As part of the activities of their Global Volunteer Month, 20 employees of Morgan Stanley donated more than 8 hours of their time to help Un Techo Para mi País remodel and set up its new office in Miami.

MIAMI, FL –To underscore Morgan Stanley’s commitment to employee volunteerism, the Firm designated June as Global Volunteer Month, taking part in volunteering activities and events. During the week prior to Volunteer Day, employees of Morgan Stanley Miami held a drive to raise funds for Un Techo para mi País’ office in Miami. With these donations, the non-profit will be able to set up and decorate its new workplace, which will help coordinate fundraising strategies in the United States.

Marta Beaton, Cristina Arguelles, Ana Leighton, Ana Bustillos, Ignacio González, Rosa Arce, Natalia Figueroa & Anahi Torres.

Then, on Monday June 28th, 20 Morgan Stanley employees volunteered their time to help Un Techo para mi País. They spent the day painting, remodeling and networking with Un Techo para mi País’s members.

“Un Techo para mi País seeks businesses that are committed to the region, and that are able to participate in the challenge of eradicating poverty in Latin America. We are deeply grateful of Morgan Stanley Miami for working in the installation of our office in Miami – the first one in the U.S. Without question, this office will have a great commercial and communicational impact for the project, and will mean that more families will have a house to provide for their children. Thanks to all the participating volunteers, for having trust in the mission that mobilizes thousands of young people in Latin America. We want to invite the Firm to dream with us, and built together a Latin America without poverty,” said Ignacio González Nappa, Director of Development – Latin America & The Caribbean.

Back row, left to right > Althea Brow, Sergio Pimentel, Victor Buischi, Alex Caraballo, Carlos Andradre & Feliz Valdéz. Front row, left to right > Eduardo Alvarez, Juan José Escobar, Donato Arguelles, Mirna Peréz, Marta Beaton & Karen Mendevil.

Un Techo para mi País (UTPMP) is a Latin American non-profit organization that mobilizes youth volunteers to eradicate the extreme poverty that affects more than 80 million people in the region. We work together with Latin America’s most marginalized populations, constructing transitional homes and implementing social inclusion programs to empower slum residents with the tools to improve their quality of life.

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm and a market leader in securities, investment management and credit services. With more than 600 offices in 30 countries, Morgan Stanley connects people, ideas and capital to help clients achieve their financial aspirations.

The organization and the online sales site enable a web donation system through the platform of mercadolibre.com. Using the simple purchase system, users can donate parts of a transitional house.

This initiative is part of the campaign “Tragedies this big are felt around the world”, which was developed by UTPMP and aims to reconstruct Chile and Haiti.

To add your support visit: Donations for Chile – Donations for Haiti and select your country.

- The NGO launched a fundraising campaign in Latin America and the United States to be devoted to the reconstruction of Chile and Haiti, two countries affected by an earthquake earlier this year.

Under the motto “Such Enormous Tragedies Are Felt All Over the World”, the institution makes a public appeal to companies and individuals, through its website and social networks, to support reconstruction work in Chile and Haiti. Donations can be made through the website, (Donations links: Chile and Haiti) , or through the “purchase” of housing parts of at Mercado Libre. “At this point, Un Techo para mi Pais is working in two very different countries that have recently been affected by two earthquakes, leaving thousands of families homeless and living in very precarious conditions.

Our volunteers have already built a large number of transitional houses in Chile and Haiti, but the need remains infinite. We need every Latin American to commit themselves to rebuild with the same vigor as we would in each of our countries,” said the Social Director of Un Techo para mi Pais Latin America, Maximiliano Perez.

The team that is leading construction with university students in both countries, who participate actively in the organization of constructions with families affected by earthquakes last January (Haiti) and February (Chile).

“Un Techo para mi Pais has mobilized thousands of young people who want to change the reality of our countries. We are the ones responsible for changing the situation, and those structural changes have to come from our own people, “said Regis Berkins, a volunteer for Un Techo para mi Pais- Haiti, who participated in one of the reconstruction jobs in Chile.

The work of Un Techo para mi Pais has been endorsed by various official agencies. In the case of Chile, the Government formally solicited the organization’s participation in reconstruction. At the same time, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, recognized the work of the NGO in Haiti, rewarding the commitment; likewise, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) finalized a joint strategy for the next four years through the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF).

To date, Un Techo para mi Pais has already made two interventions in Haiti, building a total of 116 transitional houses and mobilizing over 500 volunteers. For its part in Chile, more than 20,000 homes have been built with a total of 71,700 volunteers.

CAMPAIGN

At the event “Shaken. Chile & Haiti: Faces of an earthquake. Stories of a reconstruction – Photo Exhibit by Petra Barth”, held last Friday, June 4th, the non-governmental organization celebrated the opening of its new office in Miami.

Download Press Release in English

Download Press Release in Spanish

MIAMI, FL – Un Techo Para Mi País and The Haitian Heritage Museum were pleased to present “Shaken. Chile and Haiti: Faces of an earthquake. Stories of a reconstruction,” featuring approximately 30 photographs by Petra Barth. The exhibition, which will stay at the museum for three months, is accompanied by slideshows of photographs from construction sites of Un Techo Para Mi País in Chile and Haiti.

During this occasion Un Techo para mi País officially announced the opening of its Miami office. The office will be located at 2050 Coral Way, Suite 508 (Miami, FL 33145) and will help coordinate fundraising strategies in the United States. The non-governmental organization is at the moment focusing its efforts on the reconstruction of Chile and Haiti.

“I’m proud to see that after a year since we began this challenge in the US, we are now sharing this milestone with the people that supported us from the beginning. All committed to make our project their own, the project to eradicate the reality of extreme poverty in Latin America.” said the Director of Development of Un Techo para mi País, Rafael Achondo.

“The opening of this office in Miami is the first step of an ambitious initiative, seeking to involve the private sector, the media, the universities and US society in general, in the mission that thousands of university students are already committed to, in order to improve the life quality of over 200 millions families in our continent,” he stated.

Roberto Awad (Advisory Board Chairman, Un Techo para mi País), Eveline Pierre (Executive Director, The Haitian Heritage Museum) & Rafael Achondo (Director of Development, Un Techo para mi País)

The event was attended by approximately 150 people, including Un Techo para mi País Miami’s Advisory Board, the organization’s main sponsors and supporters, and Chile and Haiti officials. The Haitian Heritage Museum’s board and representatives also attended.

This was also the official launching of the campaign in response to the emergency situation. The non-governmental organization, Un Techo para mi País, has launched the fundraising campaign to help the Chilean and Haitian victims with the construction of transitional housing in both countries. The organization made a public call to individuals and businesses to support the reconstruction work in Chile and in Haiti through its website and social networks, with the slogan “TRAGEDIES THIS BIG ARE FELT ALL OVER THE WORLD”.

The work of Un Techo para mi País has been supported by different official representatives. In Chile’s case, the government formally solicited the participation of the organization in the reconstruction of the country. In addition, the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, acknowledged the work in Haiti and congratulated the NGO for its commitment. The Inter-American Development Bank has also been involved to create a reconstruction strategy for the next four years via its Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF).

To date, Un Techo para mi País has already achieved two tasks in Haiti: building a total of 116 transitional houses and mobilizing more than 500 volunteers. In Chile, close to 20,000 houses have been built involving a total of 70,000 volunteers over the last three months.

Un Techo para mi País (UTPMP) is a Latin American non-profit organization that mobilizes youth volunteers to eradicate the extreme poverty that affects more than 80 million people in the region. We work together with Latin America’s most marginalized populations, constructing transitional homes and implementing social inclusion programs to empower slum residents with the tools to improve their quality of life.

The Haitian Heritage Museum is a non-profit organization that is committed to highlighting and preserving Haiti’s rich culture and heritage locally, nationally and internationally.

Petra Barth was born in Bavaria, Germany in 1964. She originally studied Design in Milan and worked for many years in the fashion industry. In 1999, fulfilling a lifetime ambition, she became a full time freelance photographer working primarily in Latin America and Asia. She studied at the Corcoran College of Art and Design with Joe Cameron, Andy Grundberg, and Bill Newman.

Petra worked in India, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Haiti, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Bahamas, Europe and the United States.

The event was held Friday, June 4h at The Haitian Heritage Museum. The exhibit will remain at the museum for the next three months.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]