Events

Andy Hunter, Chef of Acorn Restaurant in Nashville, is organizing a charity benefit at the Nashville Farmer's Market to benefit Visitation Hospital Foundation, on Sunday, March 14, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  The event will be a "tasting" featuring local Chefs, Restaurants and Vinyards; as well as a silent auction and live entertainment. 
Twenty-five to thirty restaurants will participate.  Silent auction items will include messages, vacation homes, airline tickets, sports tickets, theatre/symphony tickets, services such as accounting, PR, computer help, etc. and bed and breakfast stays in addition to Haitian crafts.
To register, go to the online registration on this website or call 615-673-3501.
Proceeds will directly benefit the work of Visitation Hospital Foundation in Haiti.

"The purpose of the event is to raise funds to maintain the Visitation Clinic and its community health and outreach programs in southwest Haiti," said Fran Rajotte, director of development and communications.
Speakers include Tish Shea, M.D, Fr. Tom Metzger, pastor of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, in Noblesville, IN, who will offer the invocation, Visitation Hospital Foundation Executive Director Theresa Patterson of Nashville, TN, and Joseph Zelenka of Indianapolis and Board Secretary for VHF. There will also be a 7-minute video presentation. Each of these speakers has experienced first hand the tremendous need for good medical care in the country.
“Our Lady of Grace has been linked with a sister parish in St. Louis du Sud, Haiti, for over twenty years, and our parishioners, who have visited there over the years, can attest to the dire need for the kind of medical care that Visitation Clinic is now offering to residents of southwest Haiti. The funds we raise on September 12 will make it possible for that care to continue to be offered, and to be steadily improved in the months and years to come. I’m delighted that Our Lady of Grace Church will be able to host this event for the Visitation Hospital Foundation,” said Fr. Metzger.
During the one-hour fundraiser, guests will enjoy a free Haitian lunch, hear from speakers, view a video presentation, and be asked to make a pledge or one-time gift.
“We are extremely grateful to Fr. Tom Metzger for allowing us to use his church facility, and to Joe Zelenka, as well as our wonderful team of people, who are helping us with this event,” exclaimed Patterson.
VHF was founded in 1999 by the Parish Twinning Program of the Americas (PTPA), under the direction of Patterson, who has traveled to Haiti over 80 times in the past 31 years matching churches between the U.S./Canada and Haiti. To date there are over 350 “twinnings” of parishes and projects in Haiti, including many twinnings in the Indianapolis diocese.
“When medical teams traveled to their sister parishes over the years, we realized the need to construct a full-service hospital in Haiti, where these teams could refer patients,” said Patterson. She added it takes months and even years in some cases to obtain visas to send children and adults to the U.S. for treatment, and it is getting harder and harder to find hospitals to take these patients. To date there are 68 medical teams traveling to Haiti each year through PTPA.
“All the physicians who travel to Haiti strongly support the hospital. It is badly needed,” stated Patterson.
VHF sponsored a Hope and Healing for Haiti event in Indianapolis in 2005, two in Nashville, TN, one in Sarasota, FL, one in Memphis, TN, and one in Chattanooga, TN, over the past four years. The total raised by these events was $917,000. The Foundation earmarked these funds to construct and operate the Visitation Clinic, which was dedicated Jan. 2008. The Clinic opened its doors to receive patients on January 30, and to date we are treating approximately 90 patients per day. The Clinic, and later a full-service hospital, is located in southwest Haiti, an underserved area of 266,000, living within a seven-region area.
Ninety percent of funds raised from the Noblesville event will go directly to Haiti, but will be managed in the U.S.
Zelenka cites statistics stating the number of deaths among children and adults.
“Approximately 99 out of every 1,000 babies die before reaching age five,” he said.
“In Haiti, adults’ life expectancy is only 48 for men and 51 for women. While adults die primarily from TB and AIDS, children often die from treatable diseases such as malnutrition and dysentery.”
The unemployment rate in Haiti is 70% in the cities, but much higher in rural areas such as Petite Rivière de Nippes. The Clinic currently provides a source of employment for the local people in the area, creating economic growth there, including mirco-enterprise opportunities, roads, and agriculture.
“During the building process, we employed over 45 Haitians, and we now employee 28 at the Clinic,” cited Zelenka.
VHF offers a community health and outreach program as an important component of the services provided at the Clinic. Among these programs are vaccinations, Vitamin A capsule distribution to children (since lack of Vitamin A is the leading cause of blindness in children), nutrition counseling and supplements for malnourished children, HIV AIDS testing and education, breastfeeding classes, a training program for clinical staff, and water purification, since nonpotable water is the root cause of many illnesses and deaths in Haiti. To date, 2,400 families (16,800 individuals) already receive water purification systems through VHF.
“Visitation Hospital will be built as “a hospital of American standards,” where specialists from all over the U.S. can practice their individual specialty,” stated Zelenka. “This will be a huge accomplishment and will save thousands of lives.”
Guests and table captains are needed for the September event. Table captains are asked to invite 10 guests to sit at their respective tables. Those interested in helping in any way are asked to contact Joe Zelenka at (317) 213-9094, or email him at jze@att.net
Visitation Hospital Foundation, based in Nashville, TN, is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit missionary organization providing health care and health education for the poor of Haiti. For more information, find them on the web at www.visitationhospital.org

Father Tom Metzger and Joe Zelenka are co-hosting a Hope and Healing for Haiti fundraiser luncheon at Our Lady of Grace Church, Noblesville on September 12, from noon to 1:00 p.m. All are welcome!
We invite anyone in the area to attend a FREE one-hour luncheon and presentation on the work of Visitation Hospital Foundation in Haiti. We have opened an outpatient clinic in January 2008, and the next phase will be to construct an Ambulatory Surgery Center. If you would like to help or attend the luncheon, please call Joe Zelenka at 317-213-9094.

The fifth grade students of St. Cecilia Elementary School in Stamford, CT, have done it again!  In June, the students hosted the annual Carnival to raise funds for the children of Haiti, and invited the rest of the school to participate.  The games were developed by students and their parents themselves, and there were lots of prizes and gifts.  This year the school raised $2,406 for VHF!  We thank the students, teachers, and parents of St. Cecilia Elementary School and challenge other schools to get involved in fundraisers for Haiti.

Visitation Hospital Foundation invites the community to take part in a dinner fundraiser at Whitfield's Restaurant at 106 Harding Road in Belle Meade on June 2, 6:00 p.m.  The restaurant is located near the corner of Harding Road. 
Owner, Nathaniel Beaver, has graciously agreed to host this dinner with a choice of two entrees in including PanSeared RainbowTrout with almonds, and Springer Mountain Roasted Chicken.  The dinner includes a Mimosa salad, sides items, and Jack Daniel's Chocolate Bread Pudding for dessert, plus red and white wine.
Cost is $100.00 per person with 55% being tax-deductible.  For reservations, please contact Fran Rajotte at 615/385-2363. 

Over the past several months, Visitation Clinic Medical Director Dr. Jean-Francois has been in conversation with the Haitian Ministry of Health to provide vaccinations at the Clinic.  The Ministry will provide the vaccine and the Clinic staff will administer it.  The Clinic will designate a nurse to oversee the program. 
According to Karen Jung, Clinic Administrator, the first phase of the vaccination program has begun and the clinic is being staged to begin the program. 
Offering vaccinations has been one of the main community health goals of the Visitation Clinic's Community Outreach program.

The parish takes up a second collection each month for Haiti and  recently sent a gift of over $5,000 to support our Haiti efforts.
We would like to thank each person who contributed.
 
 

Hope and Healing for Haiti are one-hour events that have taken place in cities such as Nashville, Memphis, Indianapolis, and Chattanooga.  The fundraisers have supported the funding of Phase 1 of the construction plan and now, Phase 2 as well.  They are the lifeblood of our funding and we are planning to do others in order to expand and sustain our medical facility in Haiti.

We have several of these planned for other parts of the country including  Sarasota, FL, Bradenton, FL,  Indianpolis, IN, and possibly Washington, D.C. 

We need to continue to offer these events in order to sustain the facility and build future structures to help the poor of Haiti receive the health care they need and deserve.

Your help is needed in order to connect VHF with individuals in other cities, who would be willing to assist us in spearheading this effort.  Please contact Fran Rajotte at 615/385-2363.

Stamford, CT June 2008

The fifth grade class at St. Cecilia School in Stamford, CT, hosted their annual Spring Carnival on Friday, June 6.  The students raised $2,800 for Visitation Hospital Foundation.  These grade school students have been holding Carnivals, Raffles, and Sale of Bricks for the past four years.  This year, Bea Kelly, who oversees the project, decided to change the theme to "Reach Out Haiti" and sold hands, instead of bricks, to students. 

This is one of two global fundraisers the school undertakes each year.  We appreciate Mrs. Kelly and the students, faculty, and parents of St. Cecilia Elementary for their ongoing support and for caring for the poor of Haiti. 

Pat Newman, former VHF Capital Campaign member, will help coordinate the efforts in D.C., while Fr. Tom Metzger and Board Secretary Joe Zelenka, will organize efforts in Indianapolis, the latter slated for September 2009.

More volunteers are needed to host these events.  Call Fran Rajotte at 615/385-2363 if you can help organize an event or know of someone in another city who can.

Thank you!