From left to right are Joel and Florence Lissade and Joan Haviland at a previous Friends of Borgne fundraiser. Photo by Kathi Barry Albertini
By Erica Bryant
Buying a hearty bowl of soup at the March 5th Sister Cities “Soup’s On” fundraiser will benefit people in Honeoye Falls’ sister city of Borgne, Haiti.
This is a major fundraiser for the Friends of Borgne, a local group that supports a variety of programs in Borgne, from a soup kitchen, to school scholarships, to musical bands and a mobile library.
The need is great in Haiti right now, as the result of unrest and the lingering effects of the pandemic. Hunger there is the highest it has been in decades and the United Nations has reported “catastrophic” levels of hunger for tens of thousands of people. Inflation is surpassing 25 percent and gas can cost more than $50 a gallon.
Funds raised from the soup fundraiser will help feed the children the Friends of Borgne sponsors with school scholarships, as well as paying the salaries of teachers at schools in and around Borgne, who would otherwise not be paid.
Friends of Borgne is also collecting instruments, particularly brass instruments, for a community band in Borgne. About 10 years ago, Friends of Borgne collected instruments that allowed Borgne to start a band that has become a great source of community joy. More instruments are needed and donations can be dropped off at the soup fundraiser.
The fundraiser offers drive-thru style pickup on Sunday, March 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mendon Community Center, 167 N Main St, Honeoye Falls. Soups will be sold in 32 oz containers for $10 each and will come with Hawaiian rolls. Soups include broccoli cheese, lentil, white bean and olive, west African sweet potato, butternut pear, pasta e fragioli, red saw mill chili, taco soup, split pea with ham, mushroom and Haitian soup. People who can not attend but would like to make a donation can mail checks to PO Box 486 Honeoye Falls, NY 14472.
This marks the fourteenth year of Honeoye Falls and Borgne’s sister city partnership. Learn more at https://friendsofborgnehaiti.org/giving/
