Our annual Festival Lunch, held during the Toronto International Film Festival, is coming up soon! This year, the event will be held on Sunday, September 8th at the Budman family residence in Toronto. In previous years, Jude Law, Ian Somerhalder, and many more have attended. This year, the Festival Lunch will be hosted by  Michael Budman (of Roots Canada), Diane Bald, and George Stroumboulopoulus.

This is an exclusive, invite-only event, but this year we have a surprise… Are you ready?!

We are giving away 2 FREE TICKETS to one of our followers on Twitter. That’s right!- YOU and a friend could party with the stars and support Haiti, on us!

Starting NOW through Wednesday, July 31, 2013, FOLLOW us on Twitter @artistsforpeace and RETWEET any post that has (or tweet at us using) #APJFest13. We will announce the winner on Thursday, August 1st!

Remember, you have to FOLLOW us (@artistsforpeace) to be qualified to WIN. Super easy, right?
Do GOOD, have FUN, Support HAITI. #APJFest13

The 2012-2013 school year has come to a close! It has been an awesome year of growth at the Academy for Peace and Justice (check out last week’s blog for more on the past year’s accomplishments). It is officially summer for students, but the team in Haiti has lots of work to do in the next few months!

This summer, construction will continue both at the Academy for Peace and Justice and at the new Audio Institute (for more information, click here. We’re on track to open the Institute in October of this year, and the Academy’s new building will be finished by then too! Check out some photos of the progress at both construction sites below.

From all of us at Artists for Peace and Justice, congratulations to our students who have had such a successful year, a big thanks to all those working at these construction sites, and HAPPY SUMMER to all!

As the 2012 – 2013 school year comes to a close at the Academy for Peace and Justice, we want to send a special thank you to all our donors and supporters for making the last 12 months such a success!

In total, we have 1,518 students who are eager to learn and so excited to have the opportunities you’ve helped make possible. In this past school year, we opened the second wing of the Academy and began the construction on the third, which will be completed in time for the 2013—2014 school year this fall. The 3rd wing will allow 400 new students to enroll at the Academy for Peace and Justice as we continue to build bigger and better! We have reached so many other great accomplishments this year: the Academy boasts an 89% student success rate, soccer teams were started, 90 teachers are employed, and hundreds of construction jobs have been created. In addition, the Academy for Peace and Justice was chosen as an institution to host the national exams, which demonstrates the reputation that the Academy is gaining throughout Haiti. Needless to say, it has been an eventful and exciting school year for APJ students and staff!

We want to thank you again for your support, your encouragement, and your generosity. We would not be where we are today, otherwise. It has been an inspiration to see all of our efforts come together so quickly. We eagerly look forward to your continued support and all the new accomplishments and growth another year will bring at the Academy for Peace and Justice!

P.S. Final exams are scheduled to wrap up this week. A ceremony will be held this Friday, June 28 to celebrate students’ graduations into higher grades and the end of a fantastic school year! So be on the lookout for updates and photos!