Solar Batteries, Clothing, Soap, Toothpaste, and more!
The world’s biggest day of generosity will be recognized for nonprofit organizations on Tuesday, November 29th, and we are reaching out to our Source of Life friends and supporters to consider helping us raise funds needed to purchase new batteries for our solar power and prepare a clothing fund for 2023. Purchasing clothing and supplies in Haiti requires an additional $10,000 beyond our budget. Our goal is to raise a total of $15,000 between Giving Tuesday and the end of 2022. It would be a blessing for SLM to start 2023 with the funds needed for batteries, clothing & supplies. Would you ask God what He will enable you to do?
Solar Batteries
A couple of months ago, our children’s home began to lose power overnight. Our children’s home normally has electricity 24/7 from a system of solar panels, batteries, and inverters. A local technician checked the system and determined that the batteries (purchased in 2017) had finished their life! Thus the home began only to have power while the sun is shining.
Locating new batteries to purchase has been very difficult. Due to the lack of safety for vendors, they seem not to be transporting batteries beyond Port-au-Prince. Our staff finally contacted a man in PaP who located the same type of batteries needed and current prices. We believe that we will need a minimum of $5,000 to purchase and install the batteries.
Clothing, Soap, Toothpaste and more!
When the “door” for safe travel to Haiti closed four years ago, it affected our ministry at Source of Life in many ways. Jacques found two windows of opportunity to make brief trips to the home in 2019. But you may remember that he and Pastor Vern had to be evacuated by helicopter from Gressier on one of those visits! In the three and a half years since the children have not seen Papi Jacques. Certainly, they miss him, and he misses them!
Teams have not been able to visit the home since October 2018. One change, as a result, is the way the children are supplied with clothing, soap, toothpaste, and other supplies. The expenses for clothing and supplies have never been part of the SLM annual budget. When teams could travel to the children’s homes, their luggage was always full of clothing and supplies. Churches and individuals donated items, and Jacques and Marie shopped at local second-hand stores, then visiting teams transported everything in their luggage. Occasionally a container was packed with supplies and transported by ship. Since we cannot safely travel or send shipments to Haiti, everything has to be purchased in Haiti at prices that are often 3x the prices in the U.S.!
Please consider this message as a “heads-up” before Giving Tuesday. Although donations are welcome anytime, we will officially start the fundraiser by posting it on Facebook on November 29th and will continue updating you as the fundraiser continues til December 31st.
God bless you for all you do for the children and the ministry of Source of Life!
Jacques Merine
Director, Source of Life Ministries
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Ways to give:
Both one-time donations and monthly donations will help. Please do not think that any amount is too small. Every $5 donation will help us prepare for the coming year and continue providing for the nineteen children and staff members at our safe home!
✅ Use the donate button on our website at www.sourceoflifeministries.com. The button appears on the top right corner of every page on our website. When you donate through the website, please note “for 2023 supplies” in the box labeled, “Comment/Project Designation.”
After donating, please immediately send a private Facebook message or email sherry@sourceoflifeministries.com to tell us 3 things:
* whether your gift was one-time -or- a recurring pledge,
* the $AMOUNT of your gift and
* METHOD (Facebook, Website, or Mail) of your gift.
This will make it possible for us to post updates on Facebook, showing the total pledges to date.
✅ By check or money order to: TSM/Source of Life Ministries, c/o Jacques Merine, Founder, P.O. Box 96, Hanover, PA 17331. Please note “for 2023 supplies” on the memo line.
After donating, please immediately send a private Facebook message or email sherry@sourceoflifeministries.com to tell us 3 things:
* whether your gift was one-time -or- a recurring pledge,
* the $AMOUNT of your gift and
* METHOD (Facebook, Website, or Mail) of your gift.
This will allow us to post updates on Facebook, showing the total pledges to date.
✅ Use the donate button attached to our Facebook post. Note: Facebook takes NO fees from these donations. As soon as you give, Facebook will respond to you with a thank-you and a receipt for income tax purposes. Facebook will notify us of the total amounts given, but we do not receive a break-down of the names and amounts. No separate receipt can be sent by SLM.
Another important way to help:
We need you to share this message with your family & friends. You can send it through email or share it on your Facebook page. When you share the message with others, please add a brief message about your love for this ministry. If you share it on Facebook, we suggest waiting until our Facebook fundraiser is live on Giving Tuesday. It will help if you copy and paste our heading and first several paragraphs when your share it on your page.