Our weekend was filled with celebration at the orphanage, as Ashley Horner, her team and our children celebrated an amazing accomplishment — running 230 miles through Haiti to raise money for our primary school.  The original goal was $28,000, to fund the school for an entire year.  When Ashley hit that goal, she doubled down, and kept running, challenging people around the world with a new goal of $56,000.

We are incredibly happy to report not only did Ashley meet the new goal, SHE BROKE IT.  As of this writing the fundraising page is over $64,000, from more than 1,100 donors!  

Not only did Ashley crush the goal and provide two years of funding for the school, she helped increase awareness about The Maison Fortunè Orphanage and our goal of raising the next generation of leaders for Haiti.  We are beyond thrilled, and so very appreciative of everything Ashley and her team have done for the children.  Of course the mission doesn’t end here – we have more needs, but thanks to Ashley’s efforts, we’re able to focus even more resources to our other challenges.

We’ll close with a very heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported Ashley and the children of Maison Fortunè through dollars, tears, sweat, sharing the story and sending prayers and warm thoughts. Thank you.

​Yesterday, Maison Fortuné Orphanage donor and pro fitness competitor Ashley Horner set off on her 230 mile run around Haiti to raise money for an entire year of MFO primary school funding. We are excited to announce that on day two of Ashley’s journey she has surpassed the $25,000 goal and the donations are rolling in!  Way to go Ashley!

To help you understand the magnitude of this journey, here are some excerpts from the on-site coverage of this feat that you can read on:

Day 1: We’ve passed through a few small towns now. The congestion of the downtown areas makes for chaos and confusion, especially with our convoy of 2 motos, 2 vehicles and Ashley on foot of course. But the roads aren’t exactly set up to easily take “detours” here, so we truck right through it. Ashley’s wearing a Buff to try and help with the immense amount of smog and exhaust she’s breathing in as every car passes. She came back to the car and said, “This heat is no joke…” but thankfully the sun is going down and the air is cooling right along with it. Hannah hopped out around Mile 5 and together they’re keeping a slow and steady pace. Starting off too fast will likely lead to problems down the road. We’re keeping her hydrated, stopping just for several seconds to wipe off the sweat, sip some water and keep going.

Day 2: Around 4am this morning, we rolled out our sleeping mats and found a safe clearing at the top of the hill outside of St. Marc. We knew our driver needed to get some rest for the long day we knew today held. Ashley got a little rest, but she mostly kept saying how she wanted everyone else to get some sleep. Doesn’t surprise me one bit, that the girl running over 200 miles across Haiti is still putting everyone else first. She woke up and shook off the stiffness and aches from yesterday. Hannah brought her cupping tools to try and get some circulation to Ashley’s hamstrings. She ate some Mountain House granola, got some aminos in her, and is off running again. Hoping to make some serious miles before the heat of the day hits.   We are getting updates from the orphanage and all the children are praying for Ashley’s safe finish for her run. They can’t wait to run the final mile with her when we get close to Hinche. We are getting updates from the orphanage and all the children are praying for Ashley’s safe finish for her run. They can’t wait to run the final mile with her when we get close to Hinche. 

I‘m not sure who in their right mind would ever guess that running across a country would be glamorous. But this just goes to show that even though the body is capable of some ridiculous things, it’s definitely going to show its struggle. We stopped for a foot check because Ashley was saying she felt some blisters forming, but we had no idea how bad they were going to be. Two big ones on the sides of both feet, and some serious damage to the toenails of her left foot. We made a big mistake of not changing socks when we got some rest this morning, and she’s hurtin’ now because of it, but just moments after getting bandaged up – she hit the road again. It’s getting pretty hot. Almost midday. We are somewhere between St Marc and Gonaives. Everyone is feeling the heat, with nowhere to find shade or cool off. This is a straight stretch of road and I can sense Ashley is bracing herself for the reality of the mountains and climbing that lie ahead of her. We haven’t even gotten to the serious elevation here…. not even close… No guess yet on when we’ll hit the mountains. But I’ll continue to keep you all updated. She keeps asking, through multiple “I’m fine… I feel good” or polite requests for snacks or water – how the fundraiser is doing. I cant emphasize enough how much this means to her. She is putting her body through the wringer, pushing to limits I can’t even fathom, to be able to set foot in the Maison Fortuné Orphanage Foundation and be able to tell the children their school costs are completely paid for for a full year. Please if you can spare even just a few dollars – it all adds up. -eva

The emotions are overflowing. This is incredible. We were just pausing to collect ourselves and plan out the next few hours to save energy during the heat of the day. And all of a sudden @erin_crooks_ texts me and says “You reached your goal!” I thought it had to be wrong…. Our goal was $28k…. but we are pushing forward. Why stop there with the generosity and compassion pouring out from every person reading this… you are part of this now. We’re all in this together.  Let’s shoot for TWO whole years of school for these kids. Ashley is still running… we still need your encouragement and support.

Click here to donate:  https://www.razoo.com/story/7axccf

​