6294: Corbett comes a begging: First time since 1994!

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

Corbett comes a begging: First time since 1994!

I come to the list asking for financial help for PEOPLE TO PEOPLE, INC.
the charity I run in Haiti. I have a general very strict rule that I do
not post any solicitations of any kind on this list.  That rule
is for two reasons:

1.  I founded this list for two reasons:  to raise money for People to
People; to communicate with others interested in Haiti.  Thus I was
holding any solicitation strictly as the prerogative of PTP, though I only
used it one time previously, back in 1994.

2.  Many of you already either have your own work in Haiti or have groups
that you have chosen to support, thus opening the list to such
solicitations would inundate us with appeals.

But, the other officers of PTP are leaning on me since we are in need
badly in need of funds.

A few words about PTP and our work in Haiti.  I co-founded this
organization in 1983 with my former wife.  It is a 501(c)(3) charity and
all donations are tax-deductible.  We are a 100% all-volunteer
organization with not one single paid employee.  When I go to Haiti I pay
my own expenses 100% out of my own pocket, not from PTP, thus 100% of
donated funds go to the work of the organization. The same is true of all
other officers and board members.  We have almost no expenses.  The
treasurer, Lisa Brown Campisi runs the books from her home and I run the
rest from my office at the university. Thus no utilities, no rent, no
phone.  We do have a small bill for postage each years which runs under
$200 most years.  No funded parties, lunches or dinners. That's it.

Today we do mainly economic and material development work with very small
community organizations, mainly in the mountains between Leogane and
Jacmel.  We have several loan projects to women marchants, and similar
projects for farmers.  There is one PTP volunteer who lives in one of the
villages and he oversees work to inoculate animals against various
diseases and to aid humans in health care.  Further we have an
increasingly successful project of aiding people in a goat raising project
in which we provide the initial ewe to a farmer, but a healthy kid is then
returned to us, which we in turn pass on to another participant.  PTP
maintains adequate rams for this project.

>From 1983-1994 I published a magazine on Haiti.  It's purpose was
two-fold:  to educate people about Haiti and as our primary fund-raising
tool.  I published the magazine and it had a paid subscription of 2500
people in 1994.  Most of these people were quite interested in the
development and (at that time) basic charity projects we had, but weren't
much interested in Haiti.  They tended to generously support our work,
but the 40 page magazine, with what I thought were quality articles, went
mainly unread.  I was simply bored.

I stopped publishing the magazine and opened this e-mail list.  The idea
was to associate mainly with people who passionately cared about Haiti AND
TO RAISE FUNDS.  But, after the first request in 1994 I never asked
again.  (I asked for  money in 1998,  not for Haiti, but to run the e-mail
service in Vienna since I couldn't afford the phones, and many of you
generously responded to that appeal.  Happily this upcoming trip to Vienna
should not have that, I will have free full e-mail service at the
university.)

Since we do no other fund-raising, in the six years since I halted
the magazine we have slowly lost many of the old donors who only
get a single letter from me each year talking about the year
in retrospect.  Obvioulsy, I'm no much of a fund-raiser!

Thus I come to you to ask that if the work I described above sounds
worthwhile, please consider making a donation to People to People, Inc.
Donations are tax-deductible and 100% of every dollar goes to work
in Haiti.

Please do no send the donations to me.  I don't handle money.  (PTP would
have been bankrupt years ago had I had to deal with money!)  Please send
checks made payable to People to People, Inc. to our treasurer:

Lisa Brown Campisi
334 Old Meramec Station Road
Manchester, MO 63021

Thanks very much for your consideration.  I wouldn't ask if we weren't in
serious need.

Bob Corbett