The last week has been a very difficult one for the people of Haiti, and the American Red Cross has been working very hard to raise and deliver the resources necessary to assist the recovery.

In all, the American people and the American Red Cross have contributed more than $103 million to the effort.  The Tri-County Red Cross has raised more than $300,000 of that response thanks to the generosity of local businesses, churches, schools and families. 

Among those are the Wakefern Food Corporation (ShopRite stores), which has donated $250,000 to the effort.  Also many schools -- including Bayberry Elementary School, Roselle High School, Elizabeth High School, Rahway High School, Plainfield's public schools, and far more than I can mention - have been very generous in raising funds.  Add on to that the many individuals who donated online at http://www.tricountyredcross.org and this has been an amazing response from our local communities.

If your business or organization would like to help raise funds for the American Red Cross, you can call Nathan Rudy or Corinna Krauskopf at (908) 756-6414, or e-mail us at info@tricountyredcross.org.    We have a number of ways to work with your customer base to raise funds.

The chapter has also been supporting the repatriation of American citizens flown back to McGuire Air Force Base.  The Burlington County Red Cross has taken the lead and done an amazing job, and other state chapters volunteers and staff and donors have been assisting.

The funds raised above have supported the following American Red Cross actions in Haiti:

• A Red Cross field hospital has been set up at Hopital Universitaire d'Haiti in downtown Port-au-Prince, and surgeries began last night on people injured in the earthquake.  Three Red Cross Basic Healthcare Emergency Response Units (ERU) will be on the ground to provide care and triage in Port-au-Prince, and an additional ERU is being deployed.  Combined the Red Cross will be able to care for a half million people.
• Three Water and Sanitation ERUs are now on the ground setting up equipment and initial water distributions have begun.  Once at full capacity, these ERUs will provide clean water for up to 50,000 people each day.
• The American Red Cross released all of its sheltering and feeding supplies from its Panama storage supply to support 10,000 families.
• The American Red Cross provided blood and blood products to the U.S. Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida.  Requested by the U.S. Navy, the blood was shipped to their facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in support of medical evacuees from Haiti. In addition, the American Red Cross has sent a shipment of blood products to the UN Mission in Haiti.

We will continue to update our website at http://www.tricountyredcross.org with more information as it becomes available.  You may also call us at (908) 756-6414 if you have questions.

• At this time, the American Red Cross had committed US $10 million for immediate response activities.
• The American Red Cross, together with our global Red Cross partners, is conducting assessments on the ground to determine levels of damage, specific needs and available resources. An American Red Cross disaster specialist arrives today to Port-au-Prince, to support Red Cross damage assessments and identification of needs.
• At the International Federation's request, the American Red Cross has deployed a five-member Relief Emergency Response Unit (ERU) to lay the groundwork for the coming massive relief distribution operation. These team members are arriving in Haiti today to help establish a system to transport relief items from regional Red Cross warehouses in Panama for rapid delivery and distribution to those in need.
• The American Red Cross has made available all relief supplies stored at its warehouse in Panama. These include blankets, kitchen sets, and water containers to meet the immediate needs of up to 5,000 families. An initial flight of relief supplies is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
• Americans have donated more than $8,500,000 through text messaging to the American Red Cross alone.  AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, & Verizon customers won't be charged messaging fees for donating $10 to Red Cross Haiti Fund -- to donate text "HAITI" to 90999 to make a donation.
• First Lady Michelle Obama made an advertisement urging Americans to continue donating to the relief effort.  It will show on the NFL football games today.  You can see the advertisement on our website.
  

• Local contributors have given more than $12,000 in gifts through our website.  The average gift is about $65, with the largest gift being $1,200.  We are amazed at the generosity of local folks, and very thankful.
• Wakefern -- the cooperative of Shop Rite and Price Rite store owners -- has donated $250,000 to the effort through the Tri-County Red Cross.  Wakefern is headquartered in Elizabeth, NJ.
• More than 150 people have volunteered to help the effort, and more have e-mailed, visited our offices or called asking what they can do.
• Schools such as Rahway High School and Bayberry School in Warren and Watchung Hills High School.