Doing Good, Better with The August Project

THE MISSION
The mission of The August Project is to create better do-gooders and memorialize our existence. We are a 501C3 organization that facilitates intergenerational exchanges and storytelling because we believe that this effort at building community will encourage stronger relationships, leave behind better understanding of our culture and objectively immortalize our lives. Our strategic partnerships create one of a kind products that fuse different intelligences to contribute to the alleviation of poverty for the people on the ground in Haiti. These partnerships will contribute to a literacy program in Haiti that, ultimately, lead to poverty alleviation. The goal is to alleviate poverty in underdeveloped communities and countries worldwide. 

THE RESULTS
An example of our partnerships is our co-creation with Nike. We designed and manufactured a sneaker with Nike based on the Haitian Revolution. Having sold out in four days, we used half of the profit to fund community led programming in Haiti and strengthened operations. We hosted innovation workshops to help participants understand how "giving" technically works, gave them tips on how to responsibly donate and brainstormed potential solutions to poverty in Haiti. We also launched a monthly storytelling series in 2022, where people from all backgrounds share their stories in an effort to better understand why our parents are the way they are, why we are the way we are and why those generations that come after us feel the way they feel. We have worked with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Verizon, Lyft, Fete de Fleurs, Bonbon Lakay, and the Flatbush Development Corp. Additionally, we have been featured in over a dozen publications including The Haitian Times, L'Union Suite, Her Neck of the Woods, Rare Maven Media, Ticket Mag and Le Floridien's print newspaper for our successes.

THE PROBLEM
We are solving the problem of poverty--a pretty huge problem. In 2015, 10% of the world (734 million people) lived on less than $1.90 a day (World Bank). Given the COVID-19 pandemic and its disproportionate impact on the economically vulnerable, this number will likely go up. 

THE SOLUTION
The August Project engages in storytelling and strategic partnerships to do good, creatively. Though many have goodwill, they're not equipped with the technical expertise to "do good" in a systematic and effective way. Storytelling equips our community with how to engage in development work properly by providing an anecdotal lens, while strategic partnerships fund programs on the ground. The August Project addresses poverty from two very important angles but mostly that of the stakeholders who pay the consequence of our decisions. 

THE FOUNDER
Ruth Jean-Marie is the founder and Executive Director of The August Project. She was raised being able to vacation in her parents' homeland of Haiti where she got to witness firsthand the joy and beauty of the Caribbean country. This motivated her desire to reframe how poverty is treated and looked upon. In 2014, she graduated from NYU where she received her Master of Science degree in Global Affairs with a concentration in human rights and international law. Four years later, she founded The August Project after seeing the need for change in the philanthropy world.

THE TEAM

• Stephanie Baril, Volunteer Coordinator. Stephanie seeks and manages the do gooders who help with the functioning of the organization.
• Julian Harrison, Esq., Legal Consultant. Julian advises on matters related to The August Project.
• Junior Duplessis, Project Manager. Junior liaises with our people on the ground in Haiti and ensures that progress is ongoing. 

The August Project has four advisors who work in public relations, business development, marketing operations. 

HOW TO SUPPORT US
Of course we're looking for donations to further our impact! All funding will be used to jumpstart the projects that were underway pre-covid. This includes our coffee table book featuring the people of Haiti which aims to humanize locals, our conversational salons where we share the stories who have made us who we are and focus on strengthening community within our culture, our merchandise that features economically vulnerable populations with the goal of creating an income for them and, of course, operations costs. 

You can also share our campaign via social media: @theaugustprjct (Instagram) or follow us to keep up to date on our progress. Join our newsletter by emailing [email protected].

Thank you for your time and your donations! We appreciate you. Pleeeeease reach out with any questions or advice. We love to engage. You can reach us at [email protected].