Our Hearts Go Out to the People of Haiti

Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti and to our neighbors in the Greater New Orleans region who have family and friends there. Support for early relief efforts is critical. Equally important will be the longer-term effort to rebuild a country already devastated by poverty.

Below are some organizations working in Haiti that have been recommended to us:

Partners in Health and its partner organization Zanmi Lasante have worked in Haiti for nearly twenty-five years, and today is one of the largest non-governmental health care providers in the country.

The American Red Cross has increased its initial $200,000 commitment to $1 million. The White House encourages donations through the American Red Cross.

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has experienced personnel and a stock of emergency supplies in Haiti. CRS is providing shelter, food, water, sanitation, health, and other needs of those affected by the quake. Our local Catholic Charities is directing their donations to this sister-organization of theirs.

Lambi Fund of Haiti: Perhaps the most similar to a community foundation, the Lambi Fund of Haiti is doing second responder work to help communities rebuild, especially the grassroots sustainable development and environmental projects they have supported all over Haiti.

The Greater New Orleans Foundation has established a Fund for Haiti that will support rebuilding work in Port au Prince and other affected areas. Our program department will diligently review and make grants to organizations doing long-term recovery work.  The Greater New Orleans Foundation has pledged $10,000 to this fund.  For more information about the Fund for Haiti please contact Juliana Anderson at (504) 598-4663 or Juliana@gnof.org

Situational information:

AlertNet: A humanitarian news network from the Reuters Foundation that provides detailed news updates on the extent of damage and ongoing humanitarian relief efforts.

ReliefWeb: A project of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This website serves as a clearing house for information related to the earthquake.

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: An entity within the United Nations Secretariat that provides a map of the earthquake damage.

Business Civic Leadership Center: A 501(c)3 affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that monitors in-country news as well as business response.