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New Associate Director embraces Haiti Solar Oven Partners

From outcome-based grant writing to stories from the heart, Catherine Hosst, new associate director, embraces Haiti Solar Oven Partners (HSOP).

Photo: Cathy helps Dave and Renae Silbernagel pick squash on their Moffit, ND farm. Produce from Silbernagel’s “volunteer” garden are sold in the Bismarck area to benefit Haiti Solar Oven Partners. A building on their farm hosts the Moffit HSOP fabrication workshop.  Photo by Karen Workman, Bismarck, ND.

Haiti Solar Oven Partners entered a new phase as Catherine Hoss came on board in August as Associate Director. While Cathy’s primary focus will be fundraising, she will assist HSOP Director Rick Jost with day-to-day operations, including shipments and travel to Haiti.

Rick explains that the need for an associate director was directly related to the success of the ministry. “Haiti Solar Ovens has come so far and grown so much since its inception. Volunteers have stepped up to assist, but we have also come to a juncture where our vitality depends on expertise in fundraising and grant writing, together with a daily passion for the future of our ministry.”

Cathy, a professional fundraiser, worked part time for HSOP last year to design a fundraising plan and secure a number of grants.  What brought Cathy to apply for a fulltime involvement? “I have worked for environmental and farm policy causes in the past, but I fell in love with this mission. Through Haiti Solar Oven Partners, I have met the most amazing, generous and fun people. The wonderful folks I met brought it together. I tell people, ‘It’s because of all of you!’”

Cathy will journey to Haiti with a team for the first time in November.  Is Cathy a bit anxious? Sure! “I have never seen anything like Haiti. This will be a life-changing event for me, and one that I'm very anxious to experience."

Cathy brings a background of professional fund-raising experience and an understanding of HSOP finances to her position, says Rev. Morris Nelson of Hot Springs, SD.  Nelson was a member of the HSOP task force charged with interviewing and selecting an associate director.

Using a multi-pronged approach to partner with foundations, churches and individuals, part of Cathy’s job is to match people to the HSOP mission. “To fund-raise for a mission that has this kind of impact is marvelous. I can see the potential for growth and awareness. I was so anxious to be a part of this marvelous thing that has been going on for 14 years.”

But Cathy also surveys HSOP with the critical eye of a professional grant writer. “When I looked at HSOP, I thought how well-run it is. It runs so lean and is so well organized - huge kudos to Rick and Lorna [Jost] for getting the mission to where it is today.”

“The other thing that attracted me was the amount of support we have, the number of people who volunteer and who give [financial support] is phenomenal—real grass roots growth has happened.”

When foundations look at this long-term success and see that kind of support, it gives HSOP's grant applications traction in a highly competitive climate, Cathy says. “They are outcome-based and want numbers—we have that data.  They want to put their money where it will make the best impact.”

Photo: At the Moffit workshop, Cathy learns from an experienced team of volunteers from Mandan as they cut aluminum reflectors. Photo by Karen Workman, Bismarck, ND.

But local church support is HSOP’s bread and butter, so Cathy has been thinking about what her message will be as she visits with churches in the upcoming Be an Oven-a-Month Partner campaign. “It takes so very little to make such an enormous impact with these solar ovens.  They are so well built and are lasting for years. Think about the thousands of meals that are fed from those ovens! There are so many fun ways to come up with $150 a month, whether as a congregation, a small group, a youth group, etc.  That small gesture can change a family's life in Haiti."

Like all Haiti volunteers, Cathy has begun her orientation and a round of immunizations for her November trip. She’s eager to meet the people whose lives her new job will touch. “I truly have felt like a spectator because I have been writing and telling other people’s stories. This trip will bring it full circle and I can tell it from my heart!”

UMC

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