LEADERSHIP BRIEFING

FEDERATION RELIEF EFFORT SAVING LIVES IN HAITI

 

Jan. 22, 2010

Since the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti last week, the Jewish Federation movement has raised millions of dollars to aid the victims and is convening our partners to ensure relief is delivered effectively.

Together, Jewish Federations have raised nearly $2.2 million for emergency aid, with funds continuing to arrive. The Jewish Federations of North America is working with the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief to monitor allocations and ensure Jewish organizations operate strategically and effectively. The coalition is also allocating funding for two shipments of emergency food and medical supplies.

The Jewish Federations of North America and many Federations are sending donations to our overseas partner, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). JDC has also raised $1.5 million in addition to the Federation aid, and is working to provide emergency relief efforts. Among these efforts:

  • Within days of the disaster, the JDC-supported relief agency Heart to Heart International and its doctors and nurses were on the ground providing critical medical aid;
  • The Medical Corps of the Israel Defense Forces, another JDC partner, is operating a field hospital in Port-au-Prince that is saving lives and administering vital medical care. JDC helped equip the hospital with high-demand orthopedic devices and infant incubators for its neonatal unit. This effort has been widely reported in the news, including on CNN, Fox News, and Israel's Channel 2 (see video clips here);
  • Working in collaboration with the Afya Foundation, JDC sent much-needed medical supplies to Zanmi Lasante/Partners in Health;
  • JDC is supporting EcoWorks International, which has established a feeding program;
  • JDC is coordinating with the White House, the State Department, USAID, the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Israeli relief agencies, the United Nations, and the Jewish Coalition for Disaster Relief.

JDC's Federation-supported work and impact will be felt long after images of the devastation disappear from the news. JDC will allocate some funds for intermediate and long-term rebuilding and reconstruction programs in Haiti. The goal is to achieve sustainable improvements in health, education, and employment.

Federations are also contributing to IsraAID, a coalition of Israeli and Jewish organizations that coordinates emergency response and relief efforts worldwide; to the Israeli volunteer rescue organization ZAKA; and to the American Jewish World Service (AJWS). IsraAID and ZAKA volunteers, working with IDF units, have rescued at least a dozen people from the rubble. Meanwhile, AJWS partners on the ground are working in cities such as Jacmel, about 100 miles southeast of Port-au-Prince, where the earthquake destroyed 40 percent of homes. AJWS is sending money to these organizations for food, shelter and medical supplies.

Meanwhile, The Jewish Federations of North America's Washington office reports that legislation the House passed this week treats charitable cash contributions to Haiti aid efforts made after January 11, 2010, and before March 1, 2010, as contributions made in 2009. The Senate is expected to follow suit. This legislation permits taxpayers who itemize their deductions to claim these charitable contributions on their 2009 tax returns. Congress passed similar legislation in 2005 in response to the Southeast Asia tsunami.

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, as well as news about the crisis.

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


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