Billy 4 Kids experiences challenges with customs and taxes in their efforts to help children in Haiti

New York, New York. May 25th 2023

Billy4Kids, a nonprofit organization founded by Billy Lerner, the CEO of iPark, and Alexson Roy, face customs and tax issues in their efforts to reduce the number of children suffering from parasitic diseases in Haiti. Billy Lerner and co-founder Alexson, have both been detained in Haiti on two separate visits under the assumption they were transporting shoes to be sold for a profit. 

Children in Haiti receiving shoes from Billy4Kids foundation.

First visiting in September of 2014, ambassadors for the Billy4Kids foundation were detained by customs in Haiti, as officials attempted to charge the foundation sales tax on their charitable goods. Grounded in the airport, the foundation was compelled to contact the magistrate to authenticate all paperwork, who eventually approved the transport of the donated shoes into Haiti. Similarly, in December, 2014, the Billy4Kids foundation were again detained by officials in Haiti, ordering the foundation to pay sales tax on their donated shoes. On account that Billy4Kids coordinated their charitable efforts with a school in Haiti, the school acted as an intermediary and verified their partnership with the foundation, allowing the nonprofit shoes to be transported into Haiti taxfree. 

Billy Lerner and his nonprofit foundation, Billy4Kids continued to experience difficulties with the customs and taxes of Haiti. On their third trip, custom officials seized over one thousand pairs of shoes. Again, officials wanted to charge sales tax on the charitable goods, asking the foundation for $1500 in fees. Eventually, after a payment of $600, the shoes were approved entry into Haiti and successfully transported to the Billy4Kids charity partners in Port-Au-Prince. 

On their mission to help the underprivileged children of Haiti, Billy4Kids, partnered with two organizations, ‘Basketball to Uplift the Youth’ and ‘Theophile En Christ D’Haiti’. ‘Basketball to Uplift the Youth’, is a program that aims to improve children’s motivation through positive social interaction, and Theophile En Christ D’Haiti provides shelter and education to the underprivileged children of Port-Au-Prince. Partnering with these organizations, Billy4Kids supplied shoes to the school, shelter, and basketball program to enable children to safely participate in all social activities, improving their outlook on life.

Members of the ‘Basketball to Uplift Youth’ program and ‘Theophile En Christ D’Haiti’ group receiving shoes from Billy Lerner and the Billy4Kids foundation.

With the continuous challenges faced by Billy4Kids in their efforts to support the underprivileged children of Port Au Prince, the foundation was forced to cease shipments to Haiti in 2016. However, Billy Lerner and his foundation, continue to fight for underprivileged children noting that “We don’t question why we do it, but how we can do it better. We have a surplus of shoes after the pandemic and we are continuously striving to engage organizations to help as many children as possible”. Since its establishment in 2013, the Billy4Kids foundation has successfully distributed thousands of shoes to children in impoverished countries and are continuing to work to increase this number. 

Published in partnership with Billy 4 Kids Inc

Email: info@billy4kids.org www.https://billy4kids.org/  1-855-472-7569

SOURCE Billy4Kids Inc.