American Red Cross reaches survivors in Haiti

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America’s support – donations made in the United States to the                             American Red Cross reaches survivors in Haiti Local Red Cross donations making a difference

(Imperial Valley)  In the aftermath of a series of catastrophic earthquakes that struck Haiti on the afternoon of January 12, the American Red Cross mobilized immediately to provide our partner society with the necessary resources to respond. Locally many residents have already made donations through our local office or have have requested additional information on how to make a monetary donation.

Truckloads of Red Cross supplies arrived in Port-au-Prince on Saturday and thousands of responders are traveling the streets providing water and first aid as well as finding lost loved ones and transporting people with serious injuries to nearby health facilities.

The American Red Cross is accepting monetary donations to support earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.  Donors may send checks to the local chapter, designating Haiti Relief to: American Red Cross – Imperial Valley Service Center, 781 Broadway, El Centro,  CA 92243, or by calling 760_352-4541.  Donors may also text “HAITI” to 90999 and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts; the charge will appear on the next cell phone bill. Donors can also make gifts by visiting http://www.redcross.org/ (will also link you to the Spanish website.)

There have been many inquiries regarding people wanting to make in kind donations however the American Red Cross can only accept monetary donations.  Local volunteer Brad Mellon (IVSC PIO) who is a Shelter Manager at National Level Disasters said, “The cost of processing and transporting in kind donations is almost always greater than the cost of purchasing those goods locally or closer to the incident.  The influx of of unsolicited donations can be distracting to relief workers on site from their already demanding critical emergency activities – feeding and sheltering the affected population.”  Mellon added, “Financial contributions are the best way to help; they allow us to support the greatest needs in the most efficient manner.”

The American Red Cross is also reminding Valleyites to make sure they prepare at home, the workplace and at school.  At this time, the Red Cross is utilizing trained volunteers and is not accepting new volunteers to travel to Haiti. If you would like to volunteer for the American Red Cross locally, please contact the local chapter at 760_352-4541 Ext 6220.

For inquiries about relatives living and who have citizenship in Haiti, please be patient and call repeatedly until the lines clear or contact other family members who live nearby. Telephone, Internet and other communication lines are often disrupted in times of disaster. People wishing to contact family, friends or loved ones can visit the Family Links website by going to the Red Cross website at http://www.icrc.org/ and then linking to http://www.icrc.org/familinks

People trying to locate U.S. citizens living or traveling in Haiti should contact the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, at 1-888-407-4747 or 202-647-5225.

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One Response to American Red Cross reaches survivors in Haiti

  1. Nikki Pizzolato says:
    February 3, 2010 at 8:46 PM

    Besides donating my own money to Haiti, I will continue to pray for them. Lifting everything up to Heaven for them.


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