In a tip-of-the-helmet to his roots, a young NFL star gives back to earthquake-ravaged Haiti with the help of Northwest Haiti Christian Mission

By Andy Olsen

January 27, 2010

Indianapolis, IN — There are two things swirling in the chilled air here these days: Frosted breath, and chatter thick as snow about the Colts’ upcoming Super Bowl appearance.

Pierre Garcon is a wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts. Photo by Andy Olsen / NWHCM staff

But Indianapolis Colts receiver Pierre Garcon has also had warmer places on his mind lately.

Garcon, a young up-and-comer and the son of Haitian parents, is partnering with Northwest Haiti Christian Mission to provide food and disaster relief for hundreds of hungry people in Haiti, the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country.

NWHCM and Garcon are appealing for $150,000 to provide disaster relief and more than 500,000 meals to needy families in some of Haiti’s most distressed communities. Roughly half of Haitians live on less than a dollar a day, and nearly 25 percent of Haitian children suffer from chronic malnutrition. After the Jan. 12 earthquake, this need has increased drastically.

Garcon is keenly aware of his family’s homeland. His mother, born in Haiti, came to southern Florida and worked in the cane fields to support her family of five as a widow. Pierre grew up catching footballs and speaking both Creole and English.

“Helping people to see where I come from and see what I’ve gone through and see what my family’s gone through, and how we’ve made it out of it, to go back and help people and give other people opportunities to do as well as I did — it’s an important thing to me,” Garcon said in an interview. “There’s a lot of people back there still struggling, and that could easily be me.”

Garcon’s family hails from Léogane, a town in Haiti west of Port-au-Prince that was among the most devastated communities in the country. It sits roughly 10 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake that killed an estimated 150,000 people or more.

Through the nascent Pierre Garcon Helping Hands Foundation, Garcon is flexing his social consciousness to give back to others the same sort of support he received from his mother and his community.

NWHCM will use its logistics network to transport the donated meals to Haiti — the food is a nutrient-rich mixture of rice and beans that is specially formulated for undernourished people and can be cooked using local methods. Garcon plans to travel to Haiti for three days in the spring to help distribute the food to schools, orphanages and outreach programs in Port-au-Prince, Léogane, and Haiti’s northwest zone.

“Northwest has a great history of helping Haiti. They are very well connected in the Haitian community,” Garcon said. “They do a lot of great things, and so this is a great fit.”

To give toward the Pierre Garcon Hope Project, please click here. No gift is too small, and all contributions will go directly toward helping those with the most need.

To make contributions by check, make checks out to: NWHCM, P.O. Box 829, Versailles, KY 40383. Please write “Pierre Garcon Hope Project” in the memo.

Northwest Haiti Christian Mission is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that aims to rescue others from hardship, restore families and communities to wholeness, and redeem lives to their full potential in Jesus’ name. For more than 30 years, NWHCM has demonstrated its commitment to help bring people out of spiritual, physical and social poverty.

Visit Pierre Garcon’s website: www.pierregarconlive.com

For inquiries about NWHCM’s partnership with Pierre Garcon, please contact:

Cameron Mayhill, NWHCM Director of Development
(317) 289-9202
cameron.mayhill@nwhcm.org

How to Help

Text Message Giving
Support Pierre Garcon and his assistance to Haiti by texting “Support PG85″ to 20222. Your text will provide a gift of $5 to Pierre’s work there and will be charged to your monthly cell phone bill.

A one-time donation of $5 will be added to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Messaging and Data Rates May Apply. All charges are billed by and payable to your mobile service provider. Service is available on most carriers. Donations are collected for the benefit of the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission by the Mobile Giving Foundation and subject to the terms found at www.hmgf.org/t. You can unsubscribe at any time by replying STOP to short code PG85 Reply HELP to PG85 for help.

Online Giving
Give online now to support Pierre’s Haiti relief.

Other News

January 25, 2010 — Pierre Garcon Accepts $21,115 to Help Haiti

Indianapolis Colts receiver Pierre Garcon accepted more than $21,115 in donations today from “Hoosiers Helping Haitians” during a presentation by Entercom Indianapolis radio stations, the result of a two-week radio fundraising campaign.

Pierre Garcon (left) stands with NWHCM Director of Development Cameron Mayhill at the Indianapolis press conference on Jan. 25. Photo courtesy Scott Sands

Entercom Indianapolis radio stations WXNT-AM “Fox News/Talk 1430 WXNT,” WNTR-FM “my1079,” and WZPL-FM “Z99.5” organized the campaign after a devastating earthquake ravaged the island nation of Haiti on Jan. 12.

All money will directly benefit Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, on behalf of Pierre Garcon’s Helping Hands Foundation. Garcon, the son of Haitian parents, has partnered with NWHCM to provide food and disaster relief for hundreds of people in Haiti.

January 14, 2010 Earthquake Relief Interview

Click here to listen to Pierre’s interview on WZPL in Indianapolis talking about his work to support NWHCM in their earthquake relief efforts.

Tags: News_DisasterRelief, News_General

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