FFP Relief On Its Way to Help Haiti Quake Victims
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
01/14/10

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 14, 2010) – Almost 100 containers of urgently needed medical supplies, rice and canned food from Food For The Poor are ready to be distributed to the people of Haiti, who are reeling from the devastating effects of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday. Another 300 containers are planned as a part of the initial relief effort.

The containers are part of Food For The Poor’s goal to provide $5 million in relief to the struggling nation, as it endures one of the worst natural disasters in its history.

“Our hearts are broken watching this news about the country that we care so much about, and have worked in for so long,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “Our job now is not to ask why they have had to suffer again, but to do everything we can to get help to them. We need everybody’s help.”

Kareen Dolce, Executive Director of Food For The Poor/Haiti, returned to the country today by helicopter from the Dominican Republic to assess the damage to Food For The Poor’s facilities in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Dolce had been at Food For The Poor headquarters in Florida for meetings when the quake hit. A team of staff members from Coconut Creek flew into Haiti with Dolce to assess the situation and determine what aid is needed most by the quake victims.

The Florida-based charity is collecting cash donations at www.foodforthepoor.org/haitiquake and 1-800-487-1158, as well as canned fish, canned meat, canned milk and water at its headquarters at 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Fla., 33073. The charity cannot accept clothing.

Food For The Poor has a long history of working in Haiti, and one of the first actions of the charity was to determine the safety of its staff, most of whom have been located. Some have given firsthand accounts of the horrors of the quake as it unfolded. The other priority was to check on various projects and initial inspection showed that all the homes are in good condition, including the Little Children of Jesus Handicapped Home in the Santo area.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the United States, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian agency provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information please visit, www.foodforthepoor.org.

Contact:
Kathy Skipper
Marketing/PR Manager
(954) 427-2222 x 6614
kathys@foodforthepoor.com