Our Story

The Girl Who Saw Everyone

Britney Gengel had a gift for making people feel seen. The overlooked. The forgotten. The ones the world walks past. She noticed them. She loved them.

Britney with children in Haiti
Who She Was

The Kid Sitting Alone at Lunch

Britney noticed the people everyone else missed.

The kid sitting alone. The one who didn't fit in. The person having a hard day. She saw them, and she made them feel like they mattered. Because to her, they did.

She was popular, but not in the way that excludes. She was first-class without being above anyone. Beautiful, kind, courageous. The rare person who could walk into any room and make everyone in it feel a little better about themselves.

When she was nineteen, a student at Lynn University in Florida, she signed up for a service trip to Haiti. She wanted to help.

"

They love these kids so much here. I want to move here and start an orphanage myself.

Britney Gengel — January 12, 2010

Brit's Home aerial view
January 12, 2010

Three Hours Later

Britney sent that text to her mother from Haiti, where she was on a service trip with her college. She'd fallen in love with the children. She could see a future there.

Three hours after sending that message, the earthquake struck.

Britney was among the 300,000 lives lost that day. She was nineteen years old.

Her parents, Cherylann and Len Gengel, were devastated. But they had her words. They had her dream. And they made a decision:

Their daughter's last wish would not die with her.

Brit's Home campus
2010-2013

From a Kitchen Table to a Home

Be Like Brit started at the Gengel family's kitchen table in Holden, Massachusetts. Just a grieving family with a mission.

They purchased land in Grand Goave, Haiti. On Christmas Eve, 2010, construction began. By the end of 2012, the building was complete: a 19,000-square-foot home shaped like a "B" for Britney, built to San Francisco seismic standards.

On January 21, 2013, the first child moved in. His name was Kervins. Everyone calls him Sha Sha.

The dream Britney texted about three years earlier was finally real.

15 Years

The Journey

From tragedy to triumph. The milestones that built Brit's Home.

The Earthquake
January 12, 2010
The Earthquake
Britney and 300,000 others lost in Haiti. Her final text becomes a mission.
Land Purchased
September 2010
Land Purchased
The Gengels purchase property in Grand Goave, Haiti.
Construction Begins
December 24, 2010
Construction Begins
Ground breaks on Christmas Eve.
Brit's Home Opens
January 2013
Brit's Home Opens
Official dedication. Kervins (Sha Sha) becomes the first child to call it home.
Solar Power
2014
Solar Power
100+ solar panels installed, providing energy independence.
Brit's Academy
June 2019
Brit's Academy
In-house school opens, providing quality education from preschool through high school.
Transition Compound
November 2022
Transition Compound
New facility built for young adults aging out of the program.
First Graduates
August 2024
First Graduates
The first children to grow up at Brit's Home complete our program and move into independent lives.
Leadership

The Gengel Family

What started as a family's grief became a community's hope.

Cherylann Gengel
Cherylann Gengel
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Britney's mother. Turned unimaginable loss into unstoppable purpose. Leads the organization's vision and strategy.
Len Gengel
Len Gengel
Co-Founder & President
Britney's father. Known to the children as "Papi Len." Oversees operations and keeps Britney's spirit alive every day.
Bernie Gengel
Bernie Gengel
Director General, Haiti
Manages daily operations at Brit's Home. The person who makes it all run. On the ground, in Haiti, every day.
Today

The Legacy Continues

What started at a kitchen table is now the largest employer in Grand Goave. Over 129 Haitian staff members. 66 children who call Brit's Home their family. More than 1,000 gallons of clean water distributed to the community every day.

In August 2024, we celebrated our first graduates—young people who grew up at Brit's Home, completed our Transition Program, and moved into independent, successful lives.

Britney didn't just dream about an orphanage. She dreamed about raising leaders. That's exactly what we're doing.

Brit's Home today
Join Us

Continue Britney's Work

Her dream lives because people like you believe in it. Every donation, every sponsorship, every prayer keeps her promise alive.

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