Be Like Brit

Written By: Jenny King | Issue: 2018/10 - October

Len Gengel has experienced tragedy that no one should have to face.

In January, 2010 his 19-year-old daughter Britney was killed in the disastrous earthquake in Haiti while there on a trip with Lynn University.

The details are devastating and her parents immediately became involved in an international effort to help locate all the students that were missing. 

Gengel, a man who is not new to making large projects come to fruition, put all his energies into making “Brit’s” dream of opening an orphanage come true. They started the Be Like Brit Foundation.

Now home to 66 Haitian orphans, “Brit’s House” has done far more than house the children, it has changed the environment and lives of those in Grand Goâve, 30 miles southwest of the capital,

Port-au-Prince.

Gengel says, “Grand Goâve is our community. The people of Grand Goâve have been supportive and actively involved in our efforts from the time that we first looked at the site of The Children’s Home.  Today, Be Like Brit is the largest employer in the area, with an average work force of 100 staff, along with additional employees for construction projects.  All but two of our employees in Haiti are from the Grand Goâve area.”

On Friday, October 19, from 11:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. there will be a special event held at The Shuptrine Gallery to help raise funds for the Be Like Brit Foundation.  Artist Stephanie Shuptrine, daughter of Hubert Shuptrine and a renowned watercolorist, will be painting one of the 66 planned pictures of the 66 residents of Brit’s House.  This will be offered by silent auction during the event and will later be sent to the Foundation’s offices in Worcester, Massachusetts, where the final bids will be accepted during their Fall Gala on November 3.  Eighty-five cents of every dollar raised by the foundation goes directly to Brit’s Home.

During this special event in Highlands, Len will be at the gallery to provide an in-depth look at how Brit’s House has come to be and what he and his family went through after the earthquake.  He will also have copies of his book, “Heartache and Hope in Haiti,” which he’ll be signing.  It is a story of the power of love and dedication and he speaks from the heart with unimaginable passion.

Please plan to attend the Be Like Brit Foundation Event at the Shuptrine Gallery, Friday October 19.  The Gallery is located at 369 Main Street in downtown Highlands.  For more information about the fundraiser, call the gallery at (828) 482-2676 and to learn more about Britney Gengel’s legacy, visit BeLikeBrit.org.