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Be Like Brit: Media Coverage 5 Years Later

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

 

Monday, January 12, marked five-years since the devastating earthquake in Haiti that claimed the lives of over 100,000 people, including 19-year-old Rutland resident and Lynn University student Britney Gengel. She was in Haiti participating in a relief trip for college.

Britney Gengal

Her death inspired her family and friends to start the "Be Like Brit" campaign. Now, five-years later, the orphanage built in her memory is complete.

In addition to her namesake orphanage's completion being celebrated, the CDC reports that significant progress has been made towards rebuilding the public health system in Haiti. “Particularly since the earthquake in 2010, CDC has made significant investment in the national laboratory and disease surveillance systems in Haiti” said David Lowrance, M.D., M.P.H., director of CDC’s Haiti office. “These systems and capacities are vital to preventing, detecting, and responding to public health threats before they become crises and to protecting the health of the Haitian people and the global community.”

The completion of Brit's orphanage earned a spot with many national and regional media organizations. Check out a sampling in the slideshow below of the global coverage of her family and the communities work celebrating her life.

 

Related Slideshow: Be Like Brit- Media Coverage 5 Years Later

Monday, January 12 marked 5 years since the devastating earthquake in Haiti that claimed the lives of over 100,000 people, including 19 year old Rutland resident and Lynn University student Britney Gengel, who was in Haiti participating in a relief trip. Now, 5 years later, the orphanage built in her memory is complete. The slideshow below is a sample of national media coverage that her orphanage's opening has recieved.

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GoLocalWorcester

Be Like Brit: 14 To Watch in Central Mass in 2014

What started as a project built in her memory is now home to 35 children, and employs more than 40 full-time employees. According to the Be Like Brit website, hundreds of American and Canadian college students and other volunteers visit or volunteer at Be Like Brit each year...

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NBC NEWS

5 Years After Haiti's Earthquake, Orphanage Is Victim's Legacy

"They love us so much and everyone is so happy. They love what they have and they work so hard to get nowhere, yet they are all so appreciative. I want to move here and start an orphanage myself." - Britney Gengel, January 12, 2010

Three hours after American college student Britney Gengel sent that text to her mom, a catastrophic 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti, shattering the Hotel Montana where she was staying...

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USA TODAY

Parents of Haiti quake victim realize her final wish

Now, on the fifth-year anniversary of the deadly earthquake, the Gengels' efforts are complete in a brick-and-mortar tribute to their oldest child and only daughter. The Be Like Brit orphanage is a 19,000-square-foot building in the shape of a B high on the mountainside of Grand Goave, a town about an hour west of Haiti's capital, Port au Prince...

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HUFFINGTON POST

Be Like Brit Orphanage In Haiti Built In Honor Of Britney Gengel, College Student Who Died In Earthquake

An American family who lost their daughter in a massive earthquake in Haiti three years ago has finished building an orphanage in her memory.

The parents of Britney Gengel, Leonard and Cherylann, led about 150 family and friends, including U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, in a solemn ceremony Saturday at the Be Like Brit orphanage in the coastal town of Grand Goave.

"It was a beautiful ceremony and had a great dedication," said Leonard Gengel, 52, of Rutland, Massachusetts...

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ABC NEWS

Dad Builds Haiti Orphanage in Daughter's Memory

"Be Like Brit" and the dedication of her Orphanage in Haiti was the subject of a featured story by Diane Sawyer and ABC "World News Tonight.

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CBS Boston

Britney Gengel’s Parents Visit Haiti Orphanage 5 Years After Deadly Quake

Five years after a devastating earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people in Haiti, a Holden family has returned to the country where their daughter was killed to celebrate her legacy.

It’s been an emotional week for the Gengel family, who just returned from Haiti. They planned the trip to coincide with the anniversary of their daughter Britney’s death...

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FOX Boston

Family remembers daughter lost in Haiti earthquake on 5th anniversary of her death

Monday marks the 5th anniversary of the deadly earthquake that hit Haiti, and Haitians around the world will hold memorial services honoring those who died that day.

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake killed over 200,000 people, including Rutland native Britney Gengel. She was in Haiti on a humanitarian mission when the earthquake hit. Since the tragedy her family has opened an orphanage in Haiti in her honor...

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NEWSER

Quake Victim Gets Final Wish: a Haitian Orphanage

(NEWSER) – Haiti has an immense orphan problem—UNICEF says there were 430,000 orphans as of 2012—and Britney Gengel had desperately wanted to help. Just a few hours before she died in the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 19-year-old, who was on a missionary trip to aid orphans there, texted her parents in Massachusetts: "They love us so much and everyone is so happy. They love what they have and they work so hard to get nowhere, yet they are all so appreciative. I want to move here and start an orphanage myself," USA Today reports...

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WCVB 5, BOSTON

Rutland family builds Haiti orphanage in honor of daughter

A Rutland family who lost their daughter in a massive earthquake in Haiti three years ago has finished building an orphanage in her memory.

The parents of Britney Gengel, Leonard and Cherylann, led about 150 family and friends, including U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, in a solemn ceremony Saturday at the Be Like Brit orphanage in the coastal town of Grand Goave.

"It was a beautiful ceremony and had a great dedication," said Leonard Gengel, 52...

 
 

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