#172: New thrift shop to help poor children in Haiti (fwd)

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From:nozier@tradewind.net

Published Thursday, July 15, 1999, in the Miami Herald                 
LITTLE HAITI
New thrift shop to help poor children in Haiti

By HANS MARDY Herald Writer 

Lumily's Mission for Haiti Inc. -- a nonprofit organization dedicated to
collecting humanitarian aid to help disaster victims in Haiti -- is
taking a step to establish ongoing relief.The group opened a thrift
store this week at 6416 NE Second Ave. in Little Haiti.The year-old
humanitarian organization is also moving its headquarters from
Broward County to the same Little Haiti address.``My dream has come
true,'' said Lucy Mathelier, president of the nonprofit group.
``The Lumily's Mission For Haiti Inc. Variety Store is a thrift store we
opened with donations we received from friends and families.''
Lumily's mission is to build a facility in Haiti to help the poor and
the sick,Mathelier said. The organization will provide social service
help, and medical,nutritional and educational aid to poor children on
the island.Medical equipment, food and money are also needed for the
operation in Haiti.Donations to the group are tax deductible.
Last year, months after the island was devastated by a hurricane,
Mathelier flew to Haiti to distribute goods to children and their
families. This year, with the thrift store, she said she hoped the group
would be in better shape to cope with the hurricane season on the
island.``We all know every year it's the same story: hurricanes
devastate our homeland.We need to be ready,'' said Mathelier, a
registered nurse who co-founded the nonprofit group with her daughter,
Emily Mathelier.The Matheliers have used their own money to pay for the
operation's rent and utilities.The group is now trying to reach out to
the entire South Florida community,asking for help to support its thrift
store.``It is not easy to find people to give us money for our ongoing
relief services,''Mathelier said. ``That's why we're opening the thrift
store. People who do not have money can give their goods. We can sell
them and use that money for our relief services.''