On Tuesday, January12, 2009 at approximately 5:00 pm, a 7.0 earthquake struck the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Haiti is located in the West Indies and shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. As with any natural disaster, this tragic event has caused a tremendous need for relief efforts for this population. Thousands of Haitians have lost their homes and are in need of food, shelter, and medical attention. The death toll rates have also been steadily increasing.

        At this moment, there are many organizations in Haiti and throughout the world in need of both donations and financial support. If you are looking to contribute to this relief effort, you can donate to the Red Cross, online at www.redcross.org, over the phone at 1-800-REDCROSS, or donate $10 to be charged to your cell phone bill by texting "HAITI" to "90999." Haitian music artist and humanitarian, Wyclef Jean has been using his foundation, Yele Haiti to collect monetary donations. Donations can be made on the website at www.yele.org and also by texting “YELE” to 501501. 100% of funds will go directly to the relief efforts in Haiti. You could find more ways to help through the Center for International Disaster information at http://www.cidi.org/incident/haiti-10a/ .

        There are several drop sites in Philadelphia. Please feel free to drop off: cots, tents, generators and industrial supplies for building, medical supplies, water, and non-perishable food items

Drop off sites:
The Office of State Senator Leanna M. Washington
1555-A Wadsworth Ave.
Philadelphia PA 19150

Leon H. Sullivan Charitable Trust
5601 Vine Street Unit 9
Philadelphia Pa 19139

The Office of State Representative Dwight Evans
7174 Ogontz Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19138

Vivant Art Collections (Monetary donations & Medical Supplies Only)
60 North 2nd Street
Philadelphia PA 19106

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HIAS and Council sends its deepest and most sincere condolences to the Haitian community and all who are affected by this tragedy.