Haitian Earthquake Relief Information
Many troops in Citrus Council have expressed their desire to help the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti. Below, you’ll find the following resource materials as you plan your response to this disaster.
1) A list of Central Florida Agencies that are coordinating local efforts, along with contact information and drop-off locations.
2) Official statement from Girl Scouts of the USA permitting girls to raise and donate funds to a select group of approved agencies.
3) Thinking Day resources, including links to the online activity guide and more information about the country of Haiti.
If you need additional information, please contact the GSCC Program Team for assistance at (407) 896-4475.
1) Central Florida Agencies
Several organizations in the Central Florida community are accepting donations of materials and supplies. Please contact the agencies below for more information.
Brevard County
• Drop off clothing and toiletries to:
First Haitian Baptist Church
3301 Dairy Rd., Melbourne
(321) 557-3143
Dr. Steven Vanderby M.D.
4030 Minton Rd., Melbourne
(321) 725-8222
Lake County
• Value Place Extended Stay Hotels of Central Florida will collect blankets and canned food at its hotel locations in Orlando, Clermont, and Sanford. They will be open during office hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. These are the locations: 4125 Clarcona Ocoee Road, Orlando; 16311 S.R. 50, Clermont; 216 S. Goldenrod Road, Orlando; 10401 S. John Young Parkway, Orlando; 4000 N. Florida Ave., Lakeland; 2727 S. Orlando Drive, Sanford; 4120 E. Silver Springs Blvd, Ocala. Company spokeswoman Tasha Wise said the Orlando-area donations will later be distributed through the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. For more information, call (407) 756-8214.
Orange County
• Evans High School’s new Ninth-Grade Center, at 2751 Lake Stanley Road near Pine Hills is accepting the following:
• Non-perishable food items
• Baby supplies
• Toiletries
• Bottled water
• Clothing
• Clean the World and the Cap Haitien Health Network are asking for medical supplies, including wound-care products, crutches, braces, pain relievers and vitamins to be used by medical personnel going to Haiti. Donations may be taken to 8026 Sunport Drive, Suite 306, Orlando, 32809. These groups will also accept money to buy supplies. Details: (407) 574-8353.
• The Center for Multicultural Wellness and Prevention, of 641 N. Rio Grande in Orlando, is accepting donations of water, canned food, hygiene supplies and first aid kits for a coordinated relief effort from Central Florida. Call (407) 648-9440 for more information.
• Memorial Middle School in Orlando will collect items from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and arrangements can be made for large Saturday collections. For more information, call Patty Cloy or Joe Raymond at (407) 245-1810.
• Orlando Hotelier Harris Rosen launched a relief effort. The organization will also collect first aid, medical and hygiene supplies to assist the earthquake victims in Haiti. Supplies may be dropped off at Rosen Centre hotel, 9840 International Drive, Orlando, FL 32819 or at First Haitian Baptist Church of Orlando, 4701 Lenox Blvd., Orlando, FL 32811 or at the Child Development Center of Orlando, 11553 Winter Garden Vineland Road, Orlando, FL 32836. For more information, call (407) 996-6715 or visit rosenhotels.com/haiti.
• Value Place Extended Stay Hotels of Central Florida will collect blankets and canned food at its hotel locations in Orlando, Clermont, and Sanford. They will be open during office hours, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. These are the locations: 4125 Clarcona Ocoee Road, Orlando; 16311 S.R. 50, Clermont; 216 S. Goldenrod Road, Orlando; 10401 S. John Young Parkway, Orlando; 4000 N. Florida Ave., Lakeland; 2727 S. Orlando Drive, Sanford; 4120 E. Silver Springs Blvd, Ocala. Company spokeswoman Tasha Wise said the Orlando-area donations will later be distributed through the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. For more information, call (407) 756-8214.
Osceola County
Drop-off Location: City of Life Church, located at 2874 E. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, Kissimmee
• Businesses: They need businesses to serve as collection sites for supplies. They are hoping to get more than 100 drop-off locations throughout Central Florida. To volunteer your business as a drop-off location, call Haydee Rodriguez at (407) 348-6200.
• General Public: They are asking for people to donate items in three categories -- personal hygiene products, medical supplies and water.
• Personal Hygiene Products: Soap, shampoo and conditioner, plastic combs, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, hand and body lotion, washcloths, baby wipes, feminine hygiene products, and more.
• Medical Supplies: Bandages (soft-stretch bandages, ace bandages, and band-aids), cotton balls, cotton tipped swabs, peroxide, rubbing alcohol, antibiotic ointment, disposable latex gloves, gauze pads, hand sanitizer, saline solution, thermometers, aspirin and non-aspirin, finger splints, adhesive tape, instant icepacks and more.
Volusia/Seminole Counties
• Harvest Time International is located at 225 Kennel Road in Sanford and is accepting non-perishable food, baby formula, hygiene products, and first-aid supplies.
• Haiti Help Med Plus is collecting antibiotics, flashlights, bandages and other medical supplies for wound care, which will be used by its medical volunteers in Haiti. Donations may be taken to 616 E. Altamonte Drive, Suite 100, Altamonte Springs. Details: (407) 831-7755.
2) Girl Scouts of the USA Official Statement
The outpouring of support for the people of Haiti in the wake of the devastating earthquake has been remarkable, and Girl Scouts across the country have pitched in to help in many different ways. We know, however, that after natural disasters like these, sending funds is often the best way to help.
Given the catastrophic events in Haiti, the Executive Committee of GSUSA unanimously adopted, and the National Board ratified, the following:
THAT the Executive Committee of Girl Scouts of the USA’s National Board of Directors, on the National Board’s behalf, adopts a special rule of order to allow girl members to engage in activities, which may include the direct solicitation of money, from January 14 through September 8, 2010, to support emergency relief for the January 12 earthquake disaster in Haiti. Monies raised shall be contributed only to organizations on the approved list of agencies (listed below); additions to the list shall be approved by the National President and CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA.
This now makes it possible for our girls to raise much needed funds for relief efforts in Haiti. Please take note that the money our girls raise can be contributed only to those agencies on the list below.
List of Agencies
• The American Red Cross
The American Red Cross is accepting donations through its International Response Fund.
• Pan American Development Foundation
The foundation is encouraging people to donate through its website at www.PanAmericanRelief.org.
• UNICEF
UNICEF requests donations for relief for children in Haiti via their Haiti Earthquake Fund. You can also call 1-800-4UNICEF.
• Oxfam
You can donate to online at Oxfam America at www.oxfamamerica.org.
• Save The Children
Save the Children has launched an emergency relief effort for Haiti, Donate to Save the Children.
• Mercy Corps
Donate online, call 1-888-256-1900 or send checks to:
Mercy Corps Haiti Earthquake Fund
Dept. NR
P.O. Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208
• Doctors Without Borders
Doctors Without Borders has set up clinics to treat people in Haiti.
Donate to Doctors Without Borders.
• The UN World Food Programme
The UN World Food Programme is gathering all available resources to deliver food to the recently homeless and impoverished in Haiti. Donations can be made through www.wfp.org/donate/haiti.
• CARE
CARE is deploying emergency team members to Port-au-Prince to assist in recovery
efforts. It’s focusing its efforts on rescuing children who may still be trapped in schools
that collapsed. Donate to CARE
• The International Rescue Committee
The International Rescue Committee is deploying an emergency response team to Haiti.
Donate to the IRC Haiti Crisis Fund.
• World Vision
World Vision has more 370 staff members in the Haiti. Donate to World Vision.
• United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF)
This fund is used for emergencies like the earthquake in Haiti. Donate online.
3) Make Haiti a Part of Thinking Day 2010
February 22: On World Thinking Day, Think of Haiti
Get ready for World Thinking Day 2010!
The theme for World Thinking Day 2010 is girls worldwide say “together we can end extreme poverty and hunger”. This theme ties directly to our Global Action Theme (GAT), which is linked to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in particular MDG1: ‘Eradicating Poverty and Hunger’.
We call on all our members and friends to celebrate international Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting on February 22 and to raise funds to support girls and young women around the world. In particular, this year, we encourage girls and adults to consider Haiti.
Just take a look at these statistics regarding poverty in Haiti:
• Gross national income per capita is US$520, about half the total for Nicaragua, the second poorest country in the Americas
• 78% of Haitians are poor (less than US$2 a day), and more than half (54%) live in extreme poverty (less than US$1 a day.)
• In rural areas, poverty and extreme poverty rates are estimated to be 84% and 69% respectively.
• Over two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs.
• Life expectancy is 61 years.
• Half of children under 5 are malnourished.
• Over 7% of children die at birth.
• For every 100,000 births, 523 women died in Haiti, compared to eight maternal deaths for every 100,000 births in Europe.
• 80 out of 1,000 Haitian children never see their first birthday.
For more information about Haiti, visit http://www.haitipartners.org/stories-news/haiti-statistics/. Additional resources include:
1) Embassy of Haiti in Washington, DC: http://www.haiti.org/
2) Hope for Haiti http://www.hope-for-haiti.org/
3) History of Haiti http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Haiti
Please visit http://www.worldthinkingday.org/en/home for more information about World Thinking Day 2010, including activity guides, resources, fundraising ideas, and pictures and stories of how girls celebrate this WAGGGS tradition around the world. The site also includes ways you can show support for Haiti and your sister Girl Guides who live there.