While we were on Aconcagua the the Dreams in Action group the earthquake in Haiti wreaked havoc on an already struggling country and communities. Since returning, we have learned some wonderful news about companies and people that we know that are helping, and we wanted to share some of this GOOD news.
First, TeleTech, a sponsor of the DNA climb of Aconcagua and the Crescere Foundation, continues their work for the world community, behind the scenes with MTV. You may know about MTV’s “Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief” that raised more than $58 million – the most money of any telethon in history – for the people of Haiti who are in desperate need of aid.
Well, how do you think all of those phone calls and donations were HANDLED? By TeleTech technology, and employee volunteers, that’s how! More than 5,000 TeleTech employees, clients, and family members volunteered more than 8,000 hours of their own time to staff the event. Altogether, TeleTech handled more than 80,000 calls across 42 locations on 6 continents. The $58 million raised by the telethon will go directly to Haiti to assist with the monumental task of providing emergency food, clothing, medical care, and other supplies to millions in need. Rebuilding Haiti and the lives of its people will take years. Marshall and I, and Dreams in Action, are pleased to be associated with TeleTech: a company that is a a part of this massive and urgent relief effort to help get that work started.
Frank McKinney has already been to Haiti to help!!! He and his group of medical and search-and-rescue personnel were the tenth group to sign in with the United Nations, and for the next three days they were embedded deep into the epicenter of the disaster. They saved four lives and worked with teams from Peru, Nicaragua, Jordan and Spain. Two of the survivors they rescued had been trapped behind crumbled walls and a cadaver in a collapsed building, one had spent 90 hours under the debris, and another had been in surgery when the quake shook the hospital’s foundations and crushed him under its ruins. You can read more about Frank’s efforts at http://frank-mckinney.com/blog.asp?article=168.
Frank is no stranger to Haiti, as his charity, the Caring House Project, as been working to build homes in Haiti for several years. YOU can make a donation on Frank’s page to help with the relief, knowing that the money will GET TO the people that really need it!!!
I also wanted to bring your attention to this story about a local Clear Creek County (where we live in CO) couple that is helping the people of Haiti by delivering water treatment systems that they developed. http://www.lcni5.com/cgi-bin/c2.cgi?040+article+News+20100119182137040040003
I know Carmen and Jack Barker pretty well as another of her/her husband’s company’s, AAA, provides services for our local water/wastewater system (I’m on the water board in our community) and I’ve worked with Carmen on “The Holiday Project” a local effort to provide food and gifts to low income (we have plenty in the county!) families, as well as seniors and the disabled, at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Carmen does a lot for a lot of people, and she and Jack are providing a crucial piece of the puzzle for relief in Haiti: a way for people to get clean water!
I’ve also heard that Sister Mary Beth Lloyd with the Religious Teachers Filippini, an organization that Marshall and I have supported and worked with since 2001, is one her way to Haiti to help, too. The mission work that these Sisters do in some of the poorest countries in the world is absolutely amazing, which we have seen firsthand in Eritrea, Italy, and here in the States. You can learn more about the Sisters’ work at http://aidsorphansrising.org/
If you want to make a donation to the mission fund, knowing that 100 percent of your donation will be used for the women and kids, you can send a check made out to the Religious Teachers Filippini Mission Fund to:
I don’t have any personal connection with the following but Marshall’s oldest daughter Elaine who is “in the know” in D.C. sent the following:
If you are interested in providing support and getting updates through a solid health and development organization with a long positive track record in Haiti, I strongly recommend Partners in Health (www.pih.org) which is where I have directed my own donation. http://www.pih.org/
Another easy way to send help is to simply text “HAITI” to “90999” – $10 will be charged to your cell phone bill and sent to Red Cross. For more information, check out the State Department blog: http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/entry/disaster_haiti.
Together we CAN make a difference!
