Elvis Dumervil, Baltimore Ravens’ All-Pro DE/OLB, has returned from a weekend in Bercy, Haiti checking in on the construction progress of a 58 home community he has funded through New Story, a nonprofit that transforms slums into sustainable communities. His big vision: create an entire NFL community in Haiti.
He pledged to build 58 homes in honor of his Baltimore Ravens #58 jersey number and went to Haiti before training camp to watch the first 24 of the 58 families move into their brand new homes. For $6,500 per home, New Story and Elvis Dumervil are uniting to rebuild parts of Haiti home by home.
What Elvis has to say after the trip?
“It was a special experience to give back and visit where my family is from. I was blown away by the quality of the homes for only $6,500 and how grateful the receiving families were. Watching families move in after being homeless for 6+ years was incredible. We have land for about 200 more homes in this community.”
This is the start of a bigger vision for a 250 home NFL community. With 50+ current Haitian NFL players, Dumervil plans to build an entire NFL (player / corporate sponsored) community in Haiti with the help of fellow NFL stars and fans.
Next steps: New Story and Elvis will be reaching out to NFL players to pledge their jersey numbers or “pledging a home for every touchdown, interception, etc.” This growing community then becomes a centralized location for players to visit, off-season camps, and fans to experience.
New Story has identified and secured land in Bercy with the help of their local partner on the ground, Mission of Hope. The community will be built by locals making fair wages using local materials. A school is already built for students on the same part of land.
Quote from New Story CEO, Brett Hagler:
“Safe homes are the foundation that give kids the opportunity for better education, health, and athletic dreams. Elvis and I hit it off because we both had the same vision of a thriving community – not just one-off housing. We’re now on a mission to fund and build an extraordinary 250 home NFL Community.”
New Story‘s founders started the organization upon visiting Haiti in 2014 when close to 80,000 people were homeless. 6 years after the earthquake there is still an estimated 65,000 people displaced.
They have created a simple concrete solution for $6,500 giving these families the stability of dignified housing they deserve and a foundation to build from with access to education, healthcare, and basic necessities like clean water and sanitation.
New Story was joined by two videographers from the Ravens to capture content for a special documentary piece. You can find the video content here as b-roll.
New Story’s 1st community: In 2015, New Story successfully built a 151 home community in less than 1 year in Leveque, Haiti.
