{"id":19606,"date":"2016-09-01T06:00:30","date_gmt":"2016-09-01T10:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=19606"},"modified":"2018-10-01T13:16:03","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T17:16:03","slug":"meet-jodi-menard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/meet-jodi-menard\/","title":{"rendered":"Where there’s a will, there’s a way: Meet Jodi Menard"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at <\/strong><\/em>laura.maclean@doppleronline.ca<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Jodi Menard couldn\u2019t erase it from her memory. Seeing those precious children beg on the side of the dirty, garbage-strewn street had left a lasting mark. No shoes on their feet, no toys to play with, no food in their bellies and many of them without parents. Her heart broke into a thousand little pieces.<\/p>\n

That was 14 years ago, although her heart continues to break to this day. Jodi had taken her kids on a family trip to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. When they left the resort they were staying at for an afternoon of sightseeing in the city, a harsh reality jolted them. They witnessed, first-hand, what poverty in a third-world country looks like. And it was devastating.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not something you can just forget about,\u201d says Jodi. \u201cYou can pretend you didn\u2019t see it. You can try to ignore it and go home and believe it isn\u2019t real, but it is. Sadly, this is reality. \u201d<\/p>\n

Two days ago she left for about the 20th<\/sup> time in 14 years to Puerto Plata. It\u2019s another trip to take care of some unfinished business and it\u2019s a place that is as special to her as her own hometown of Huntsville. She\u2019s going the extra mile (literally!) to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate children in the Dominican. Jodi is the founder of Love United Poverty Relief Organization, a non-profit organization that works to provide supports and assistance to underprivileged families, specifically children, who are in dire need of the basics: food, shelter and education.<\/p>\n

She won\u2019t be back for a while. Nine weeks to be exact. And this time she took over 300 pounds of luggage with her, which included some non-perishable food items, clothes, school supplies, used backpacks, a 50-pound bag of wheat and oatmeal, shoes and a second-hand wheelchair for a gentleman she knows in the village suffering from cerebral palsy. The school supplies were generously donated from Jodi\u2019s faithful local supporters. She knows that if it wasn\u2019t for the kindness of people who recognize the importance of what she is doing, she wouldn\u2019t be able to do what she is doing. She works closely with a few of the locals she has established a strong relationship with.<\/p>\n

\"Jodi

Jodi was all smiles on Sunday preparing for a nine-week stay in her house in the Dominican Republic.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe went from being able to help just a few families to 200 with a weekly food and school program,\u201d says Jodi, adding that just $30 feeds a family of four, one meal a day for a whole month. \u201cWe\u2019ve opened a thrift store which helps fund the food and school programs. It\u2019s been very rewarding to watch it grow and be able to do the work that I do to help these people.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can hear the excitement in Jodi\u2019s voice when she talks about what the organization is doing. She\u2019s established life-long friendships with many of the locals. Her work there means frequent visits to the country, sometimes two to three times a year. She\u2019s even purchased a house in Puerto Plata and a soup kitchen operates from it when she is there. And when she\u2019s not, her place is usually occupied by squatters and that doesn\u2019t seem to bother her the least bit. In fact, the door\u2019s always open. It currently houses five orphaned teenage boys ranging in ages from 15 to 17 who have been displaced and would otherwise have nowhere else to live.<\/p>\n

Through love, we create unity to build relationships that foster the growth and change necessary to improve the lives of those in need. Our purpose is to develop partnerships that improve equality and create sustainability in poverty-stricken communities.The mission and vision of Love United Poverty Relief Organization<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fundraising is done at the thrift store in Puerto Plata and when Jodi\u2019s back home she also coordinates local fundraising initiatives at events like Midnight Madness, the Sidewalk Sale and through an annual dinner and auction. She\u2019s also getting ready to spread some Christmas cheer in the Dominican to families in need by collecting toys, non-perishable food items and hygiene products in town from now until December.<\/p>\n\n\t\t