Godin Guitars team up with Arcade Fire band and fellow Montrealers to continue their charity work for the country of Haiti.
This will be the second time that Godin is donating acoustic guitars to Haiti, to be distributed by Kanpe, an organization dedicated to rebuilding Haiti.
After the devastating earthquake of 2010, Haiti is still in need of help. Godin along with their supporters provided their own kind of support, which is by donating quality guitars. These instruments are given to inspire the artists and help entertain the people of Haiti.
Haiti received 33 guitars during the first donation which happened back in March of 2011. This year, Godin and friends was able to raise funds to give away 40 acoustic guitars that include steel string models from Godin’s Simon & Patrick line along with nylon string models from their Lapatrie line. Arcade Fire donated a stand-up bass guitar while Editions-CoupdePouce donated a number of instructional guitar books.
The band Arcade Fire visited Haiti in the early parts of 2012, and they were able to see some of the guitars that were previously distributed in the hands of the young people. Marika Anthony-Shaw, Arcade Fire Violist/Violinist, said: “We just got back from an incredible trip to Haiti where we saw the Godin guitars that were contributed in action! There is a real music scene developing in a rural area called Cange, one of the poorest areas of Haiti, where a number of young people are really getting good! In Haiti, we witnessed such a remarkable and pure artistic sense. There is incredible vitality and spirit despite all the tragedy and
poverty, and music plays a huge part in this. The guitars from Godin are bringing a tremendous amount of joy to everyone we’ve had the pleasure of passing them on to and we really want to give thanks on behalf of all these people for this gift of music.”
The first donation guitars include Godin’s Seagull, Norman, Art & Lutherie and Lapatrie brands. These guitars were distributed amongst several regions in Haiti. A notable place where the guitars helped inspire the victims was at the learning center in the Zanmi Beni facility, located just outside of Port-au-Prince. Opened after the earthquake, Zanmi Beni is a home for abandoned and physically and developmentally disabled children in Haiti.
Richard Bunze, Godin’s Media & Artist Relations representative, was quoted saying: “It’s certainly inspiring to hear that these guitars are having such a
positive impact on those affected, if providing guitars and the ability to make music can bring some form of joy to their lives after such devastation, then we are happy to do so.”
Here is a video presentation explaining the relief efforts:
You can find out more about the rebuilding and development work being done in Haiti by visiting Kanpe.
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