SOUTH BEND, Ind. (February 23, 2010) — Innovation Park at Notre Dame today announced the addition of a new client, Road to Fondwa, LLC. The company, which will reside in Innovation Park's Greenhouse space, will work with the Park in the coming months to significantly increase the distribution, awareness and impact of the documentary "The Road to Fondwa," filmed exclusively in Haiti.
Founded in 2009 by Notre Dame alumni Justin Brandon, Brian McElroy and Daniel Schnorr, Road to Fondwa, LLC, is seeking to utilize the documentary of the same name to help generate funding for organizations dedicated to providing relief to earthquake-stricken Haiti.
"The Road to Fondwa," filmed in 2006, tells the powerful story of a rural Haitian community poised to change the future of Haiti. To date, the film has been screened at nine film festivals throughout the United States, receiving critical acclaim.
Following the devastating news of the earthquake in Haiti, Road to Fondwa, LLC, has implemented new plans to utilize the film as a tool to aid relief efforts. Most recently, the film has been showcased at screenings throughout the U.S. as a fund-raising tool for relief organizations. Currently, the company is contributing 100 percent of the proceeds from DVD sales to Haiti earthquake relief efforts in the area near Fondwa, Haiti, via organizations such as Partners in Health and Yele Haiti.
"Innovation Park wishes to help Road to Fondwa, LLC, find ways to market this powerful documentary as a tool to help raise additional funds for critical earthquake relief operations," said David Brenner, President and CEO of Innovation Park. "The company's dedication to sustainable, 'double bottom-line' operations make it a timely venture supporting a worthy cause."
"When we were looking for a place and partner to help us discern what we needed to do to take our efforts to the next level, Innovation Park seemed like a natural fit," said Brandon. "Through our engagement at the Park, our company hopes to find ways to make a difference in the lives of countless Haitians via organizations that can make an immediate impact."
The documentary will be screened Feb. 25 at the University of Notre Dame's Eck Visitors' Center. Doors open at 7 p.m. EST. The screening is free and open to the public; optional donations will benefit relief organizations. For more information, visit www.fondwa.org.
Innovation Park's Greenhouse is a unique space designed to foster innovation and development for ventures in their earliest stages. Based on the principle that dynamic collaboration results in more commercially viable businesses, the Greenhouse provides space and technology for new ventures to brainstorm and collaborate with market experts on critical commercialization issues.
Innovation Park at Notre Dame connects innovators, market experts and capital providers to transform innovations into viable marketplace ventures. Located adjacent to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN, the Park connects clients with key ingredients essential to commercial success. The 55,000 square-foot facility includes high-tech collaborative areas, fully equipped conference rooms, build-to-suit office suites and dry and wet laboratory space. The Park is designed to serve a variety of businesses, including ventures with expected commercial applications from core Notre Dame research areas as well as ventures that can benefit from access to expertise and resources available through the Park. Innovation Park is a 501© (3) organization wholly owned by Notre Dame. For more information, visit www.innovationparknd.com.
For more information about Innovation Park at Notre Dame, send us an email or call 574.631.8825.