Archive for January 18th, 2010

To date more than $3.5 million has been raised for Haiti relief through benefits or planned fundraisers held by local Salvation Army units! Even The Salvation Army’s famous Christmas Red Kettles are making a comeback, showing up Sunday during the Minnesota Vikings-Dallas Cowboys playoff game.

In addition, this past week more than 5,000 volunteers in El Dorado, Kansas helped pack one million meals for delivery to Haiti, courtesy of Numana Inc. (http://www.numanainc.com/). By next week, The Salvation Army expects to have a total of two million meals packed and delivered to Haiti.

In a press statement, Salvation Army Officer Lt. Col. Starrett said, “The American public has stepped up in a big way to support the people of Haiti and we want to thank everyone for their generosity. We have been awed by the number of people calling and reaching out to us wanting to help and we are praying for all those who are suffering.”

To echo Lt. Col. Starrett, thank you to everyone for your incredible generosity! We have been overwhelmed with responses from Americans and people across the world wanting to know how to help.

The Salvation Army’s most crucial need is monetary funds to continue their relief efforts. Donors may contribute $10 via their phone bill by text messaging the word “HAITI” to 52000, and confirming the donation with the word, “Yes.”  Donors can also give via www.salvationarmyusa.org, 1-800-SAL-ARMY and through the mail at: The Salvation Army World Service Office, International Disaster Relief Fund, P.O. Box 630728, Baltimore, MD 21263-0728 with designation “Haiti Earthquake.”

The Salvation Army is continuing to support movement of personnel and materials to Haiti to support its 700 officers and staff who have been responding to the needs of residents for the past five days.

A 14-person medical team of eight doctors and six nurses arrived in Port-au-Prince today, along with medical supplies. Several other disaster response teams from the U.S. and Canada are expected to leave from south Florida tomorrow.

Furthermore, a staging area has been established in Miami, FL, at a 100,000-square-foot warehouse that will be used to transfer supplies to Haiti. The Salvation Army is also working with several other corporate donors and vendors to deliver mobile hospitals, water purification units, bottled water, tents, lanterns and other supplies.

To read more about The Salvation Army’s ongoing efforts in Haiti, read our latest press release here. You can also visit our national website at www.salvationarmyusa.org or follow us on  Facebook and Twitter.

75 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, The Salvation Army Bethel Clinic in Fond-de-Negres is working around the clock to house and treat earthquake victims, as well as send whatever support they can to relief workers in Port-au-Prince.

Violet Ezeh, a Salvation Army officer working at the Bethel Clinic, says they have 28 beds, all of which are full, and more patients waiting for a bed in the overcrowded clinic.

The clinic has already sent medical supplies to Port-au-Prince, including: amoxicillin, pain killers, antibiotics, gauze, dressings, masks and gloves.

They also had a team ship out to Port-au-Prince this morning (Monday) to relieve some of the workers. This team consists of four medical personnel, five officers and two translators, one of whom speaks Creole and the other of whom speaks Spanish. This team will also be taking more medical supplies in with them.

The Bethel Clinic is receiving more and more referrals because people are being advised to leave Port-au-Prince. Some of the staff members have even gone into the city to bring relatives back to Fond-de-Negres.

There is still a strong need for help. Violet said she has seen a heavy flow of people walking down the streets carrying suitcases with no real place to go, but they’re just looking for a way out.

In the long-term, Violet and those in Fond-de-Negres are worried about running out of supplies, specifically fuel that powers the clinic’s generators, since Port-au-Prince is very centralized and is the one city from which all their supplies are shipped.

If you would like to help Salvation Army relief workers like Violet and earthquake victims in Port-au-Prince, financial donations are our most crucial need. You can donate through :
•     Online Credit Card Contributions or PayPal
•    Text ‘HAITI’ to 52000
•    Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY
•    Mail a check or money order to:
The Salvation Army World Service Office
International Disaster Relief Fund
PO Box 630728
Baltimore, MD 21263-0728
*Please note that your donation is for Haiti Earthquake relief*