First of all, thanks to all of you who donated money or purchased Haitian crafts from Tesoros Trading Company's retail and wholesale operations, of which 100% of the sales has already gone to several non-profit organizations as listed below. Tesoros has been able to donate over $100,000 to Haitian relief and recovery efforts. Your participation and concern has been overwhelming.

Thank you!!

Total Donations made to:

Partners in Health- $16,100.00
AmeriCares- $5,000.00
American Red Cross- $400.00
Artisan Grants Initiative (Vital Edge Fund)- $5,000.00
Bellingham-Hispaniola Solidarity Project- $100.00
Donations made to Artisans Supplying Tesoros - Rara- $2,500.00
Donations made to Artisans Supplying Tesoros - Caribbean Craft- $2,500.00
Caribbean Craft School Fee Program, 2010- $900.00
Caribbean Craft Meal Program- $1,000.00
Emergency Shelters for Artisans of Leogane- $15,000.00
Hand/Eye Donation "In Honor of Carol Ross"- $500.00
Caribbean Craft School Fee Program, 2011- $600.00
The University of Texas Haiti Photo Exhibit - $3,000.00
Rice University Grant Sponsorship - $1,800

Proceeds from Sales of Haitian Hearts donated to Hand Eye Fund

• June 2010 $2,155.50
• July 2010 $1,747.75
• August 2010 $1,081.00
• September 2010 $3,535.38
• October 2010 $10,282.30
• November 2010 $6,192.00
• December 2010 $9,932.88
• January 2011 $6,829.63
• February 2011 $5,844.58
• March 2011 $1,955.00
• April 2011 $1,887.63
• May 2011 $2,044.38
• June 2011 $1,761.25
• July 2011 $1,177.32
• August 2011 $11,288.34
• September 2011 $10,841.13
  

Total Donations by Tesoros Trading Company to Date: $135,940.07

Additional Funds Raised by Tesoros Trading Company and friends
Money raised benefits the Hand Eye Fund for Artisan Grants. For more information please visit www.handeye.org.

Santa Fe International Folk Art Market Sales $31,983.07
Individual Donations $645.00

Total Additional Funds Raised: $32,628.07


Totals as of October 1st, 2011: $168,568.14

 

 

October, 2010

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The tiny village of Cormier, located in the rural area east of Port au Prince was close to the epicenter of the earthquake. The majority of the families in Cormier earn a living by handcarving the local stone. In Mid-October, Jonathan Williams traveled there with head of the Hand Eye Fund, Keith Recker, to view the emergency shelters constructed their last Spring by the Fund to replace homes that had collapsed in the quake. While there the Hand Eye Fund met with the community and decided to help with an ambitious project of constructing permanent, earthquake, and hurricane proof homes in the traditional Creole architectural style of the area. Your purchases of Haitian crafts will help make these plans a reality.

 

 

March, 2010

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Although Tesoros' commitment of donating 100% of its sales of Haitian products ended February 1st, we will continue to work closely with many Haitian artisans as they recover. But Haiti needs more help, for many months to come. With this in mind we would also like to re-direct your generosity to another effort that we have been involved with. Our friend Jenny Dubin, also from Austin now living in New York, works as a producer for 60 Minutes. She is coordinating an immediate impact effort to get more tents/sleeping bags to Haiti. She co-produced a 60 Minutes segment on Haiti immediately after the quake and has seen first hand the devastation. As the rainy season is around the corner, the need is even greater for tents, which are better than the tarps that many Haitians are now still living under. Maggie Steber, another transplanted Austinite, permitted us to use some of her incredible photographs of current conditions in Haiti.

Jenny was able to get Dr. Phil to help kick off her tent campaign a couple of weeks ago. As a private citizen, Jenny facilitated the donation of 260 tents which were carried on President Clinton's plane last week to Haiti. Through Jenny's efforts Partners in Health has purchased an additional 130 tents with roughly $14,800 raised. In addition, she will be moving more than 1000 sleeping bags and hopefully some 1400 sleeping pads that are being donated as well. Most of these will go to children who lost one or both parents in the quake. This new camp will be called Oasis 1.

Now Jenny is trying to raise more funds to supply about 300 tents for artists and artisans that have been individually identified as in need in Haiti. If you are able to continue donating, please go to her Partners in Health (PIH) website, the non-profit that will accept the donations and assure that Jenny's effort is fulfilled in Haiti. Tesoros donated most of the money from its sales to PIH, a non-profit organization that is very widely respected both inside and outside of Haiti.
Please help this effort if you can. Kisla and I believe that tents are the next critical need for the Haitians and we can personally assure you that your contributions will be well used by Partners in Health.

Thank you all for your help.
Jonathan Williams / Kisla Jimenez

October, 2009

Artisan Members of Rara, February 6, 2010 / Photo by Frederic Bellande