‘Hamptons Artists for Haiti’ Fundraiser For ‘Wings Over Haiti’
by Debbie Tuma
June 30th Art Auction and Benefit in Watermill to
Raise Funds for a School in a Remote Village of Haiti
For the second year, about 40 prominent Hamptons artists are coming together to raise funds for a much-needed school for children in the impoverished island of Haiti. They plan to rebuild in the remote agricultural village of Ranquitte, where a school for 400 once stood. They are raising funds to accommodate 160 students from pre-K through 12th grade.
Last year, “Wings Over Haiti” raised over $30,000 toward this project, with a similar benefit, attended by about 200 people. This year, they plan to raise even more, with a benefit and silent auction to be held at the Watermill Center, at 39 Water Mill Towd Road in Water Mill, on June 30, 2018. The show is curated by Coco Myers of folioeast. This is a great opportunity to buy artwork by notable local artists, at a good price.
This is the second school to be built in Haiti by “Wings Over Haiti,” a non-profit organization founded by Jonathan Nash Glynn, a Sag Harbor artist and pilot who flew medical supplies to Haiti in his private plane, following the devastating earthquake in 2010. While there, he helped raise funds and built a school for 137 children and 21 faculty members, near the capital of Port Au Prince. Long Island schools, especially Bridgehampton, Southampton, and Port Jefferson, have supported these kids with school supplies and clothing drives. Both this school, and the proposed new one, will provide two meals a day and medical attention as needed, helping secure a future for these students.
Glynn and his team have flown back and forth to Haiti for both projects, and most recently, Glynn was joined on his March trip by Arthur Bijur, an advertising executive of East Hampton, and Ted Morency, an 18 year-old student at the Ross School in East Hampton, who was born in Haiti and had not been there since he was five. Morency has single-highhandedly raised over $20,000 for the new school.
The June 30 benefit and silent art auction will take place from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm, with drinks, hors d’oeurves from Sea Bean catering, and live music by Alfredo Merat and Haitian singer Herve. There will be art and raffle tickets for sale, and all profits will go toward the new school.
Tickets are $150, are tax deductible, and are available by visiting www.wingsoverhaiti.net.
