Homeless Voice Pulls Out all the Stops

When news of the January 12th earthquake first became public, the office of Airline Ambassadors turned into a frenzy of activity. Due to their recent visit to Haiti and their impending project to facilitate the implementation of proposed building codes, the news of the earthquake and its destruction came as an especial blow to AAI founders, Dave and Nancy Rivard.

Without commercial airlines flying into Haiti and with no knowledge of the level of damage to the roads from the Dominican Republic, the only option was to charter aircraft at a cost to the small non-profit of $34,000 one way from Miami to Port-au-Prince.

Unsure of where the funds would come from, but confident that the public would hear the call and respond, Airline Ambassadors decided to go ahead and charter the large aircraft. In Miami, Nancy and Dave were greeted with a welcome and surprising gift. They were approached by Sean Cononie, the head of a local homeless group called Homeless Voice. Over the previous three days members of the group – knowledgeable of what homelessness really means - had and managed to raise a phenomenal $16,000 towards the cost of filling the aircraft with food and water for the hundreds of thousands put out onto the street by the earthquake.

Not content with raising such an incredible sum, members of Homeless Voice also volunteered to load the airplane with ten tons of donated items destined for the people of Haiti.

Amidst so much misery came such selfless dedication from among the most marginalized of our own society.