by Jennifer Leslie:
ATLANTA - An unusual campaign is underway to put the name "Peachtree Street" on part of a tent slum in Haiti.
The goal is to raise enough money this month to build a row of 10 homes for earthquake victims.
The project started with the nonprofit New Story, which is focused on the Leveque tent slum about 30 miles from Port-au-Prince.
It was built after the devastating 2010 earthquake to house victims in tents designed to last three-to-six months.
Now almost six years later, those tents are dangerous and need to be replaced.
Enter Friendly Human, an Atlanta-based video marketing company.
The staff traveled to Haiti to document the building program and left so inspired that they decided to do something to help.
They began a campaign called #NoHomeNovember.
"We were already moving offices, so we decided to move out a month early and go homeless," said Friendly Human's Founder and CEO Daniel Roberts. "We'll use that rent money we save to build a home in Haiti."
This month, the Friendly Human staff is working out of their CEO's home and encouraging others to donate to New Story.
"We're working right on top of each other," said Friendly Human's Justin Walker. "We've realized the importance of a home and how crucial a home is to any type of family."
They'll need to raise more than 60-thousand-dollars to build 10 new homes and label the row "Peachtree Street."
"We want to give Atlanta a presence of generosity in the streets of Leveque," Roberts added.
The idea already has the buy-in of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, which plans to donate $6,000 for one home.
www.11alive.com
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