How to Help Haiti?

Haiti: How You Can Help?

I copied this from Carole who copied from Pastor Dino Rizzo's blog,

After much prayer and discussion with our partners in ministry, we now have a plan of action for our response to the crisis in Haiti caused by the recent earthquake. It is reportedly the worst natural disaster in the western hemisphere in the last 200 years. The magnitude of destruction is still unfolding but we can be sure of this – this is a time when the body of Christ has an opportunity to stand up and engage a need by shining the light of hope and the love of Jesus in Haiti.

Here’s what we’d like to invite you to do with us:

1. Join Churches Across the World on Monday Night in Prayer For Haiti – Together with Pastor Stovall Weems and Awakening we are making a call for churches everywhere to pray this Monday night for Haiti. We encourage you to invite your church to pray. Open the doors of your church and ask your people to come and pray specifically for Haiti.

At Healing Place Church this Monday, January 18 at 7:00 p.m. CST, we’ll host an evening of special prayer for Haiti at our Highland Campus in Baton Rouge, LA. We’ll also stream this event live online here. We encourage you to help spread the word and join in from wherever you are.

If you’re on twitter, please use the hashtag #pray4Haiti to help spread the word.

2. Engage the Immediate Needs by Giving – There are two main ways you can give to help the relief effort in Haiti.

Give financially.
You can give online at http://healingplacechurch.org/haiti or by giving directly to our partners, Samaritan’s Purse and Joyce Meyer Ministries.

Give relief supplies.
If you’re in the Baton Rouge area, you can bring relief supplies (listed below) to:

Healing Place Church Highland Campus
19202 Highland Road in Baton Rouge.
Items will be collected now through Monday, January 18
6:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.

For those outside the Baton Rouge area, you can send mail your donated items to:

Love A Child
Attn: Mike Essman- Haiti Earthquake Medical Donation
9304 Camden Field Parkway
Riverview, FL 33578-0520

We are blessed to have tremendous relationships with ministries that have a long history on the ground in Haiti as well as a wealth of experience in large-scale crisis response. It is through these partnerships that we are able to engage the need in Haiti. Serving together with these ministries in our own experiences of natural disasters and tragedies, we have learned to value their integrity and wisdom very much in these situations. That gives us great confidence that you can trust that what you give will be stewarded well to help the people of Haiti.

3. Prepare for Future Recovery and Rebuilding – These problems Haiti is facing will not go away in just a couple weeks, so we are committed to serving Haiti long-term. We are already beginning to adjust our missions plans for 2010; working in plans to send teams to Haiti to help with the recovery effort. The immediate emergency situation in Haiti doesn’t present an opportunity for us to put teams on the ground to serve. But in 60-90 days, there will be tremendous opportunity for teams to serve in Haiti. Please begin praying, and if you feel it is something God wants you to do, begin preparing to serve on a missions team in Haiti sometime in the next few months. Here’s a look at some of projects we intend to send teams for:

Construction and clean-up
Children’s ministry
Pastoral counseling
Medical care
Cooking and feeding

We have some great relationships with people who have friends and connections on the ground in Haiti. We will be connecting with them in planning our missions trips. Pastors, we want to encourage you to do the same as you plan your own missions trips in these coming months. For example, we’ll be connecting with Celebrate Jesus Haiti – a group that cares for 600-1,000 orphans each day. This ministry is led by the mother of our friend Bill Scheer, pastor of Guts Church in Tulsa, OK.

It is moments like these that the body of Christ must work together to engage the need. What better way to communicate the love of our Savior than to respond with hope when people are hurting? And together, we can make a huge difference in this tragic situation.

Thank you for caring, and for putting that care into action. If you would like further information, please feel free to email Mike Haman or call 225-753-2273.

LIST OF ITEMS NEEDED

IMPORTANT: If you’re sending large quantities of supplies, they need to be palletized and shrink-wrapped for shipping, with an inventory of items included. Personal donations of smaller quantities can be dropped off in person or mailed directly to Love A Child.

Medications:
(These items can be purchased over the counter at any local drug store)
Aspirin
Tylenol
Motrin
Children’s and adult multi-vitamin
Benadryl
Neosporin or triple antibiotic
Oral re-hydration salts
Cough medications

Medical Supplies:
(These items can be purchased over the counter at any local drug store)
Ace bandages
Alcohol pads
Band-aids
Betadine wipes and sticks
Drapes
Gauzes – any size
Gloves – all sizes, sterile/non-sterile
Gowns –surgical and patient (head and shoe covers, goggles, masks)
Pediatric supplies
Tape – all types
Thermometers

Other:
(These items can be purchased through a doctor or physicians’ office)
Zantac
Hypertension medications
Blood pressure medications
Blades – sterile only
Needles – butterfly, angio catheter
Compression stockings
Dressings – sterile and un-sterile (Coban, Tegaderm, Steri-Strip, Surgilast)
IV supplies – tubing in sterile packages only
Scalpels
Sponges – surgical only (includes X-ray detectable)
Surgical towels – cloth/paper
Sutures
Syringes
Tongue depressors

Love A Child
Attn: Mike Essman- Haiti Earthquake Medical Donation
9304 Camden Field Parkway


Compassion International Disaster Relief Updates is another way to help Haiti:

Haiti Earthquake