Support Yvenson Bernard's Haiti Relief Event
May 6, 2011
Corvallis, Ore. -
Former Oregon State great running back Yvenson Bernard and the International Sports Agency have teamed up to host a Haiti Benefit Festival (watch video here/Facebook) on May 14, 2011 at Oregon State's Gill Coliseum in Corvallis. The event is a fundraiser for next year’s Beavers Without Borders trip to Haiti to build a school.
The festival is 5-9 p.m. Adults are $10 and children and students are $5. Special guests include the band Root Down, the OSU cheerleading team, Benny the Beaver and former football student-athletes Sabby Piscitelli, Gerard Lawson and Dorian Smith. Kappa Kappa Gamma and Sigma Phi Epsilon will also be assisting in the event. There will also be a silent auction, local food vendors and a beer garden.
Bernard is Haitian American and his aunt was the Vice President of Haiti when he was a child. With family still living in Haiti today, including his nine-year old brother, he has dedicated his time to relief efforts there. After the earthquake in Haiti in January of 2010, Bernard started a fund, collecting clothing, food and medical supplies. His charity raised over 24,000 pounds of goods, which he delivered to the country last spring.
Bernard has spent weeks volunteering in Haiti, and in his time there, he fell in love with an after school program located in an area he grew up in. He has been donating to this school since. Recently, 10 children from this school program tragically died from Cholera. Bernard and his family are in the process of rebuilding the school for these children. So far, they have purchased property, built a covered facility and have implemented an art program.
This January, Bernard was chosen to represent the Canadian Football League as an ambassador to volunteer in Haiti for the anniversary of the earthquake. He spent weeks volunteering with Huddle for Haiti, Oxfam, Care Canada and his adopted school.
Bernard, an ISA athlete, ended his illustrious career with 3,862 career rushing yards during his four-year career from 2004-07. He is among the top-10 on the career charts in the Pac-10 Conference.
Other than the devastating damage in the city of Port au Prince, there has been a recent outbreak of Cholera. Aid workers in the impoverished nation state the risk is magnified by the extreme poverty faced by people displaced by the earthquake, which killed as many as 300,000 people and destroyed much of the capital city. Haitians living in the camps risk disease by failing to wash their hands, or scooping up standing water and then proceeding to wash fruits and vegetables.
