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Update on eagle.ca Haiti Relief Challenge

January 30, 2010
updated 11:00 a.m.

Haiti relief Challenge continues to grow!

On Monday I told you that we had secured 16 ShelterBoxes for the homeless in Haiti. As of Saturday morning we're working on box number 29.

Our big boost this week came from St. Mary's Secondary School in Cobourg. On Friday students Mark Fobert, Katie Maguie, and Remi Mireault presented me with a cheque for ShelterBox Canada for $8,368. That's eight more boxes!

The situation in Haiti is only marginally better than it was a few days after the 7.1 magnitude earthquake left more than 200,000 dead and millions homeless.

One of the things making a difference is ShelterBox Canada and its 11 affiliates around the world. This week an urban "village" of 1,000 tents was setup near the US Embassy. That's shelter for 10,000 people. You can see the village in this YouTube video.

ShelterBoxes are also being used to provide shelter for Haiti's most vulnerable. This update was received from Don Ohlgren at ShelterBox Canada earlier this week:

Families with newborn babies and pregnant women have been given emergency shelter by the ShelterBox Response Team operating in Haiti.

The Response Team has set up a ShelterBox camp for up to 1,000 people on the Henfrasa sports field in Delmas, Port au Prince, Haiti, providing emergency shelter for the most in need and the most vulnerable.

ShelterBox Response Team member and General Manager Lasse Petersen said: "We agreed with the local community that the initial tent allocation would be for families with pregnant women and families with newborns."

"We’re prioritising women and children, providing disaster relief tents, blankets, water containers, children’s packs and kitchenware, basically enough to set up families who have lost everything."

"The Dutch marines have been very helpful for us in providing storage at Port au Prince airport as well as providing security to our team during the distribution of aid. There are hundreds of thousands of people left homeless but this is the first of our deliveries with many thousands more to come."

You can read the full update on the ShelterBox Canada website.

The 28 ShelterBoxes you have helped us send to Haiti are providing much needed shelter and safety. Chaos and looting continues in parts of Port-au-Prince but the ShelterBox "villages" you are helping to build are making a difference in the lives of thousands of Haitians.

More help is needed. Haitian President René Preval has appealed for more tents to help house the estimated 1.5 million homeless in Haiti.

Please let you friends, family and co-workers know about our Haiti Relief Challenge. Encourage them to participate. The need for ShelterBoxes in Haiti will continue for many months.

Why have people been giving to ShelterBox Canada through the eagle.ca Haiti Relief Challenge? Here are a few comments we have received:

(eagle.ca is a) known community philanthropist.
Affiliated with Rotary... known and respected
Shelterbox offers sustainable relief over a period of time for disaster victims and meets the needs of more than one person, as well as meeting more than one need.
It was easy to do, and I knew that it would be a good charity.
I have been a customer of eagle.ca in one way or another both personally and professionally since its inception and have always appreciated that as a local company eagle.ca has been incredibly supportive of our community and now has stepped up to help with Haiti. The concept of Shelter Box appeals to me in that it provides 'real' and tangible help and hope to the victims directly and the stewardship of the Rotary was a strong 'endorsement' of the work being done by the program.
Wonderful Local Effort
I had heard about ShelterBox, but didn't know where to donate. THANK YOU!
It provides shelter in real terms not just money that you don't really know where it is going
I was willing to trust (eagle.ca's) judgment of what I hope is a reputable charity. His legwork saved me time thinking about who was the most deserving as it sounded reasonable to provide immediate temporary shelter and basic utensils to these people. It was convenient and I knew where my cheque was going since he was matching some of the donations, I felt comfortable.
They developed a plan and took action quickly. Well Done!!

A ShelterBox costs $1,000. Over 90% of the money donated is spent on project expenses. Less than 6% is spent on fundraising and only 3.5% is spent on administration. Some charities spend as much as 25% on fundraising and similar amounts for administration. ShelterBox definitely provides a good return on your donation investment.

eagle.ca continues to coordinate the collection of donations for ShelterBox Canada. Cheques (made payable to ShelterBox Canada) can be dropped off at our office at 26 Chapel Street in Cobourg. We can also take your donations via credit card by calling 905-373-9313. We will issue a donation acknowledgement and ShelterBox will issue charitable tax receipts.

If you haven't done so already, I invite you to take our short survey (4 questions) regarding Haiti relief.

Thank you to everyone who have taken the time to help us reach 28 ShelterBoxes. The generosity of so many is very humbling. We have had donations from all over Ontario, Quebec and as far away as Florida.

The overwhelmingly positive response your contributions are making in Haiti can not be overstated. Haitians need help. They need help now and will for many years. Your contribution to ShelterBox will help them get through the next six months. By then the rebuilding of Haiti will have begun.

We'll keep the eagle.ca Haiti Relief Challenge going until at least February 5th. The need will continue for much longer so please help if you can.

Cheers,

-tom

---eagle.ca---
PO Box 220, 26 Chapel Street
Cobourg, ON, Canada K9A 4K5
905-373-9313 - FAX 905-373-8339
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