Apparent Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit co-founded by Shelley Clay, Marilyn Monaghan (current CEO), and Corrigan Clay in 2008. The Haitian employees of Apparent Project who create jewelry, clothing, and art pieces made out of metal, clay, cloth and paper are the parents of once-

orphan An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew language, Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages ...

ed Haitian children. Apparent Project's artisans have included metal sculptors, jewelry makers, paper makers, bookbinders, seamstresses, and ceramicists. They produce jobs for parents to be able to retain custody of their children, rather than sending them to an orphanage because of extreme poverty. Apparent Project is a

socially Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

and

ecologically Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

conscious business with a mission to stimulate the Haitian economy and bringing an end to poverty-based relinquishment of children in Haiti. Apparent Project is a business incubator for start-up businesses that help improve the economic situation of families in Haiti. It also does

community development The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activist ...

, education, job skills training, medical relief,

prenatal care Prenatal care, also known as antenatal care, is a type of preventive healthcare for pregnant individuals. It is provided in the form of medical checkups and healthy lifestyle recommendations for the pregnant person. Antenatal care also consists of ...

, and continues to market and promote its Papillon-branded goods as well as other Haitian

artisan An artisan (from , ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, sculpture, clothing, food ite ...

goods through its party sales and

fundraisers Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

. Apparent Project's goal is to see Haitian families stay together. Skill development and employment addresses the needs of families before they are at the point of desperation, driven to give their children to an orphanage because of

extreme poverty Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, ...

Background

Corrigan Clay and his ex-wife, Shelley Clay, founded Apparent Project with money inherited from Corrigan Clay's father. In 2008, Shelley Clay moved to

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

and went to work in an

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

. She later started "Papillon Enterprise" to give job skills to heads of households, and particularly mothers, to prevent child relinquishment. While starting Papillon Enterprise as a nonprofit, Shelley Clay depended upon grant funding; Papillon Enterprise later became a for-profit business. At the end of 2010 they sold $100,000 in jewelry through their nonprofit overseas exchange, Apparent Project. In 2013, Apparent Project's Papillon Enterprise had an estimated $1 million in sales. From 2013 to 2016, the company grew from 40 workers to over 300 workers. Clay seeks to have the issues of poverty in Haiti resolved through sustainable economic empowerment of the poor.

Papillon Enterprise

In 2009, Apparent Project formally registered as a business in Haiti, as Papillon Enterprise. Papillon became the production hub for Apparent Project's merchandise. The artisans thus became legal employees on the tax registry, permitting many more employees to be hired.

Wages

Minimum wage in Haiti is $5 per day and the average person makes $2 per day. Employees of Apparent Project make $15 per day and receive medical coverage. The employees have also included 30 prison inmates Clay has stated that "It's huge, because in Haiti you can't go to trial without money. She hopes to expand job opportunities in prisons, including a nearby women's prison.

Partnerships

The Apparent Project partners with smaller

nongovernmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

(NGOs) and faith-based nonprofits like The Global Orphan Project. In spring 2016, the Global Orphan Project (GO) carried necklaces and bracelets made by Apparent Project through its GO Exchange, which sells locally made clothing and accessories from

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, and

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. They also have partnerships with stores including Gap and designers such as

Donna Karan Donna Karan ( ; born Donna Ivy Faske), also known as DK, is an American fashion designer and the creator of the Donna Karan New York and DKNY clothing labels. Early life and education Karan was born to mother Helen "Queenie" Faske (née Rabinow ...

. Celebrities including

Kim Kardashian Kimberly Noel Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the celebrity sex tape ...

Maria Bello Maria Bello (born April 18, 1967) is an American actress and producer. Her first major film role was in 1998's '' Permanent Midnight''. She followed this with a range of supporting and leading parts in films such as '' Payback'' (1999), '' Coyot ...

Patricia Arquette Patricia Arquette (; born April 8, 1968) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut as Kristen Parker in ''A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors'' (1987) and has since received several awards, including an Academy Award, two P ...

Olivia Wilde Olivia Wilde (born Olivia Jane Cockburn, , March 10, 1984) is an American actress and director. She played Thirteen (House), Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House (TV series), House'' (2007–2012), and appeared ...

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

, and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

have been supporters of Apparent Project.

Clinton Foundation's Support

In 2013 the organization received a grant of $150,000 from the

Clinton Foundation The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...

. In 2015, Clinton Foundation President

Donna Shalala Donna Edna Shalala ( ; born February 14, 1941) is an American politician and academic who served in the Carter and Clinton administrations, as well as in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021. Shalala is a recipient of the Preside ...

Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Victoria Clinton (born February 27, 1980) is an American writer. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator. Clinton was born in Little Rock, Ar ...

, and Clinton Foundation supporters visited Apparent Project in Haiti. With grant support from the

, the organization was able to reach new buyers, leading to greater market access, and ultimately permitting job creation while providing

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

and on-site

day care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...

for its 300 workers. The grants paid for facility expansion, hiring, and equipment purchases. Electric kilns would require significant energy, and grants provided a rooftop

solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

system to power them, and most of the operations, with

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

References

External links

* {{official website, https://apparentproject.org/
Papillon Official SiteHealing Haiti (Mission Trip)
Charities based in Washington (state) Non-profit organizations based in Haiti Lacey, Washington Non-profit organizations based in Washington (state) Companies based in Port-au-Prince 2008 establishments in Haiti 2008 establishments in Washington (state) Companies based in Thurston County, Washington