Get Involved

The Haitian Development Fund depends on volunteers to help meet its goals! There are several important ways people wishing to help can get involved.

Annual Mission Trips

We make two trips each year to the Sarthe Neighborhood Medical Clinic in Port-au-Prince: one in early summer and the second in late fall. Trips last eight days starting on Saturday with an overnight in either Miami or Fort Lauderdale followed by seven days and six nights in Port-au-Prince. The work is hard but very rewarding. Volunteers become members of the HDF medical team and will see 300-500 patients in one week. Medically trained personnel are always needed including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, medical assistants, dentists, dental hygienists, physical or occupational therapists, and chiropractors. However, if you have no medical training, no problem! We always need work to be done painting, building, or helping with record-keeping and clinic-management.

For 2009, the cost of such trips is $1,750 single or $1,300 double occupancy.

We provide and facilitate all lodging, transportation, translation services, meals, Haitian taxes, and scrubs and supplies for Clinic work.

You must provide your own passport, casual clothing, pre-travel medicine and inoculations (a list is available), and about $100 cash for your spending money.

Hosting a HDF Event

You can also help HDF locally by helping to organize and/or host an event that supports HDF. Fundraising events are critically important to HDF’s work. One example is to host a "Tylenol Sunday" collection at your place of worship, university, social club, or fraternity. This activity collects over-the-counter medication that is hand-carried or shipped to Haiti. Medicine donated from extras that people have at home, generic medicines from the store, and samples from medical professionals are easily accessible for Americans, but precious for patients visiting the Clinic in Sarthe. Hosting a Tylenol Sunday is an easy yet powerful way to help our medical mission in Haiti.

Another important event is to hold a meal in support of HDF. As a host, we encourage you to begin by showing people one-half cup of rice and beans cooked with a small glass of water- the typical meal of a poor Haitian. Help people understand what a plentiful society we live in, and what it would be like to feel hunger each day. People who host a meal are asked to advise us three weeks prior so we might discuss possible ways to maximize your impact.

Join the Board

Finally, the Board of Directors is always looking for people who wish to serve as a Director. For information, contact Greg Richmond, Vice President & Secretary at HDF headquarters in Springfield, Illinois.

Haitian Development Fund
4043 Guilford Drive
Springfield, IL 62711-8040
217-546-6360