February 1, 2019

PRESS RELEASE: VASSAR HAITI PROJECT ART & SOUL GALA APRIL 25, 2019

th Summary: Vassar Haiti Project’s 7 ​ annual Art and Soul Gala honors ​ ​ M. Morgenthau and . The Gala, scheduled for Thursday, April 25, 2019, funds a medical center in rural Haiti.

The Vassar Haiti Project’s (VHP) 7th annual Art and Soul gala fundraiser will be held on Thursday, April 25, at the Alumnae House. Event proceeds fund the staffing, supplies, and operation of a medical center in northwest Haiti that serves thousands of families from over 40 villages. The Art & Soul Gala covers all of the clinic’s costs for a full year and is supported by local physicians and business sponsors as well as private donations and ticket prices.

Art and Soul will feature Vassar student musicians, beautiful, vibrant Haitian art, and cuisine from Twisted Soul, a local Poughkeepsie restaurant. The program runs from 5:30pm to 8:00pm, and is open to the public. Tickets are $75 each.

The Vassar Haiti Project honors Robert M. Morgenthau and Lucinda Franks this year for their extraordinary achievements in the fields of international social justice and literature.

Robert Morgenthau currently serves as counsel at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz in City. ​ He is most remembered for his elected service of 35 years as NY County District Attorney, during which time his staff conducted more than 3.5 million criminal prosecutions. Mr. Morgenthau is a fierce advocate for the rights of immigrants and the underserved. Often published in national newspapers, his recent op-ed articles have heralded the rights of immigrants and the need to improve the judicial process for immigrants currently held up for years in the court system. Mr. Morgenthau is married to Lucinda Franks. They live in NYC and are also the owners of Fishkill Farms, which provides fresh, organic produce to Dutchess County residents and beyond.

Michael Solomon, an attorney who recently traveled to Haiti with the Vassar Haiti Project, speaks fondly of his former boss: “I worked as a young prosecutor for Bob Morgenthau in the early 1990s.” ​ Mr. Solomon is currently North East Regional Director for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ​ ​ (FINRA). “Mr. Morgenthau’s passion for true justice and ‘doing the right thing’ has served as a guiding ​ ​ light for my 30-year career as an in-house counsel and securities regulator. He will always be the yardstick against which all other prosecutors are measured.”

Lucinda Franks is a Vassar College graduate and is the author of several prominent books which ​ memoir her life, most recently Timeless: Love, Morgenthau, and Me; My Father’s Secret War; and ​ ​ Wild Apples. In her journalistic career, Ms. Franks was a staff writer for United Press International in ​ London, covering stories such as the civil war in and antiwar movements in Europe. Ms. Franks also worked as a staff writer for (1974-1977) covering the many monumental stories of that time. In 1971 Ms. Franks was awarded the for her five part series “The Making of a Terrorist.” She has taught at several universities, including Princeton, Vassar, and Yale.

VHP’s dynamic Medical Advisory Board, which consists of local physicians, community members, and Vassar students is charged with guiding and funding VHP’s medical clinic. This medical center, located in Fiervil, Haiti, serves the residents of over 40 villages. The clinic serves 3,000 patients a year, many of whom would otherwise not have healthcare. People walk from a distance of up to three hours one way to attend the clinic.

Local physician and former Art and Soul honoree, Dan Katz, MD just returned from his third trip to Haiti and works as an extraordinary advocate, collaborating regularly with the Fiervil medical center director, Dr. Gueslin Joassainvil. “Once again it was what I saw in their eyes that reaffirmed the ​ importance of our little clinic, with all of its issues. Despite the lack of electricity, furniture or running water, with no fans or shade in the “waiting area”, the VHP clinic signals hope to all who walk for hours through the mountains and wait for hours more in the blistering sun. Hope for a chance at feeling better from the simple rash to the malaria-driven fevers, headaches and abdominal pain to the horrendous untreated wounds riddled with infection. Hope for a chance never given before. In their eyes, it is unmistakable. VHP is delivering more than pills or salves. I saw it again. Hope.”

Art and Soul tickets may be purchased online at www.thehaitiproject.org. All art purchases are ​ ​ tax-deductible. For more information on ticket prices and availability please contact [email protected] or call (845)797-2123. ​

About the Vassar Haiti Project: Founded in 2001, the Vassar Haiti Project engages students in a life-changing, experiential education in global citizenship, promotes Haitian art, and fosters sustainable development in Haiti. In addition to the purchase and sale of original Haitian art, VHP’s contributions are guided by six initiatives: education, healthcare, reforestation, clean water access, women’s empowerment, and art. VHP is incorporated in New York as Haiti Project, Inc., and is a registered U.S. 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Donations and purchases of artworks are deductible to the full extent allowable under IRS regulations.

Event Information Art and Soul Gala honoring Robert M. Morgenthau and Lucinda Franks Vassar College Alumnae House 161 College Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY Thursday, April 25: 5:30pm to 8:00pm Ticket Price: $75 Entertainment Vassar College students. Food and cocktails by Twisted Soul. Original Haitian art and hand-painted silk scarves for sale. Tickets: [email protected] or (845) 797-2123 ​ ​

Vassar College strives to make its events, performances, and facilities accessible to all. Individuals with disabilities requiring special accommodations must contact the Office of Campus Activities at least 48 hours in advance of an event, Mondays-Fridays, at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space/and or assistance may not be available. For detailed information about accessibility to specific campus facilities, search for “campus accessibility information” on the Vassar homepage (http://www.vassar.edu). ​ ​

Directions to the Vassar campus, located at 124 Raymond Avenue in Poughkeepsie, NY, are available at www.vassar.edu/directions. ​ ​

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.