From June 14 through June 21, fourteen U.S. volunteers traveled to Haiti to volunteer at the new Orphanage, to deliver supplies, and to conduct follow-up medical examinations of all of the children.

The children are in good health and good spirits. The Orphanage population will remain low until we can move the children into the new building. Haitians are back on their feet and displaying their entrepreneurial spirit, with small kiosks lining the streets. Unfortunately, tent cities are still everywhere, along with earthquake rubble and tilting buildings. In a casual conversation with a waiter, you find out that he and his twin brother are the only ones remaining alive out of an extended family of parents and numerous siblings.

The new Orphanage will provide a haven from the overcrowding and the unsanitary conditions of downtown Port-au-Prince. In the new Orphanage, the children will grow their own produce, raise chickens, use solar energy, and learn the building trades which will be in demand in Haiti for years to come. Eventually, there will be a school on the Orphanage grounds, as well as a community medical clinic.

Board Physician Update
During our most recent visit, we collected data on the growth of all of the children. We will use this to begin maintaining medical records for each child. We plan to develop robust medical records through frequent communication with the nurse, Francoise, who sees and cares for the kids daily. In addition to heights and weights, we will begin documenting and evaluating gross and fine motor skill development as well as language and social skill development. This will help us identify any problems early and allow us to address them.
- Dr. Rachael Winston

Fund-Raising Report
The Board members of Foyer de Sion, Inc. are increasing their efforts to host fundraisers across the USA in hopes of raising enough funds to finish the new Orphanage. We have four large fundraisers, two firesides, and multiple media interviews scheduled for the next few months to aid in this process. Any assistance with our heightened efforts would be greatly welcomed and appreciated.

Please contact Monica Skopec, Treasurer of the Foyer de Sion, Inc., at (916) 220‑6815 to get involved. There are many ways we could use your help!

We are pleased to announce the “2010 Foyer de Sion Family Reunion” for families that have adopted children from Foyer De Sion.

Come enjoy a wonderful weekend reuniting with our Foyer families and friends! The annual Foyer Reunion will be held at Cherry Hill Water Park, Family Fun Center and Camping Resort, in Kaysville, Utah

Mark your calendars! Festivities in the Applewood Pavilion at Cherry Hill
Friday, July 9th, 12:00pm – 10:00pm; lunch & dinner, mini-classes, games, socializing
Saturday, July 10th, 8:00am – 10:30am; breakfast then enjoy the park

Not only will we have a great time reuniting our families but you can also enjoy the fun at Cherry Hill. Check out Cherry Hill’s website at www.cherry-hill.com
They have an entire water park you can enjoy plus other activities. Our group receives a discount for the water park. Camping is available right on the premises too. Make this a part of your vacation this summer!

Reunion ticket price: $10.00 per person or $50.00 per family for all 3 meals
RSVP by June 25th – Judie Sedrick, judies@ohanaventures.net or (208)941-2051

Under the direction of Amy Delaney, a French teacher, Allison Parrett - ELL Teacher of St. Charles West High School and Stevenson and Wideland Coleman former children of Foyer de Sion, they have adopted Foyer de Sion as an on-going student project. The students, faculty and community of St. Charles West High School have rallied together to raise over $1,400 for Foyer De Sion.

The first school activity was called  “Change for Haiti.”  Some of the French students and others made signs and we advertised bringing in your spare change.  The made several announcements throughout the week about bringing in your change.  They had tons of kids bring in their change buckets from home and donate.  The even had a dress down day for faculty and to dress down, we made a donation.  To get everyone involved and excited they announced how much they made at the pep assembly. When the took the change to the bank the clerks were overwhelmed as it took a few days to count the money.  The total then was $1406.26.

Just goes to show how far a little change can go!

The timing couldn’t be better as we are sending additional supplies to the orphanage. While the earthquake has lost focus in the media we appreciate that the needs of the children are still in the hearts and minds of the students of St. Charles West High School.

  Pictured above Mrs. Parrett (ELL teacher, left),  Stevenson, and Mrs. Amy Delaney (French Teacher, right).  The check amount was the total until someone donated more.

A special thanks to your hard work and love for the children of Haiti!

Women and young women aged 12-18 years gathered from three LDS wards in the Menlo Park Stake, Palo Alto 1st, Palo Alto 2nd, and Stanford 2nd, for a joint Relief Society Service Project.  Close to 200 women came from 9am-12pm to work on their choice of 8 different service projects.

One of the projects was making t-shirt dresses for Foyer de Sion.  All of the t-shirts and most of the fabric were donated by members of the three wards.  In that short time, we were able to complete a total of 80 dresses for the orphanage.  Many of the women commented how wonderful it felt to work together to complete such a worthwhile project.

Thank you ladies for such a wonderful gift your talents and time that will truly benefit the girls of Foyer de Sion.

Groups of students from across South Dakota came together to help the children of Foyer De Sion.  These students are members of Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA).  They did many different types of projects; from penny wars to “Hoops for Haiti”.  These students raised over $7000.

The money was used to purchase 4 large wall tents that will be set up for the children.  South Dakota FCCLA members joined together to make this happen with the help of a local adoption agency All About U Adoptions, inc.

We appreciate your efforts!

If you have a group that would like to get involved in something similar please reach out to Judie Sedrick at donations@foyerdesion.org or visit our “Getting Involved” page for ideas to get you started http://www.foyerdesion.org/donations-GiftsOfHope.php

On March 22 the Rollerdome in Nampa, we will be hosting a fund raiser from 6 to 8 pm to help Foyer de Sion. All you have to do is pay 5 dollars at the door, bring your skates, or rent them and help the Rollerdome raise some money! Invite everyone you know to join us for a great evening of fun.

There will also be a silent auction. If you have items you’d like to donate please call Alyssa Walker at 887-5406. Special Thanks to the Rollerdome for sponsoring this event. We hope you’ll join the fun.

We’ve been making some major progress on the construction of the new orphanage. We thought we’d share some pics of the digging of the septic tank and general construction.

Back breaking work. We’re so grateful for all the local workers that are doing such a great job.

We still have a long way to go. But look how far we are progressing

Through a great effort of the Foyer de Sion team, Sage Middle School, Hands of Hope, World Concern donations of many of you and MAF we’ve been able to deliver via Air Freight some food supplies to the orphanage. It’s important to note that while Haiti has lost attention in the media. But the need is still great for the people of Haiti. Please stay involved and continue to help us in our efforts to keep supplies going to Haiti. http://www.foyerdesion.org/donations-GiftsOfHope.php

Saturday morning, February 13th, dawned a little chilly but warm in spirits as group of individuals gathered forces for the “Hearts for Haiti Rummage Sale”. But the feeling of community and service warmed everyone’s hearts as they rallied to support Foyer de Sion.

The outpouring of community support was tremendous. A special thanks to Stone Lumber who donated their parking lot for the event. They even surprised by broadcasting the event via the illuminated billboard which drew a lot of attention to the rummage sale.

A New Beginning Adopting Agency was kind enough to store all of the donated items for the rummage sale until the day of the event. Many individuals donated items for the rummage sale. We raised over $1,500 for the orphanage which will be used to purchase food supplies for the children.

A group of fantastic ladies from the Nampa Idaho East Stake manned the event and shared the story of Foyer De Sion. Those that participated Tendra Andrews, Sarah Adams, Jessica Dribnak, Alyce Dribnak, Amy Baumgartner, Heidi Child, Wendy Warwick, Randi (Sara Adams’ Sister-in-law) and Judie Sedrick.

Thank you for such a great effort!

Important information for families who have brought their children home under Humanitarian Parole and how to move forward has been issued today I. We encourage you to visit the link at USCIS and started reading, there is a lot of information and very informative.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=8c8df66872bf6210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

There is sure to be more information coming we recomment that you watch the USCIS web page for the up-date
Information and instructions.

We hope that all is going well and you are enjoying having your children home.