Saxophonist Godwin Louis is organizing a relief and aid trip to his native Port au Prince, Haiti, to deliver goods, food, and music to people most affected by hurricane Matthew. Joining him is a group of New York filmmakers, journalists from NY times and Downbeat, musicians including pianist Aaron Goldberg and bassist Michael Feinberg, and educators from NYU. The purpose of this trip are three fold: First, to advocate for the people of Haiti who are still suffering after the devastation of yet another massive natural disaster. Second, to deliver goods, school supplies, food, first aid, and music equipment to individuals and communities affected by the hurricane without allocating funds to NGOs or other organizations that are unable to donate 100% of their contributions. Third, to perform free concerts across the country to give some much needed entertainment and time off from worrying about the day to day struggles of rebuilding post Matthew. New York Jazz Academy is happy to help sponsor this significant trip.
 
The group will embark for Haiti on December 27 and return on the 31st. There will be 3 concerts sponsored by the Haiti Jazz Foundation, College Louis Joseph Javier, and Leglise Du Dieu Vivant, which is one of the largest churches in Port Au Prince and is run by Godwin’s father.
 
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and has very little infrastructure in dealing with natural disasters. Also, many of the aid NGOs have massive costs to run their organizations so the money that could be spent on Haitians is spent in organization costs. Godwin is Haitian, his family is Haitian and he knows the Haitian people, therefore he knows first hand how and where to deliver goods. The group is currently raising money as well as school supplies, toiletries, first aid, and music supplies to bring to Haiti. If you are interested in donating to this cause please visit www.gofundme.com/volunteer-trip-and-goods-for-haiti.
 
Every dollar helps and we are already over $1,000 in just over one month!
 
You can also reach Michael Feinberg by email if you have goods you would like to donate. Contact us at NYJA for more information.