Skip Navigation LinksHome > Federation Aid for Haiti Tops $4.8 Million; Canada Matches Local Portion
LEADERSHIP BRIEFING

FEDERATIONS FUND SHORT & LONG-TERM HAITI AID

Canadian Govt. to Match Over $1 Million
Raised by Canadian Federations  

Feb. 12, 2010

The Jewish Federation movement is working diligently with our partners to bring emergency aid to victims of the recent Haiti earthquake and to address longer-term needs the struggling nation faces as well.

To date, the Jewish Federations have raised more than $4.8 million for Haiti relief. Of that, Canadian Federations have raised over $1.3 million Canadian dollars ($1.2 million U.S.) In addition, the Canadian government has pledged to match the Canadian Federation funds (FAQ about matching funds). Among the Canadian communities, UJA-Federation of Toronto has raised $800,000 Canadian dollars ($761,875 U.S.) from more than 5,000 donors. Federation CJA in Montreal has raised more than $370,000 Canadian Dollars ($351,429 U.S.) to date.

The Jewish Federations of North America and many individual Federations are also sending donations directly to our overseas partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). JDC has raised $5.25 million to date, both from Federation donors and its own fundraising efforts. Read more about JDC's relief impact in Haiti.

The Jewish Federations of North America continues to work with the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief (JCDR) to monitor allocations and coordinate efforts among Jewish organizations. So far, relief work is being done through non-governmental organizations, USAID and the United Nations. The coalition has raised $170,000 and has recently allocated $60,000 to the American Jewish World Service for an initiative with EarthSpark International.

Founded by a young Jewish professional and social entrepreneur, Dan Schnitzer, EarthSpark aims to empower communities in Haiti by eradicating energy poverty. EarthSpark will purchase, transport and distribute solar lamps and promote post-disaster development. For more information click here.

World ORT reported to the coalition that they are focused on long-term recovery efforts. Next week, World ORT will send a team of Israeli experts to Haiti to assess how best to rebuild the country’s educational system and train those in the construction industry to avoid the same type of disaster in the future.

The JCDR will continue to meet weekly and make allocations to best serve the needs of the Haitian people during the aftermath of this tragedy.

The tragedy in Haiti has generated a remarkable response by the Federation movement, by Israel and many others worldwide. For Steven Nasatir, President of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, the response has in turn generated great pride. Click here to read a column Nasatir wrote about our communal response for the JTA news service.

Please visit this Haiti Relief page to keep updated about the situation and the Federation response. The page features reports about relief efforts by Jewish Federations, their partners and other Jewish groups.

For more information, please contact The Jewish Federations of North America’s Director of Communications, Joe Berkofsky.


To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to:
%%email.unsub%%

To forward this email, please save it as an HTML file and send as an attachment. (Some email programs distort the graphics and text when this email is forwarded directly.) To view this email online, click here.