The Human Promise Accomplishments in Review
November 18, 2010 The Human Promise held its Website Launch and Donor Recognition Evening at the beautiful Avmor Collection in Old Montreal. Attended by 75 partners, supporters, and friends of the organization, the evening saw the unveiling of an all-new Human Promise brand, including logo and website, presentations by partners, leaders and volunteers – both past and present – and an inspirational talk by world-renowned photographer Heidi Hollinger.
October 7-9, 2010 McGill University hosted the Global Conference on Human Rights and Diverse Societies. This international conference brought academics, writers, journalists, legislators, diplomats, activists and others who are active in the field of international human rights and who devote their lives to building, supporting and studying diverse societies. The Human Promise was among a select few of non-profit organizations invited to host a table at this prestigious event. We were proud to be able to interact and exchange ideas with some of the most prominent leaders in the field of human rights. This conference was a remarkable event that contributed to an important international exchange of ideas.
March 20, 2010 As part of a partnership, The Human Promise held an Interfaith Celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which included a special commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre. The event was attended by Justin Trudeau, MP, and His Excellency the South African High Commissioner and included guest speakers as well as multicultural performances.
February 24 and 25, 2010 Two representative of The Human Promise, Co-President Adam Eliesen and Director of Chapters Zachary Rosentzveig were invited to speak at a preparatory session for students about to depart on the March of the Living, as well as to animate discussion groups exploring the philosophy of activism, citizenship and involvement.
February 18th, 2010 The Human Promise hosted its second annual Youth Summit on Human Rights, attended by over 75 students. Delegates contributed to the creation of a mosaic, an artistic expression of visions for the future of humanity, which were put on display in the lead-up to the 2010 G8 meetings at the World Religious Leaders Summit in Winnipeg.
January 13, 2010 The Human Promise was proud to present Carte d’Identité, an extraordinary one-man play by Diogène Ntarindwa chronicling his life as a Tutsi exile in Burundi. $3’000 was collected through ticket sales and used to buy cattle for orphans of the Rwandan genocide, creating a livelihood for those who have lost so very much.
December 6th, 2009 The Human Promise collaborated with the Senegalese diaspora in Montreal and organized a charity concert to raise funds for aid in Senegal, where torrential rains had created over 264’000 disaster victims over the previous month. $1200 was raised and sent to Senegal.
November 17th, 2009 The organization inaugurated a new program for education and outreach with its first Interactive Evening. A handful of dedicated students from a variety of high schools attended presentations and participated in discussions on the subject of developing crises in the world, their root causes and their solutions. Troubles in Darfur, the DRC, Uganda and Iran were discussed.
September 13th, 2009 The Human Promise participated in Côte-des-Neiges en Fête for the second consecutive year, adding to its already established Darfur campaign a new focus on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the tragedies taking place there and the role played by cell-phone manufacturers.
June 2009 The Human Promise was selected as the recipient of a $ 7500.00 Generation J grant to support their work educating their peers about human rights issues.
May 27th, 2009 As a result of a campaign led by Shawn Greenstone, another petition was presented to parliament on behalf of victims of the world’s deadliest ongoing war since WWII in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that has claimed 5.4 million lives. The Human Promise leaders have and continue to personally meet with numerous politicians promoting their cause.
May 24, 2009 The Soccer for Peace tournament was chaired by Zack Singer and raised over $3'000 for development work in Rwanda.
May 11, 2009 Josh Bercovitch chaired an intergenerational initiative called Bingo with Bubby in collaboration with the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s Grandmothers-2-Grandmothers campaign. The campaign raises funds to assist African grandmothers who are turning the tide on the HIV/Aids pandemic on that continent. Through his efforts The Human Promise will donate $ 3000.00 to this important initiative.
April, 2009 The Loyola High School Chapter of The Human Promise held an event to raise money for Darfur and raised $ 860.00. On May 8, 2009 the Bialik Chapter of Human Promise raised $ 4000.00 at their school fair.
February, 2009 The Human Promise made the first of four installments to IBUKA-Education to pay the university tuition fees, for an orphan of the Rwandan genocide, at University Libre of Kigali (ULK). In doing so they are providing a gift that will forever change the destiny of a young man whose parents died in the genocide.
November 23, 2008 Jacob Shapiro’s junior committee organized a floor hockey tournament attended by the Honorable Ken Dryden who marveled at the sincere commitment to humanitarianism they displayed. Thousands of dollars were raised once again for Darfur.
November 20, 2008 Rosie Behar chaired the first Human Promise Youth Summit on Human Rights bringing together over 150 students and their teachers from all backgrounds to mark the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Students attending the conference adopted a declaration committing to changing the world in their lifetimes which will be sent to Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations for submission to the U.N.
October, 2008 Bialik High School Chapter President, Dani Sochaczevski, individually raised $ 2500.00 from a golf fundraiser.
September 9, 2008 The Human Promise reached thousands of visitors to the Côte-des-Neiges en fête community fair with an information booth that featured an appeal to end the crisis in Darfur. Prominent Canadian and Quebec politicians, of all political stripes, purchased a THP t-shirt to show their support for the students` efforts.
June, 2008 Bialik High School submitted a cheque totaling over $ 1800.00 collected by students over the course of the 2007-08 school year for The Human Promise.
May, 2008 The Human Promise quickly organized fundraising relief efforts for children affected by the Chinese earthquake raising $5,000.00 in under one week for the Tzu Chi Foundation.
October, 2007 The Human Promise submitted a petition to the House of Commons to lobby the Canadian government for greater involvement in bringing an end to the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. That effort is now recorded for posterity in Hansard.
October, 2007 Working with CJC, QR and the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Center, The Human Promise organized a conference during Holocaust Education Month to sensitize the broader public about the situation in Darfur.
June, 2007 Jacob Shapiro and Zack Gold, then only 12, organized a floor hockey tournament which raised almost $ 10,000.00 for Darfuri refugees. That money has built a water well in a Darfur refugee camp which is saving countless of lives by providing an immediate source of fresh water to those who previously risked their lives in search of it. As such, Darfuri children in that camp no longer have to wait in fear that their mothers will be raped or murdered and never return to them.
January, 2007 Focusing his abundant creativity and vision, Adam Shapiro enlisted the aid of fellow Bialik students and the Canadian Jewish Congress, Quebec Region to create The Human Promise, a student-led organization that assists impoverished children around the world, many of whom have been through the trauma of genocide, sexual molestation, enslavement and violence. The members of The Human Promise immediately began empowering their peers to solve real world problems.
Through the committed efforts of its leadership, students participating in The Human Promise activities have developed a deep understanding of the complexities of child poverty, racism, violence and sexual exploitation and the role education can play in alleviating the suffering of millions of disadvantaged children living in conflict zones.
In short, secondary school students inspired by The Human Promise have raised tens of thousands of dollars for humanitarian causes and sensitized countless numbers of their peers to human rights issues in Canada and around the world. From a humble vision, to the formidable leadership skills of its current governing board, today The Human Promise funds programs that provide disadvantaged children with educational, health, nutritional and emotional support.