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Thank you so much for donating to the Art Creation Foundation for Children fundraiser that we hosted on May 4. The event was a blast and we raised $994 thanks to you. We have sent off the money to ACFFC! If you have a moment, please check their website if you haven't already: http://www.acffcjacmelhaiti.com. MESI ANPIL!!! 
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About 5 years ago, I was searching for a gift for my husband Endy online. I came across Zoe Nation Apparel, a site that sells shirts with sayings in Creole and English promoting Haitian pride and culture. I bought a shirt for Endy and I bought myself one. It said "What do you mean I don't look Haitian." I thought it was hilarious and also serious because what does that even mean? People say it all of the time to Haitians.  Two years ago, I started this blog. I created business cards. I took a picture of me in the shirt for the back of the card as an attention grabber. Everyone who sees it, loves it. I get blank stares and lots of questions like, "Are you French? I see your last name is Pierre-Louis." And I tell them, "No, I am Haitian." Then it starts a conversation. Last year, I was at a Haitian event that had a fashion show. There were models representing Zoe Nation Apparel. They were modeling the Haitian clothing line. My husband grabbed the owners attention, Isaiah Fleurimond, and showed him my business card. He was in shock. It was so awesome to meet each other. We connected instantly. We kept in touch and this year we started selling the shirts on this website. This November, 10 kids from Jacmel (ACFFC) got the opportunity to visit South Florida to work on a project. I told Isaiah and he generously offered to donate shirts to them. And then this happened...  Isaiah is an absolutely pleasure to work with and know. His professionalism and love for life is reflected in his success. Thank you so much for these shirts. The kids absolutely love them! THANK YOU, MESI ANPIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
It's taken me weeks to process this. And many drafts. My husband thinks I am a little nuttier than he thought before and my heart is so full of love from people who I didn't know 30 days ago. I've been posting about the Art Creation Foundation for Children for a while now. It all started in January of 2011 at an event in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. I met and interviewed Judy Hoffman, the founder of ACFFC. She told me about the foundation and how several pieces of the art displayed at the event were pieces as art therapy that the kids did to heal after the trauma. I bought a few pieces of art at the fundraiser that the kids made from papier mâché (future blog about why this is important!). This past March, I had the pleasure of visiting ACFFC in Jacmel. Most of the kids were on Easter break, but we were able to stop by a site where there were some creating a mosaic wall near a gas station {blog and video about it}. It was awesome, but I didn't know exactly why I loved this place and the idea of ACFFC until this November 2. Ten kids from ACFFC - they are 16-22, but I am calling them kids - got visas to visit the US to work on a mosaic project with Toussaint L'Ouverture high school in Delray Beach {press release with details}. On November 2, we attended a meet and greet gathering with all of them. This was the beginning of a journey that took my heart on a ride and I will treasure forever. Food, dancing, DJ Endy and most of all, an experience of so much love from "strangers" and now friends. It was more than a photography assignment...My experience working with a Haitian photographer.10/20/2013  He was dressed in a red button down shirt, dress pants and dress shoes. He had his camera bag full of equipment and his PRESS pass around his neck. He pulled out a notebook to show me how he keeps track of the details of the photos he takes. The front of it has the CNN logo and he told me his friend from the US sent it to him. Inside it reads: Ki moun? Kisa? Kile? Ki kote? Kijan? Poukisa? I am writing about Fedno Lubin, a 20 year old young man who lives in Jacmel, Haiti. Ten years ago, he moved from the mountainside to live with his aunt in the city to go to school. Fedno’s aunt knew about the Art Creation Foundation for Children (ACFFC) and signed him up. Over the years, he learned many forms of art, but his passion is photography, who he learned from Jen Pantaleon…his teacher and guide. He mentioned Jen’s name a lot throughout the 2 days we spent together for Gout et Saveurs Lakay, Haiti's Food & Spirits Festival to celebrate the country's Gastronomy. His appreciation for the art of photography is great. He inspires me.
 Art Creation Foundation for Children (ACFFC) is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to the education and personal growth of youth in need in Jacmel, Haiti. ACFFC youth began working on mosaic installations after the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, to memorialize lives lost and to celebrate hope for the future. Their first installation was called Tree of Life. Since then, through our “Mosaïque Jacmel” project, mosaic mural installations and benches have been created throughout Jacmel, aesthetically enhancing the face of the city. Recently, ten ACFFC youth have been invited to visit South Florida by Major Joseph Bernadel, ACFFC Board Member and Chief Operating Officer of Toussaint L’Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice (TLHS), a charter school located in Delray Beach Florida. They will be arriving on November 2, 2013. TLHS has a student body of predominantly Haitian-American new immigrant high school students. Together with TLHS students, ACFFC Team Mosaïque Jacmel youth will be creating a public art mosaic installation in Boynton Beach, Florida to honor the people of Florida who have generously come to the aid of the people of Haiti, after numerous natural disasters. The ACFFC youth, special Emissaries of the Haitian People, are here to say thank you. The events will take place November 2 – 19 2013, the month typically associated with Thanksgiving in the U.S. This public art project is to be registered with the State of Florida as part of Viva Florida 500, a statewide initiative led by the Florida Department of State, to highlight the 500 years of Florida history, people, places and events in present-day Florida and to celebrate diversity of culture. The ACFFC youth will also be bringing with them a mosaic mural memorializing the many Haitian lives lost at sea, and the perils of these journeys. This mural will be presented to Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami, Inc. (FANM) / Haitian Women of Miami. FANM will share the exhibition with the Haitian community. It is an organization founded in 1991 to work for the "social and political empowerment" of Haitian women and their families. In addition, the ACFFC team will be auditing academic classes at TLHS, visiting the Palm Beach Photographic Centre in West Palm Beach, the Palm Beach County Cultural Council, Clay-Glass-Stone Cooperative Gallery in Lake Worth and other social activities are being planned. Selected ACFFC team members will travel to Washington DC to visit the Haitian Embassy and Capitol Hill. PUBLIC EVENTS: Meet and Greet at TapTap Restaurant Date: Sunday November 3 Time: 4 pm - 7 pm 819 5th St, Miami Beach, FL 33139 (305) 672-2898 Reception at Clay Glass Metal Stone Gallery Date: Friday November 8 Time: 6 pm - 9 pm 15 South J Street, Lake Worth, FL 561-588-8344 Reception sponsored by Fanm Ayitian de Miyami Location in Miami, TBD Date: Saturday November 9 Time: Evening, TBD (305) 756-8050 Reception at the home of ACFFC Board Member Dr. Connie Duke Location: Jupiter, FL Date: Saturday November 16 Time: 7 pm - 9 pm To RSVP and for directions: Dr. Connie Duke, Academic Dean, ITT Technical Institute 561-233-4932-office 561-628-5705-cell cduke@itt-tech.edu Reception at Institute of Mosaic Art in Berkeley, Ca. thanks to IMA and ACFFC Board Members Erin Rogers and Laurel True, Director of ACFFC Mosaique Jacmel program Date: Friday November 22 Time: Evening, TBD 805 Allston WayBerkeley, CA 510-898-1174 This is an extraordinary opportunity for ACFFC as an organization, for our youth, and for the community. The project is sponsored by Toussaint L’Ouverture High School for Arts and Social Justice, and the Office of Public Diplomacy, Embassy of the United States, Port au Prince Haiti. The Office of Congresswoman Lois Frankel has been instrumental in achieving this goal. The Offices of the Ministries of Culture and Tourism in Jacmel, Haiti and the Mayor of Jacmel, Haiti have lent their support as have the Palm Beach County Cultural Council and the Palm Beach Photographic Centre. For additional information: Contact for Art Creation Foundation For Children www.acffc.org Judy Hoffman jh.acffc@gmail.com 561-247-3870 Contact for Toussaint L’Ouverture High School www.toussaintlouverture.org Major Joseph Bernadel jbernadeltlhs@aol.com 561-414-5465 
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