Franklin-based Restore Haiti helping children in impoverished country, seeking additional sponsorships

As director of development for the Franklin-based nonprofit Restore Haiti, Reynold Yordy realizes success doesn’t happen overnight. 

Progress isn’t measured in increments of time. It’s a process of patience, of a faith that a difference will ultimately be made in the lives of children growing up in the hardships of Haiti.

“It’s definitely not a mission for you to look and say we’re going to see change tomorrow,” Yordy said. “You’ve got to have a heart and go, ‘this is the long play.’ But we believe the long way will change not just the individuals but also the country. 

“My theme for the organization lately has been ‘changed lives change lives.’ … It’s a cascading effect, in that one changed life changes another which changes another. It’s all about the long game.”

Restore Haiti, which had its beginnings in 2007 and was officially registered as a 501c3 organization three years later by Franklin resident Philip Peters, provides meals, education and basic health needs to students in Haiti. 

This is done through sponsorships, mostly from individuals, families and churches. More than 650 students have been sponsored over the past decade, and nearly 70 of those have reached the university level in their education.

“It’s been an interesting past couple of years,” Yordy said. “There are a bunch of younger kids in elementary and secondary. We’ve been following their paths, and now it’s getting them into trade school, in university, watching them get married, have kids.”

Sitting in a Franklin coffee shop recently, Yordy cited a few statistics that help to reveal the challenges faced by youth in Haiti. Only 30 percent of the kids there will reach sixth grade and only 22 percent will go beyond that level in school. 

Eighty percent of Haitian children in orphanages have at least one parent who is still living, illustrating how many families are so impoverished there that they can’t afford to raise their own children.

Perhaps the most striking number that Yordy shared is that more than half (53 percent) of the Haitian population are youth 24 years old and younger.

“We need to focus on those youth,” he said, “to get them educated, get them in jobs and roles where they can really make a difference in their country, so they can start to see a change.”

Nash Painting lights the way for business sponsorships

In order for Restore Haiti to make a bigger difference in the country of more than 11.5 million, Yordy said there’s a need for more companies and large organizations to get involved. Franklin-based Nash Painting can be seen as a pioneer of sorts as a company stepping up to help in sponsorships.

The residential and commercial painting company has been active with Restore Haiti for about eight years, and is currently running a promotion to help even more. Since Jan. 1 and running through March 31, Nash Painting will sponsor one critical needs child for a year for every painting job completed. All the customer needs to do is mention “Restore Haiti.”

“Let’s take these kids who have been supported and let them change their community, their city, their country,” Bill Nishanian, owner of Nash Painting, said of the impact from Restore Haiti. “I know a lot of the people on staff at Restore Haiti, and they all have a heart for it; they’re in it for the kids. 

“If what we’re doing could inspire other companies to do the same thing, the opportunities that Restore Haiti would have to transform a country are limitless. If they had a larger budget, they could reach more cities, they could reach more children, they could put more kids through university. Perhaps in the next decade or two, you could see a thriving republic.”

Nash Painting’s involvement is beneficial for Restore Haiti in two ways, according to Yordy.

“When Bill came to us,” Yordy said, “I looked at it as a great opportunity for awareness for our organization but also the financial assistance for these kids. So I’d love to see other businesses with the same heart as Nash Painting to get involved in what we’re doing.”

Learn more about sponsoring a child by going here. 

Click here to find more information on working with Nash Painting on your next project and how that help to sponsor a critical needs child.