By Peggy Mackenzie
In a recent newsletter, 
Director Meike Schleiff stated she will return to Haiti this summer to renew discussions with the Haitian team about the next steps in store for GROW Haiti as the international focus of GROW’s work. All funds received thus far have been, and will continue to be, used for the international outreach to Haiti, Schleiff said.
Greenbrier Residents for Outreach to the World, or GROW, began as a project following the devastating earthquake in Haiti in January of 2010. The partnership was built with the support and encouragement of the local community in the Greenbrier Valley to help GROW Haiti improve education, health, water and sanitation, and economic opportunities in and around Cap Haitien, Haiti.
As part of their larger vision, an opportunity has arisen to be more actively involved with the local community in Greenbrier Valley by partnering with Country Roads Crossfit (CRC) and The Montwell Park project in downtown Lewisburg. The local focus of GROW will be to support the new building under construction at Montwell Park, where CRC will be housed when completed, with additional funding sources within GROW.
Bimbo Coles and Laura Lee of CRC have established programs to empower young people to become successful lifelong stewards of their health. They have started a CRC Kids Program to support children in need to participate at no cost, as well as a variety of other weekend, summer, and team-building opportunities for kids involving sports and other fitness activities, with the overall goal of promoting a healthy lifestyle, learning to build commitment, and maximizing self-confidence. These programs are geared towards the neurological, cognitive, social and motor development of children ages five and up. Additionally, CRC is in the process of obtaining additional space at the Bowling School where basketball, volleyball and other physical activity for children will be offered.
“We are all very excited about it,” says Schleiff.
The GROW Project, Inc., Country Roads Crossfit and the Montwell Park Project are committed to this program and believe that a positive change can happen in the community one child at a time.
