2024 Families Weekend Art Sale and Auction
The Vassar Haiti Project warmly welcomes you to the 24rd Families Weekend Art Sale & Auction, a pinnacle event upholding our multifaceted mission.
* Pop Up Holiday Haitian Art + Handcraft Sale * Beacon, NY 12/9/23
Femme de Chermaitre
Supporting
Micro-finance Loans to the Women of Chermaitre, Haiti
CONTEXT:
The women in the mountains of Haiti are strong, resilient, tenacious and creative. Many are part of large families - from 5-12 children; others are single parents or widowed. The Vassar Haiti Project has, since 2013 been seeking ways to support their entrepreneurial spirit. The local women's cooperative has demonstrated skill in producing cloth napkins and face masks, harvesting and roasting coffee, as well as jewelry items such as earrings and bracelets which we have sold at our art sales. The people of the mountains have little to no cash flow, and they request our support in creating a sustainable source of income through micro-financing.
The women in Haiti are called POTO MITAN - they are the center and backbone of society. They are strong, hardworking, tenacious and determined.
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS THROUGH MICRO-FINANCE LOANS
We will provide microfinance loans to a pilot group of up to 25 women with existing businesses.
The loans will run through the local community bank, which is very well versed in this funding tradition. Our partner on the ground in Haiti will oversee the process. There will be an agreed upon time to repay a loan. Once repaid, we will give them another loan with a small percentage supporting the women's cooperative.
Items they sell for the businesses:
Fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, feminine supplies, handbags, drinks, hardware items, etc.
GOAL:
$5,000 will launch our first microfinance loan program at the Beacon Second Saturday Art and Handcraft sale in Beacon. Let's do it!
2023 Families Weekend Art Sale and Auction
The Vassar Haiti Project warmly welcomes you to the 23rd Families Weekend Art Sale & Auction, a pinnacle event upholding our multifaceted mission.
Haitian Art, Quilts & Handcrafts Sale in Martha’s Vineyard - 2023
Support Haitian Artists
Explore the Rich Culture of Haiti at the Martha's Vineyard Art Sale
Find Unique Handcrafted Treasures at the Martha's Vineyard Haitian Art Sale
2023 Greenwich Haitian Art Sale
Haitian Art Sale at Second Congregational Church
Friday Feb. 10 6pm - 8:30pm
Saturday Feb. 11 10am - 5pm
Sunday Feb.12. 9am - 2pm
Supporting art, education, health and sustainable development in rural Haiti.
This year, the Vassar Haiti Project will honor Sheri Chin and Gordon Ng who have lived in Greenwich for over 25 years and have two children, Alexandra, a Vassar Haiti Project Alum (Class of 2019), and Marcus, a junior at Colgate University. Sheri is the Head of Marketing for Galileo, a financial technology company. Gordon is a recently retired international finance executive who previously worked at Mastercard and American Express and currently serves as the Head of Finance for Second Congregational Church. They celebrate Vassar Haiti Project’s mission for a long-lasting and sustainable partnership with the village of Chermaitre and are so excited to bring Haitian art to the Greenwich community at Second Congregational Church.
Featuring a wide variety of paintings and handcrafts. Purchases are 50% tax-deductible.
2022 Families Weekend Art Sale and Auction
Art Sale at Vassar College
Friday Sept. 30 | 4 pm - 7 pm
Saturday Oct. 1 | 10 am - 5 pm
Sunday Oct. 2 | 10 am - 2 pm
Online Auction
Bid on beautiful art and handcrafts!
Now - Oct. 3
View our art collection online and buy artwork now!
SUPPORTING EDUCATION - On all levels
Primary School
Secondary School
Adult Education
Every year since its founding in 2001, the Vassar Haiti Project (VHP) has hosted an art sale and auction to support education accessibility in northwest Haiti.
All the proceeds from this sale and auction, to take place during Vassar College's Families' Weekend, will fund our Education Initiative in Chermaitre, a rural village in northwest Haiti.
Primary School
Secondary School
Adult Education
In Chermaitre, we partner with the locals and and ongoingly fund a primary school, secondary school, a community center/church building, and a clinic which serves thousands of patients from the surrounding 45 villages each year.
At the primary school, we are now serving two meals, both breakfast and lunch, to over 350 children each day. The breakfast program is being implemented thanks to the support of a generous donor!
Developing a new program to support adult education in the community has been a dream come true. Classes began on October 1st, 2021 for over 50 women and men who have never before had formal education.
Haitian Art, Quilts & Handcrafts Sale in Martha’s Vineyard
A special pop-up sale to benefit the Vassar Haiti Project will be held in collaboration with the island-based Haiti PeaceQuilts, an economic development organization, hosted at the Federated Church of Martha’s Vineyard, 45 South Summer St., Edgartown. Dates and times as follows:
Thursday | August 18 | 6pm - 8pm
Friday | August 19 | 10am - 3pm
Saturday | August 20 | 11am - 3pm
Sunday | August 21 | 9am - 1pm
An exclusive cocktail reception for Vassar College alums, family and friends will take place on Saturday, August 21 – 5pm-7pm. Contact Lila at contact.us@thehaitiproject.org.
The sale features original Haitian paintings and handcrafts, as well as gorgeous one-of-a-kind folk art quilts. Sale proceeds will fund education in Chermaitre, Haiti, benefitting 300 children in the village’s K-6 primary school and a scholarship program for primary school graduates to attend secondary school. At the same time, items sold will provide vital income to the artists and artisans who produced the paintings, quilts, and handmade goods.
The Vassar Haiti Project and PeaceQuilts have teamed up in recent years in a mutually supportive strategic partnership to help propel the compatible missions of both organizations. Many on the island are familiar with PeaceQuilts, founded by artist Jeanne Staples, and its work to support independent sewing cooperatives in Haiti where women produce stunning folk art quilts and handmade products, featured in numerous museums and at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival. Over the years PeaceQuilts has had broad island support and participation at fundraising events like Celebrity Waiters at the Federated Church. Recently, after undergoing a rigorous screening process, PeaceQuilts became a verified member of the Fair Trade Federation, validating its commitment to ensuring fair trade wages and strengthening communities in Haiti through long-term partnerships.
Please visit the website to learn more about the art, the students and how you can get involved.
Fourth Annual DC Sale (Postponed to November 11th, 2022)
We are thrilled to be going back to the Washington DC area for our fourth bi-annual sale at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church! We hope you join us in the heart of the Capitol to come together in a celebration of Haitian art