The Fundraising Begins

     The passport in hand, Jaclyn and Autumn sat down to figure out how to raise the needed funds to get Louvenet to the United States and pay for his first year of private schooling.....oh....and to find a school that would enroll him!! 
     First, they thought he could enroll into the community college here in Everett.  After looking into that option, they realized that Louvenet would benefit from a smaller, more personal school.   They began to research private high schools.  They found Grace Academy, which fortunately, was just down the street from their homes.  Making an appointment, they talked with the principle and realized that this could be Louvenet's school.  The school needed Louvenet to take some tests to see what class he would start in.  Jaclyn and Autumn had a friend, Leah, they met on their first visit to Haiti, who was taking another trip in Aug.  She's a school teacher..and she agreed to give Louvenet the tests.  With this hurtle cleared....on to the fund raising.
     The first fund raiser was at their work place.  They had a bake sale.....very delicious...and they raised $600.  Many of their co-workers baked their most scrumcious goodies to sell!   Autumn made a beautiful fund raising thermometer and colored in the six hundred dollars...it did not make much of a dent in the needed  $15,900 for tuition, applications fees and flights to and from Haiti.
    The second fund raiser this summer was a car wash.  Thank goodness it was a warm day...not that we have had many this summer.  Jaclyn was in New Orleans for work, but Autumn gathered her family around her and washed her heart out!!  They raised $430 that sunny Sunday!

Autumn washing the vehicle spotless!

     The funnest fund raiser this summer had to be the Wine Tasting at the Marysville Wine Styles. (Fun for all participants that is!!)  They had a huge turn out....more than they thought would come!  Even King 5 Television was there, with their cameras rolling!  Jaclyn was very poised when speaking in front of the camera....we made the 6 o'clock news. Found out Jaclyn's favorite adjective is "jubilant".  That afternoon, over $900 was raised!!! 

Jaclyn, Tricia (blog author), Rebecca and Dean toasting to a great fund raiser!!

    The most time consuming fund raiser was definitely the garage sale.  Jaclyn and Autumn put the word out that they were looking for donations for a garage sale.....and boy, did they get some donations.  Autumn's husband had to move his truck out of the garage (which he was not too pleased about!!) just to store all the items.  More and more kept pouring in.  A MD that the women worked with opened his storage unit and gave enough ski equipment to outfit the US Olympic ski team!  Multiple people volunteered their time to help price and sort all the items.  The weekend before the garage sale, they thought they had gone through most of the donations........but more came in.  The weekend of the garage sale came...and of course, because it is the summer of the NorthWest....it rained!!  But still, they raised over $2100!!

    The next fundraiser is going to be a Lunch-a-thon at work.....multiple crock pots with delicious soups and some yummy rolls to fill our stomachs!

    This summer has been very busy with all kinds of activities.  Still have a way to go to cover all expenses, but tuition is almost covered.....anyone know philanthropist who wants a new cause?

The First year

    After Jaclyn and Autumn returned home, they had so many stories and experiences to share with us.  The ones that came up the most were about Louvenet.  Both women were dedicated to their promise to help bring Louvenet to the United States for school.  From Feb 2009 to Dec 2009, there were many phone calls and text messages between the three of them. 
    The mountains of paper work needed to apply for a passport for Louvenet was overwhelming.  At one point, Jaclyn and Autumn consulted with a lawyer just to get a handle on what was needed to bring Louvenet into the US.  Finally, the paperwork was complete, money sent to Haiti for payments of passport, and the missionary couple took Louvenet and his parents into Port-au-Prince to apply for it.
    Jaclyn and Autumn were planning another mission trip to Northern Haiti on January 20th, 2010.  Before they could go, Haiti experienced a 7.0 magnitude earthquake centered around Port-au-Prince on January 12th.  The city was in ruin.  There were no airlines flying into the country, no communication out of the country.  They didn't know if Louvenet and his family were OK.  Several days later, they were contacted by Louvenet.  His family was fine.  Even his brother who lived in Port-au-Prince was not hurt.  The best news was he had received his passport in the days just before the earthquake!  What a miracle that was.  Because now, the embassy was in rubble.
     Jaclyn was determined to get to Haiti to help.  She got into contact with Smile Train, a non profit medical organization, and flew into Port-au-Prince two times to work at a small hospital with the survivors of the earthquake.  She was not able to see Louvenet during this time.  Travel between north and south Haiti is very treacherous.  She stayed in Port-au-Prince for both weeks.  Once back in the USA, Jaclyn and Autumn began their planning to raise money to provide tuition, flights and living expenses for Louvenet......(to be continued ....)

Autumn, Jaclyn and Louvenet tiling the hospital

How Louvenet's adventure Begins.

January 2009, Jaclyn Owings and Autumn Kostelecky traveled to Haiti on a medical mission trip.  This was Jaclyn's 2nd mission trip and Autumn's first.  They were excited about all the experiences they would have together.  What they didn't expect was to meet an exceptional young boy, who's dream would change their lives.  Louvenet Fertilus is a 16 yrs old boy, who has a great dream.  He wants to become a doctor and return to his country and care for his people.  He has taught himself English, using an English/creole dictionary.  He continues to excel in school, when most boys his age are working and have quit going to school.  Autumn and Jaclyn were approached by a missionary couple, who asked if they could help Louvenet come to the United States to go to school......and so their adventure begins.