29535: Concannon- Art Auction for Haitian University Scholarships in NY City.

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Brianhaiti@aol.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:      Kimberly  Dilts
Haitian Education & Leadership Program  (H.E.L.P.)
Phone:  (212)  842-8939
Fax: (212) 842-8901
Email: _dilts@aristeiacapital.com_ (mailto:dilts@aristeiacapital.com)
Website: _www.haitianeducation.org_
(file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/kimberly/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLK3/www.haitianeducation.
org)

Art  Auction to H.E.L.P. University Students in Haiti

New York, NY  (November 13, 2006):  On Friday,  December 1, art lovers and
humanitarians alike will have a clear opportunity to  help Haiti, a country 
with
such endemic and intractable troubles that it’s  sometimes difficult to know
where and how to lend a hand.   At 7:00 that evening, the Haitian  Education
and Leadership Program (H.E.L.P.) will host its first ever auction of  Haitian
contemporary and naïf art, featuring works by some of Haiti’s  most renowned
artists.  All proceeds  will go toward scholarship support for Haitian students
pursuing higher  education in Haiti.
Featured  artists include Edouard Duval-Carrié, Mario Benjamin, Gérard
Fortuné, and Lionel  St. Eloi.   A silent auction  will take place from 
7:00-9:00
pm, followed by a live auction of featured works  at 9:00 pm.  Images of the
works are  viewable online at _www.haitianeducation.org_
(http://www.haitianeducation.org/isthispossible) .
H.E.L.P. was started in 1996 by Conor Bohan when his former student, Isemonde
 Joseph, asked for $30 to attend secretarial school in spite of her lifelong
dream to study medicine.  Isemonde  became H.E.L.P.’s first scholarship
recipient and is now a practicing doctor in  Haiti.  H.E.L.P. has since grown 
into
Haiti’s largest university  scholarship program and, for the academic year
2006/2007, will sponsor  approximately 70 students studying education, 
medicine,
law, engineering,  accounting, agronomy, chemistry, computer science and
communications.  To date, H.E.L.P. graduates have a 100%  employment rate at an
average starting salary of $6,000 per year, approximately  15 times greater 
than
the average annual salary in Haiti.
Haiti, a country  plagued by widespread poverty, destabilization, and a lack
of governmental  infrastructure, grapples with a nearly 70% unemployment rate.
 Though the average annual cost of  university in Haiti,  including
textbooks, is just over $1,000, nearly 50% of children in  Haiti have no access 
to
education at  all, and few can afford to continue their studies past middle or
high  school.
The event will take place at the offices of Aristeia Capital, 136 Madison
Avenue,  3rd floor (between 31st and 32nd  Street).  For more information, 
please
contact Kimberly  Dilts at (212) 842-8939 or _dilts@aristeiacapital.com_
(mailto:dilts@aristeiacapital.com) .  To view the electronic invitation, 
please
go to _http://haitianeducation.org/helpInvite2b.html_
(http://haitianeducation.org/helpInvite2b.html) .

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