people.  Then on Wednesday, I met with 5^th to 8^th graders at Park Day School, also in Oakland, as part of their annual CARE Week – “CARE” standing for “Campaign for Acceptance, Respect and Empathy”. Each year Park Day School chooses a topic or theme to explore school-wide during their CARE Week. This year’s theme is “How Can I/We Make a Difference?”, a topic close to my heart.  I was touched by the students’ attentiveness, compassion, and eagerness to fundraise to help the programs we fund.

Dec 1st, 2011

A great interview with Caitlin, our Executive Director

Click here to read an article which features an interview with the What If? Foundation’s Executive Director, Caitlin Szymanski. It offers a chance to learn more about Caitlin, and What If?’s work in Haiti. We feel so fortunate to have her sharing her incredible talents, skills and passion with What If?.

Nov 23rd, 2011

A letter from Margaret at Thanksgiving

Dear Friends of the What If? Foundation,

Not long ago, I was talking with Lavarice Gaudin, our Program Liaison in Haiti, and he said something simple and profound that I’ve been reflecting on ever since:

“The best thing we can do for this world is to care for each other.”

With so much suffering taking place in Haiti and across the globe, I find myself overwhelmed at times by the magnitude and injustice of it all.  And then I go back to Lavarice’s words, which remind me of the importance of reaching out, however we can, in a spirit of love and solidarity.

As the second anniversary of the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti approaches, I am touched and inspired by the caring each one of you has shown by being on this journey with us.  Each meal served to a hungry child, each school scholarship given to a young person eager to learn, each summer camp or after-school activity, would not be possible without the compassion and generosity of you, our donors.

And now, as the year comes to a close, we reach out to you for your support to help ensure that the programs we fund in the Ti Plas Kazo neighborhood of Port-au-Prince continue.  Together with our Haitian partners, step by step, with respect and heart, we remain committed to supporting the children.  Every dollar you send is appreciated and used carefully to provide nourishment and educational opportunities during these difficult times.

As many of you know, we are moving forward with plans to build a school for impoverished children and a kitchen/cafeteria on the land the What If? Foundation purchased last year in the Ti Plas Kazo neighborhood.  This building project, now in the architectural drawing stage, will offer the programs a permanent, safe location and room to grow into the future.

But right now it is the food and education programs that need your support.  I hope you will consider making a year-end contribution to help us ensure that the meals keep flowing and that children can continue to benefit from all the education programs in 2012.

Thank you for your caring, your continued support, and your prayers.  They are beautiful expressions of love in action.

“Little by little…”,
Margaret
Margaret Trost
Founder, What If? Foundation

Nov 17th, 2011

New Economic Development Club

Our Haitian partners have started an Economic Development Club (EDC), an innovative program through which 67 students (ages 7 to 15) in the Ti Plas Kazo neighborhood are learning communication and leadership skills through presentations, discussions and debates about entrepreneurial business issues. The children meet with members of the What If? Education Team each weekend to hear presentations on subjects like “Problem-solving in business and in life”. The students then break into small teams to discuss how they might manage real-life scenarios related to the day’s topic, and to present proposed solutions in organized debates.

When elections were proposed for leadership positions in the club, over 50 of the young students chose to run for office, and each one of them delivered a campaign speech.  A 12-year-old girl was elected EDC president, and she works closely with the other 5 students who were elected to leadership positions. (See photo of the whole EDC leadership team on the right.) The students participating in this new program are all getting the chance to practice presentation, collaboration, leadership, creative thinking and other useful skills through this process.

Our partners are excited to see discussions and debates continuing beyond the weekend meetings, and engaging other members of the community.  Their vision is that this club will, over the long term, help stimulate entrepreneurial business development.