First of all, a hearty thank you to our donors, participants, and supporters for a successful poker tournament!  Your combined generosity helped us raise $3,450 for our on-going ]]> Let’s see…where to start?  Some good news, some not so good, and what’s next…

First of all, a hearty thank you to our donors, participants, and supporters for a successful poker tournament!  Your combined generosity helped us raise $3,450 for our on-going endeavors in Haiti.  And of course, congratulations to our evening’s big winner, who was awarded a 3-bottle vertical flight of Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet.  Given the enthusiastic response, we hope to repeat this event in the near future, so stay tuned!

Additionally, we were named a top 25 contributor to ebay’s Giving Works program for July 2010!  This recognition was in response to the $8,900 we raised for Massachusetts General Hospital’s MindLink Foundation by auctioning a classic 1986 Pontiac Trans-Am muscle car.  Here is what Lorrie Norrington, President of ebay Marketplaces had to say…”Every month, eBay community members donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to great causes when they buy and sell on eBay. Last month you were one of the most generous. Thank you!  With your help the eBay Community raised $3,149,015 for charity last month. We truly appreciate your philanthropic spirit and applaud how you embody what makes the eBay community so special.”

On the downside, the funding we had hoped was eminent for our proposed expansion and major repairs at the Haitian Community Hospital in Port Au Prince, Haiti remains in question.  Our partner in this endeavor, the Real Medicine Foundation has aligned a consortium of three strong private hospitals in Haiti and is vigorously pursuing substantial funding to support on-going operations, as well as our major construction work.  Unfortunately, like many things in Haiti, this opportunity appears to be bogging down in the hot political debates over control of reconstruction funds.  We remain hopeful that a solution will materialize, but it does not appear to be the clean elegant model of a private donor that we had hoped.  We’ll keep you posted!

Of course the Haitian Community Hospital has not been our only focus in Haiti and business and philanthropic opportunities continue to present themselves.  We will certainly advise as we get traction with other projects.  In the meantime, in order to keep the lights, put bread on the table, buy Momma a new pair of shoes, etc., we are engaged in multiple commercial and residential projects in the US, including Shell retail petroleum work for Circle K in KY, IN, and PA, residential projects in VA and WI, and supply chain consulting work in TN and NJ.

There’s still room for a few more players in this coming Saturday’s charity poker tournament!  If you can make it to the Washington, DC area, come join us as we play for prizes and share stories from Haiti.  All proceeds ]]>

There’s still room for a few more players in this coming Saturday’s charity poker tournament!  If you can make it to the Washington, DC area, come join us as we play for prizes and share stories from Haiti.  All proceeds from the evening go to support Rainmaker’s construction work at the Haitian Community Hospital in Port au Prince.  We’re hoping to return to Haiti in late July to continue our work, so your support is desparately needed…

The team spent most of Saturday rebuilding our basecamp atop the Haitian Community Hospital.  The ]]> A temporary generator is up and running, I see a patch of blue skies and a window of opportunity to post this blog update from Haiti!

The team spent most of Saturday rebuilding our basecamp atop the Haitian Community Hospital.  The heat, extreme rains and heavy winds certainly took a toll on the camp.  Today we provided what repair we can to the Physical Therapy canopy we installed last month.  This further reinforces the need for a permanent solution.

Yesterday we completed a thorough study and analysis of the existing hospital as well as the 20,000 sq ft expansion for which we are currently seeking funding.  The expansion will increase the patient bed count from 75 to 210 and can be completed by mid-summer next year.

The abundance of garbage still remain and serve as a constant reminder of the living conditions here and the tremendous opportunity available to make a difference.  Recycling continues to be a viable solution that will create a lasting impact for generations.

Sunrise on the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City finds me 12 hours removed from the Rainmaker team in Port au Prince.  As some are likely expecting to hear updates from their return to Haitian Community Hospital, I thought ]]>

Sunrise on the Saigon River in Ho Chi Minh City finds me 12 hours removed from the Rainmaker team in Port au Prince.  As some are likely expecting to hear updates from their return to Haitian Community Hospital, I thought I would relay the following excerpts from a Brad Clinkingbeard 5/21 e-mail…

Team,

Doug and I are safely back at the Haitian Hilton.  Hospital is without power again today.  Both generators have gone down and need to be taken out of here for repairs.  We’ll likely be without power for days and don’t have an Internet connection.

The tents are in need of repair.  The heavy rains, blazing heat and heavy winds have taken their toll over the past month.

 It’s been pouring for the past 2 hours and I’m hanging in the tent.  

Our basecamp blue awning is mostly down.   Beef jerky and cliff bar for dinner.

Big meeting Sat @ 10 with potential funding source.  The lack of electricity and reliance on the generators which aren’t working should demonstrate the need.

Out for now.  It’s cooled off with the rain and should sleep good tonight!

Sent from my iPhone…

Brad Clinkingbeard