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Salvation Army Relief Team En Route to Haiti

Monetary Donations the Most Critical Need As Supplies and Personnel Are Mobilized

Alexandria, VA (January 14, 2010) – The Salvation Army is continuing to mobilize people and resources to assist with the international relief effort in Haiti following a severe earthquake Tuesday that damaged much of the country’s infrastructure. The first assessment team is currently awaiting passage in the Turks and Caicos Islands as air space into Haiti is currently limited to military transport. This team will support personnel already on-the-ground in Haiti, where The Salvation Army has had a presence since the 1950s.

As with all such relief efforts, The Salvation Army’s initial focus, in addition to the safety and security of officers, staff and volunteers in Haiti, will be to assess the immediate needs of the people affected by the earthquake, then utilize its resources to mobilize and ship food, water and other critical necessities to where they are most needed.

The Salvation Army is preparing to send more than 44,000 lbs of pre-packaged emergency rations to the country and is working with other agencies to identify appropriate transportation for the food. Critical needs in Haiti include bottled water, medical teams with supplies and food. No time table has been set for the arrival of these goods because assessment teams have been unable to reach the country to arrange for these shipments.

“We are working with partner organizations to get needed supplies to the people of Haiti,” said Lt. Col. Dan Starrett, who directs the Salvation Army World Services Office. “Given the logistical challenges of getting supplies into that country right now, the best way for the public to help us is through direct donations.”

The Salvation Army has had a presence in Haiti since 1950 and operates schools, clinics, a hospital, feeding programs, children's homes and church-related activities through some 60 Corps community centers across the country.

One Salvation Army facility, or compounds, includes a home for more than 50 children; a school with a daily attendance of 1,500 children; a medical clinic caring for 150-200 people daily; and a church that on any typical Sunday welcomes nearly 1,000 people. The facility is less than 10 minutes from the National Palace and is in an area known as St. Martin that’s home to predominantly poor living in the nation’s capital.

According to reports from Salvation Army staff in Port au Prince, no one in the compound was injured during the earthquake, but the children’s home, the clinic and church suffered major damage. Several smaller buildings, including residences, have collapsed completely.

The second compound that houses Salvation Army administrative offices is being used as an emergency operations center; damage was slight to this compound, according to Salvation Army reports from Haiti.

The Salvation Army hospital in Fond-des-Negres (75 miles west of Port-au-Prince) reports some minor damage, but no injuries.

The Salvation Army has committed more than $850,000 to support relief efforts in Haiti. The Salvation Army is accepting monetary donations to assist in the effort via www.salvationarmyusa.org, 1-800-SAL-ARMY and postal mail at: The Salvation Army World Service Office, International Disaster Relief Fund, PO Box 630728, Baltimore, MD 21263-0728. As of Thursday morning, The Salvation Army had raised more than $762,000 in online donations and through 1800-SAL-ARMY. For continued updates, please visit www.blog.salvationarmyusa.org.

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About The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for 129 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar spent is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. For more information, go to www.salvationarmyusa.org.

Haiti Earthquake Disaster Response

Salvation Army Mobilizing Personnel, Resources to Aid with Haiti Relief.
Army school, clinic damaged; staff on-site organizing emergency response. Read More

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