Reach Out: LaFond Partners with Rebuild Globally
These two non-profits working to make an impact one shoe at a time
MIDLAND, MI- More than 50% of children in Haiti do not attend school because their families cannot afford the cost of education and school uniforms. Recently, Jayme Hazen executive director of Reach Out: LaFond and resident of Midland, Michigan, partnered with Julie Colombino, founder of Rebuild Globally to eliminate this barrier for children in the community of LaFond, Haiti.
While there are many barriers to education in Haiti, the lack of adequate footwear and uniforms is one of the reasons children are turned away from the classroom. When they do attend, children traverse streets littered with waste – plastic bottles, used tires, and organic waste – each and every day.
Rebuild Globally is a company that handcrafts a school shoe made from re-purposed and recycled materials. This is called The Impact Shoe and is the most impactful shoe on the planet because it removes a simple barrier that prevents children from going to school while also supporting local job creation.
“The Impact Shoe’s sole is made from repurposed tires and an upper made from recycled bottles. This is an innovative, Haitian-designed solution to the hurdles Haitian schoolchildren face every day,” said Hazen. “This partnership has helped Reach Out: LaFond donors find new ways to give to the LaFond community and in the last seven months more than 40 children have received shoes so they can attend school.”
Reach Out: LaFond’s mission is to educate children in the remote village of LaFond, Haiti. This organization is working to keep the children of LaFond in school in order to give them a hope for the future. This new partnership with Rebuild Globally will help support Reach Out’s mission even more.
To learn more about how you can help email the Reach Out: LaFond organization and for more information on this partnership click here.