Nicole Jones and  Jean Marc Brissau from InterVol were our speakers. InterVol is a 501(C)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting the world’s neediest to materials, people, and opportunities. By recovering and redistributing medical supplies and equipment, and through the provision of volunteer opportunities for medical professionals and aspiring educators, InterVol is able to further its mission to engage humanitarian efforts worldwide.  They are located on Kings Highway in Irondequoit.  Although they help out around the world, Covid has forced them to travel less and therefore they are concentrating their efforts more locally this year.  

 

Jean Marc Brissau from Haiti coordinates the work of InterVol in his country.  After being educated in the US, Jean Marc decided to go back to Haiti to give back to his country any way that he can.  He heard of Rotary and realized that there was no club in his immediate area so he started one and was the President of that club for its first two years.  In 2010, shortly after he returned to Haiti, the country was devastated by an earthquake and Jean Marc has been working since then to help restore infrastructure in his area.  The Rotary Club working with InterVol provides shelter and medical help as over 80% of his town was destroyed by the earthquake.  Getting the initial supplies in was a huge task as the area did not have adequate runways for medical supply planes to land.  Jean Marc was able to clear an area of land by hand to make it a runway and thereby get the medical supplies needed.  In 2017, they built a school that now has 80 students.  Please see the InterVol website for volunteer opportunities.