Project Report
| Sep 15, 2014
Trick or Treat for Haiti
By Tom Arsenault | Overseas Manager
![Decorated buckets will be at 100 collection points]()
Decorated buckets will be at 100 collection points
It is getting quite exciting at Tools For Empowerment as we get into full swing at the refurbishing center. Tools continue to come in from that one tool drive at the Holy Trinity Catholic Church in May and the workshop is pretty well operational now. We are getting all types of tools from hammers to cement mixers to lawnmowers. Anything that is not practical to send to a developing country we sell to help offset expenses. We are starting to make up tool kits from what we already have received and so we are getting closer to changing the lives of families in Haiti.
We are really excited about another tool drive in the works called Trick or Treat for Tools. Home Depot donated 100 of their orange buckets and we have volunteers decorating them. The volunteers will place them in Churches, Schools, and Businesses where each one will be the drop off point and catalyst for a tool drive at that location. We expect a good response from this and it goes until October 31st. Regardless of how many tools we get, we still need the funds to run the workshop and ship containers.
Please remember what this project is all about. It’s about helping young Haitians get a leg up and improve their chances for employment. It’s about changing lives – making a real difference - in a very tangible way. Your donation is truly appreciated.
Go ahead – make a difference – change a life - give generously.
Thank you,
Tom Arsenault
![Tools For Empowerment Workshop]()
Tools For Empowerment Workshop
![Generous donors make our work possible]()
Generous donors make our work possible
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Jun 25, 2014
Exciting Birth of Tools For Empowerment
By Tom Arsenault | Program Manager
![Putting Up The Sign]()
Putting Up The Sign
Imagine graduating from Vocational Schooml in Haiti with all the excitement and expectations it brings. Finally someone in the family will be earning money so they can eat regularly. As you go out looking for work, time and time again you hear, "Do you have tools? No tools - no work." It seems like such a cruel joke to hear this after two years of studying. You are now devastated and depressed.
Tools For Empowerrment is changing that by providing a tool kit for each graduate of Don Bosco Vocational Schools in Haiti. That tool box contains more than tools. It also has hope, happiness and self-confidence.
We are now just about fininshed geting the workshop set up and have already had a successful tool drive at Holy Trininty Church. They have been more than supportive at Holy Trininty. We have a $1000 special pickup truck we are using locally for tool pick ups. We are planning tool drives at some of the other churches in town.
Your support for this project is very critical. Remember, this is not about saving the tools. This is about empowering people living in poverty to become a productive part of society. Its about supporting young people that have made the effort to study for two years. Its about helping a young man start his own business and maybe even hire his brother to help. Yes, its about changing lives not saving tools. Please invest in us because we are doing good things.
Thank you.
Tom Arsenault
![TFE Truck for Local Tool Pick up]()
TFE Truck for Local Tool Pick up
![Large Donation]()
Large Donation
![Workshop in Progress]()
Workshop in Progress
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Feb 20, 2014
Tools For Empowerment - Investing In Youth
By T. Arsenault | Overseas Program Manager
Our focus on this project is youth in Haiti and providing them with the tools for success. A toolbox full of tools will radically change a young entrepreneur’s life by allowing them to function as a productive part of their community. The whole family benefits from that one person’s income. It’s amazing what a few tools can do.
We have found a location for the work of refurbishing and repurposing tools into trade tool kits for Haiti. We have begun the process of looking for the tool donations and recruiting volunteers to make it happen. The number of volunteers will determine how fast we are able to get the first container out.
Besides needing more donations, we need people to conduct tool drives. If you live near Atlanta, please consider doing a tool drive. It’s easy and most folks are happy to get their garage cleaned out. Just contact us (A Self-help Assistance Program) for more information. Thanks.
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