APJ is thrilled to announce our new sports partnership with the amazing Portuguese soccer team Sport Clube Beira Mar. With plans in the works for our new sports complex at the Academy for Peace and Justice, the timing could not have been better for APJ to have SC Beira Mar as a partner.

Research from the United Nations shows that participation in sports can help improve health and behavior, develop social and leadership skills, and have a positive influence on academic performance. Yet less than 1% of Haitian young people have access to sports facilities. The Academy for Peace and Justice is changing the odds for thousands of Haitian children—offering over two thousand students a top quality education, medical care on-site, and extra-curricular sports including soccer, basketball,  volleyball, tennis, ping-pong, and martial arts.

“When we heard about the work being done by APJ in Haiti we wanted to do our part to support them. Throughout the 2014-2015 season we will help raise awareness and hopefully more donations to the organization. Next year we have planned for some of our players to visit the schools and run a football clinic for the students during our offseason. This isn’t a superficial partnership, we are both being very hands on to bring sports to the students in Haiti.” —SC Beira Mar President, Omar Scafuro

At both the Academy for Peace and Justice and Artists Institute, we’ve made a substantial commitment towards growing the next generation of Haitian leaders. The new, permanent sports complex at the Academy will be an important source of pride for our students and the community, and a safe place where all our students will enjoy fitness and games. The sports complex will draw students from surrounding schools for interscholastic games, as well as local and international athletes to mentor students and coaches.

“APJ is committed to providing the highest quality education possible to our students, which means providing both academic and athletic development opportunities. This is our first partnership with a professional team, and we look forward to working with SC Beira Mar and are grateful for their support.” –Artists for Peace and Justice CEO, David Belle

The new sports facility will offer our students a permanent and safe place to play, exercise, and grow as athletes, teammates, and leaders.

This partnership was made possible by APJ Ambassador and sports agent Steve Hawthorne who is excited for the future of sports at the Academy for Peace and Justice, “APJ has done amazing work and this opens up new doors to allow the students in Haiti to be part of something new. I’m hoping they will all be cheering on SC Beira Mar this season!”

SC Beira Mar will unveil their new jerseys this Saturday, July 26^th 2014 featuring the APJ logo to help raise further awareness throughout Europe for APJ and our work in Haiti. We are so thankful for this incredible opportunity to unite sports education and fun, go Beira Mar!

“The wealth of Haiti is its people. If you miss the people, you miss the wealth. ”
— Paula Hyppolite

Born in Cap-Haïtien, Paula Hyppolite is the director of Ciné Institute, Haiti’s only film school. After 25 years living in the United States, Paula returned to Haiti in 1997.  In 2003,  she and APJ CEO David Belle launched the Jacmel Film Festival,  a massive screening hundreds of international films, all free of charge. The annual film festival was such an extraordinary success that they decided to offer workshops to local Haitian youth who were eager to learn. What she and David discovered was that what audiences really hungered to see were local films showcasing Haitian culture.  “We want to give Haiti a voice—its own voice—in cinema.” A strong, artistic, female role model and leader in the traditionally male-dominated film sector, Paula is constant source of inspiration to our students and a model for what is possible when we unlock creativity, inspiration, and education.

I’m an artist for:

positive changes.

I’m driven by:

Love

I’m inspired by:

the need for awareness and knowledge.

I hope Haiti:

can educate it’s youth to become tomorrow’s leaders with a good sense of who we are as a people, what our goals are as a nation and how to achieve them.

I believe education can:

change a nation and empower it’s people.

“The power is in us, all of us. Big or small, smart or slow, rich or poor, sick or well. The power is in all of us. It’s in our hearts. It’s called love.”
       – Father Rick Frechette

We’re thrilled and proud to announce that Father Rick Frechette, founder of the St. Luke Foundation, will be joining us September 7^th , 2014 as the keynote speaker of the Bovet 1822 and Artists for Peace and Justice 2014 Festival Gala presented at beautiful Casa Loma, Toronto.

“We started this organization because we fell in love with the country- this local organization run by Father Rick Frechette, so it became a big part of all of our lives. I am proud of what we have accomplished. We run the only free secondary school in Haiti.”
     – APJ Board Member and actress Olivia Wilde

Father Rick is a doctor, priest and community organizer who has been living and working in Haiti for over 25 years. He is the founder of the St. Luke Foundation, an entirely Haitian run organization with over 2,000 full time employees. This dedicated team of Haitian professionals provide hundreds of thousands of people every year with free education, food, water, medical care, professional training, and dignified humanitarian outreach. Father Rick and his team have been successful where so many aid organizations haven’t because of St. Luke’s complete commitment to direct partnership with the Haitian people, saving lives and empowering local communities. Father Rick and his team at St. Luke do impossible work…and the impact of their programs keeps getting bigger.

“I’ve watched the number of people the organization serves grow at a breathtaking rate: 900,000 Haitians a year now directly benefit from St. Luke’s impressive infrastructure. It’s near impossible to do justice describing their impassioned efforts. And when I try, I’m not sure if anyone who hasn’t seen their work believes me. ”
       – APJ board member and actress Madeleine Stowe

This coming school year, we will serve 2,600 talented, vibrant students at the Academy for Peace and Justice, and it all began because of one man: Father Rick Frechette. Community organizer, Passionist priest, doctor, founder of the St Luke Foundation, founding inspiration for APJ, and a living legend in Haiti. Artists for Peace and Justice is humbled by Father Rick’s impossible work and his inextinguishable passion for a brighter future in Haiti.

“Father Rick Frechette, a hero among men.”
     –  founder of JP/HRO and actor Sean Penn.

Please join us in Toronto this September as we honor Father Rick Frechette as keynote speaker for our fifth annual film festival gala event!