Acronym

Feb. 1, 2010: The Society of Critical Care Medicine was contacted by Dr. Alejandro Baez, an SCCM member in the Dominican Republic, regarding the number of critically ill and injured patients arriving from Haiti after the earthquake and the lack of necessary beds, equipment, and trained professionals to support them. SCCM sent a team of disaster experts to the Dominican Republic to help assess and develop a plan and budget to augment the critical care capacity of that country as they provide care to both their own residents and earthquake victims in Haiti. The team visited the improvised hospitals in the border town of Jimini and several hospitals in Santo Domingo. Members also met with Project HOPE, the Pam American Health Organization, the Dominican Republic Ministry of Health, and other administrative and medical organizations. SCCM members have begun teaching a course that will train medical professionals in providing first-level critical care for patients. They also will be training local doctors as instructors so that they can provide ongoing education to those providing critical care. SCCM is planning a special appeal to members to help support this ongoing educational initiative. The team is posting their experiences on our blog at www.sccmblogs.org.

UPDATE FROM 1/25/10

The Drug Information Association (DIA), now headed by Paul Pomerantz, facilitated a matching donation program to aid earthquake victims. On January 19, it e-mailed members and customers and also posted a message on its Web site explaining the matching donation program. By January 21, the campaign had generated more than $35,000 in donations to the Haiti relief efforts--the first $15,000 of which DIA matched dollar for dollar. In total, the program generated more than $50,000, with donations coming from DIA members and customers in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

The U.S. Green Building Council met with former President and current United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti Bill Clinton in mid-January to discuss the rebuilding of hard-hit Haiti. According to the nonprofit’s Web site, “We’re beginning to envision government buildings that are more to the scale of the community and more widely distributed throughout Haiti; housing that offers basic human comforts and connects to jobs and resources that build in an infrastructure that is sustainable; support services that are embedded in the community, not apart from it.” Clinton has asked the organization to recruit donations of machinery and building materials from its members to help clear rubble and create basic facilities for medical relief, food distribution, and sanitary facilities. The Clinton Foundation, which had raised more than $6 million by January 25, is organizing ships and airplanes to transport such critical items soon. “We’ve also offered to work with our members to develop solutions informed by our work in New Orleans and Greensburg in the wake of the natural disasters that devastated those communities,” notes the organization. CEO Rick Fedrizzi had traveled to Haiti with Clinton and a team of UN advisors as recently as last spring to discuss green building opportunities.

With tremendous support from the National Association of Broadcasters, National Association of Cable Operators, and other media associations, the much-hyped "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon January 22 generated $57 million for earthquake relief. The two-hour, prime-time event, now available as both a downloadable album and a video on iTunes (with all sales going to aid agencies), was led by George Clooney and Wyclef Jean, and aired on every major TV network and numerous cable networks.

The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) has established the Haiti Disaster Relief Fund and is matching up to $100,000 of all contributions made to the fund through March 1. Donations from MDRT members and all life insurance and financial services professionals and organizations can be made at www.mdrtfoundation.org/; 100% will be awarded to Mercy Ships and Heifer International, both of which are supplying floating hospitals and providing food, animals, and training to Haitians. Also, during the 2010 MDRT Annual Meeting, MDRT will host the “Million Meal Challenge,” a volunteer effort to package 1 million nutritious meals that will be sent to people in impoverished communities worldwide, including Haiti.

World Instant Noodles Association is donating instant noodles as emergency rations to the Haitian people. To respond swiftly to the food shortage, U.S. WINA member Nissin Foods (USA) has shipped 103,000 packages of instant noodles to the nonprofit Matthew 25 Ministries, which has vast experience in relief to Haiti. The association also is tapping its two-year-old Disaster Relief Fund for the sixth time.

UPDATE OF ACTIONS, Jan 21, 2010

Lions Clubs International leaders from the Dominican Republic and neighboring Latin American countries have led a convoy of emergency relief supplies into Haiti. As of January 21, the Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) has raised $620,000 for immediate and long-term aid for earthquake victims. Sadly, the earthquake killed several Lions members and their family members, but “the Haitian Lions are putting aside their personal needs to oversee Lions international relief efforts,” says the organization. Tents from Lions in Sweden have arrived, while Lions from Canada—who were doing project work in Haiti at the time of the earthquake--are continuing to establish a clean water system at an orphanage. An impromptu “command post” has administered medical aid to 600 injured people. LCIF “will explore the possibly of rebuilding homes and hospitals, redeveloping the eye care delivery system, providing human resource support, and assisting the disabled, including those disabled as a result of this disaster,” it announced.

The National Association of Realtors and Lowe's, a partner in NAR's REALTOR Benefit® Program, are each contributing $100,000 to the REALTORS® Relief Foundation (RFF) for distribution to relief agencies. RRF directors have already approved a donation of $50,000 of that money to The Harvest of Haiti, founded by a 2007 winner of REALTOR® Magazine's Good Neighbor Awards, Patrick Moore. Moore's humanitarian outreach program supports orphans, delivers clean water, and provides medical care in Haiti, treating close to 3,500 people a year. Moore is planning his 64th trip to Haiti on January 29, where he and his team will deliver six month's worth of food to an orphanage in Anse Rouge, as well as help residents near Port-au-Prince.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) also has created a special Web section on its site that contains “links to help make a difference, news that the Drug Enforcement Administration is establishing a point of contact to help companies that want to ship controlled substances to Haiti, and an impressive list of how its member companies are already helping address the crisis. The association also participates in a pharmaceutical supply chain coalition called Rx Response, which responds to domestic disasters but is now considering an expansion to assist Haiti earthquake victims.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) also is involved in Rx Response, which developed after Hurricane Katrina and “has shed light on the most effective methods to donate medical products and the most efficient ways medical professionals can volunteer for the Haiti response effort,” the organization says. “The vital role of PhRMA companies and their employees in the global community is clearly defined by such catastrophic situations. It’s our civic responsibility to provide health care professionals the tools they need to help save lives….,” says CEO Billy Tauzin. As of January 20, PhRMA companies had donated more than $20 million in medicines, medical supplies, and cash to relief efforts, not counting corporate employee donations and matching pledges.

In addition to financially donating to relief agencies, the American Industrial Hygiene Association is compiling contact information for industrial hygiene resources that relief agencies can refer to for advice and assistance. AIHA will post a list of publications that rescue agencies may find useful on its site at www.aiha.org. It is supporting U.S. Department of Health and Human Services efforts to coordinate donations of supplies and volunteers with needed expertise, and it is telling members eager to volunteer their expertise to register at the Center for International Disaster Information, www.cidi.org.

The American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists has donated $5,000 to the American Red Cross and notified its members that anyone interested in volunteering services can join the association’s long-term efforts to work with groups such as Healing Hands for Haiti and others that can provide the prosthetic and orthotic care that those groups need.

Associations Expand Haiti Response

Here are more highlights of what associations and nonprofits are doing to help the people of Haiti:

Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) has finally learned its program manager for Better Work Haiti, a coalition-run program to better conditions for workers in garment factories in Port-au-Prince, is safe, but it does not yet know whether the factories or other workers are okay, according to Diane Osgood, BSR vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. It continues to urge member businesses to donate to aid charities on the ground in the devastated nation.

A free directory of the “Haiti Top 100 Nonprofits” working on earthquake disaster relief is available for download at www.haitiearthquakemagazine.com/top100. The directory ranks them according to their response to the disaster to date and its history of operations in this impoverished country, donation information and mobile giving numbers, and news updates about each nonprofit’s ongoing efforts in Haiti.

Numerous organizations and their chapters, such as the National Capital Region Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, are holding rapid-response fundraising socials and events for aid groups. Ongoing conferences and board meetings are also generating an outpouring of funds. The American Library Association, for instance, raised $28,000 at its recent winter meeting, thanks to matching funds.

Members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants “are available to advise the public and the media on the best ways to give money to charitable groups participating in the relief efforts, both immediate and long-term.” Members and AICPA also “stand ready to help facilitate and enable the transactions necessary to bring Haitians the help and resources they so desperately need now." In addition, it is accepting donations from member CPAs to its longtime disaster relief fund, CPAs in Support of America Fund, Inc., and donating all new donations to Haiti recovery efforts. “CPAs have a strong record of providing pro bono financial advice to Americans seeking to put their lives back together after disasters, including the publication of a "Disaster Recovery Guide" aimed at helping Americans who lose their homes or are displaced by storms, floods, and earthquakes,” says the organization. “While this guide is focused on Americans, many of the same basic principles will apply to Haitians as they recover from this earthquake.” Free tools, resources and a list of where donations can be made are found at its site (www.360financialliteracy.org).

National Association of School Psychologists has launched a special web section:--“Support for Haiti” (http://www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/haiti.aspx)—with advice on how schools and adults can best support U.S. children and families affected directly by the Haiti disaster. “NASP is working with Haitian-American school psychologists to develop resources for school mental health professionals, educators, and caregivers, specific to this population and set of needs. These will be available soon.” It also has natural disaster resources already online, especially its “Global Disasters: Helping Children Cope.” It is urging parents to limit and monitor exposure of children to earthquake media coverage, especially photos and video. “The media images of this catastrophe are much more graphic than for any other natural disaster or crisis in recent history,” states NASP. “Exposure to these images can trigger trauma response in children and adults. This can be true for children who are not directly connected to this tragedy.” Protective factors can include maintaining a sense of normalcy, focusing on people’s resilience and the outpouring of help from around the world, and taking action to help.”

You’ll find transportation, infrastructure, and security news—as well as advice for travelers in Haiti who can access it--on the National Business Travel Association’s daily intelligence site[http://www2.nbta.org/resourcelibrary/pages/ijetdaily.aspx].
The National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is mobilizing members who have served in Haiti to tap into their specialized knowledge for recovery of the region. Their insights and ideas are being posted on a designated section on its Web site called, Haiti Disaster Response (http://community.peacecorpsconnect.org), which has been experiencing high traffic since inception. More than 500 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Haiti since 1982. In addition, NPCA is posting updates on Haiti on its Polyglot blog (http://peacecorpsconnect.typepad.com/) including an announcement that former NPCA Operations Manager Matt Marek, who is in Port-au-Prince and now works as director of programs with the American Red Cross in Haiti, is safe. The Peace Corps does not currently have a program in Haiti but worked there off and on as recently as 2005.

The March of Dimes has awarded a special grant of $100,000 to UNICEF to help Haitian women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and babies in need of diapers, clothing, food, and safe ways to prepare infant formula. Of special concern are infants and toddlers separated from families or orphaned.

The American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) is working with members and aid workers to monitor the expected explosion of mosquitoes in the earthquake zone. Although insects may seem a minor concern at the moment, the organization is worried that mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever may emerge to complicate health efforts, since temporary shelters often don’t protect people from insects, and disrupted landscapes often provide ideal habitat for mosquito egg-laying.

For organizational reasons, I'm pasting Kristin's original blog post as a comment to this one.

Associations, Nonprofits Begin Haitian Earthquake Response

As they have so many times in the past, associations and nonprofits around the world are moving rapidly to help the hard-hit communities in and near the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, after a severe earthquake measuring 7.0 quake apparently flattened much of the area late January 12.

With communications impaired, electricity out, and roads blocked by fallen debris from collapsed buildings and homes, organizations were struggling both to track down local staff and members, and to assess how best to assist the densely populated, impoverished region that appears devastated.

Here’s a round-up of some association and nonprofit efforts and news underway:

Within hours of the quake, local Haitian teams of the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières were reporting that damage to their Port-au-Prince medical center and other facilities is “significant” as are injuries to staff, patients, and incoming residents. Additional staff are being deployed immediately.

World Vision International, a nonprofit that helps the poor, said on its Web site that staff in Haiti are trying to assess the damage and configure a response plan, but some workers are struggling just to leave their building because of aftershocks and damage that continue to send walls and building materials into the streets.

The American Red Cross, World Vision International, Oxfam, numerous faith-based relief services, and myriad other disaster relief charities have already set up emergency funds—many of them linked to mobile phone text giving--and e-mailed urgent donation appeals to millions of supporters.

Save the Children’s Ian Rodgers, who was in Haiti at the time of the earthquake, quickly became the eyes and ears for many media around the globe stymied by the lack of working communication technology and lack of access to the area.

Social media is again playing a riveting role in revealing the extent of the disaster, as well as the types of real-time decision-making occuring onsite and in offices far afield by nonprofit staff and government officials. Twitter updates from charities, federal and international agencies, and others have been running throughout the night as news and photos have slowly leaked out. While no association-uploaded videos related to humanitarian efforts is on YouTube yet, several groups expressed hope they would soon have footage or videotaped interviews to post shortly.

Many professional and trade associations have created global disaster relief funds in the past 10 years and are likely to tap them now, saying they want first to see what primary needs emerge.

Expressing fears about safety, shifting needs, and inadequate information from the hit region, none of the aid charities are accepting outside volunteers at the moment while the groups try to get their own trained staff onsite. Indeed, some are trying to get staff and members out of the Port-au-Prince area while aftershocks remain so strong.

Christa Stratton of the Geological Society of America alerted me that GSA has compiled a list of open-access papers on the Caribbean plate and the Enriquillo-Plaintain fault line in Haiti. The articles, from GSA Bulletin and the GSA Special Papers collection, span from 1954 to 2009. Read them at http://www.gsapubs.org/site/misc/Haiti.xhtml and, if referenced, please credit The Geological Society of America, GSA BULLETIN, or the referenced GSA Special Paper in articles published.

“People who have been affected directly and indirectly by disasters or traumatic events may experience an array of reactions, including fear, anxiety, sadness, and sleeplessness,” explains the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in a statement of sympathy to the people of Haiti. “As the world psychiatric community reaches out to those affected by the earthquake, it is important that supportive and therapeutic interventions respect cultural differences in grief reactions and coping strategies.”

Business Aviation Lends a Hand When Crisis Hits

The business aviation community has a long history of providing flights and other support to help people and communities in the aftermath of natural disasters. Following the earthquake in Haiti, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) heard from many Member Companies wanting to volunteer their aircraft, supplies and personnel to support earthquake relief efforts.
In response, NBAA set up and is maintaining a web site - www.nbaa.org/haiti - to provide the latest operational information and help match available assets with people and organizations involved in coordinating missions into Haiti. The site also tracks media coverage of the business aviation community's relief efforts.
Other aviation groups like the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and news organizations like Aviation International News and others have pointed to NBAA's web site as a valuable resource for Haitian relief efforts.
For more information, please visit us at www.nbaa.org/haiti.

Soroptimist International of the Americas, an international association that works to improve the lives of women and girls, is not an immediate disaster relief organization, but it is collecting donations to help women and girls in Haiti recover after immediate needs have been met. Lori Blair, senior director of program services at Soroptimist International of the Americas, reports her organization is working with local agencies to ensure that women and girls have needed resources such as access to safe housing, education, and income-generating activities. In the past, Soroptimist disaster recovery projects have helped domestic and sexual assault agencies (Katrina) and supported rebuilding a girls’ school and providing women with job-training (Tsunami). You can read more here: http://www.soroptimist.org/checkitout/checkitout.html#1. In addition, SIA is posting the latest news about gender and the disaster on its Facebook page.

Countering the strong cultural belief in voodoo throughout Haiti was a major challenge for a 15-member volunteer medical team sent by the Northwest Physicians Network, the largest independent physicians association in the Northwest. The team, which had established a five-room clinic in an abandoned school in Plain du Nord, treated and operated on hundreds of patients with paralysis, worms, malaria, and infections from earthquake injuries. The team, which returned Feb. 6, was stymied initially by the inability to obtain accurate information about a patient’s condition because relatives believed the patients were “possessed by a demon” and other voodoo punishments. According to team members, a French interpreter at the clinic was able to assuage such concerns by saying, “Take these pills, and the demon will leave.”

The National Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) have joined with Share Our Strength to organize Restaurants for Relief-Haiti to galvanize the restaurant industry’s fundraising initiative. The program, which runs through February 12, is an extension of the original Restaurants for Relief in 2005 that raised nearly $1 million after Hurricane Katrina. SOS will grant 100% of the funds raised to organizations with proven capacity and expertise to respond to the Haiti crisis. Restaurants are participating in various ways, ranging from donations of a percentage of sales to collecting patron donations.

Billy Shore of Save our Strength has been blogging compelling posts from Haiti, where he has been with a delegation helping to distribute food, meeting officials and NGOs to determine long and short-term needs, and working next to musician Jean Wyclef, Timberland CEO Jeff Swartz, and others. SOS had distributed $145,000 in grants within 48 hours of the quake, but is planning relief in numerous phases. You can follow him at http://www.strength.org/blog/billy_shore/letter_from_the_first_day_in_haiti. ““The real danger is whether our hearts and heads have the capacity to continue to bear witness after the headlines fade and the benefit concerts end, and our lives once again refocus on the many needs even closer to home,” he writes.

The American Institute of Architects has notified members that it is readying for next-phase rebuilding of devastated parts of Haiti. Joined by the U.S. Green Building Council, it is sending a joint letter to United Nations Envoy to Haiti Former President Bill Clinton offering the profession’s technical and professional expertise when the initiative begins focusing on rebuilding. “Additionally, we are discussing ideas with Architecture for Humanity (www.architectureforhumanity.org) on how architects can provide on-the-ground design guidance in Haiti so local citizens can seek qualified counsel as they rebuild their homes, businesses, and lives,” writes President George Miller in his Web statement to members.

A volunteer medical team from the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) completed 70 surgical procedures during its week-long stint and "touched the lives of many more.... We overcame supply issues and developed networks of connections to allow us to continue to work." The association is exploring possible development of "Musculoskeletal Centers" that could address long-term needs in Haiti." More than 150 American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons members have already volunteered in Haiti, and over 500 more have signed up to serve. Check out one AAHKS leader's incredible accounts at http://www.aahks.org/member/ProBono/HaitiParsleyUpdate.pdf.

AOPA members--all private pilots--continue to fly in supplies and personnel. Daily and hourly updates appear on its Web site at www.aopa.org, and its magazine will have a feature with extensive photos, according to staffer Julie Walker.

In an operation that has involved more emergency response teams than any other single-country disaster in global Red Cross history, the American Red Cross has so far spent or committed more than $67 million to meet the most urgent needs of earthquake survivors in Haiti. To date, 79% of funds have been devoted to food and water; 18% on shelter, and the rest on health and family services. To date, 49 flights carrying aid have arrived in Haiti, with more planes, ships, and trucks en route. A new 50,000-square-foot warehouse is now operational and secure in Port-au-Prince.

The U.S. Parachute Association (USPA) and its 32,000 members have been using member-loaned skydiving aircraft to transport thousands of pounds of food, tents, personnel, and medical supplies to relief organizations in Haiti since shortly after the disaster. "Jump aircraft are especially well-suited for these missions," says Ed Scott, executive director. "Most have large cargo doors and are easily converted to carry cargo. Most can also take off and land on short and sometimes rough landing strips…. With so many people looking for ways to help, skydivers are excited to have this unique opportunity to make a difference in the face of tragedy."

Members of the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) have launched a $10,000 Haiti Relief Fund and urged members to visit its Web site to make online donations and/or apply for a grant from the fund. The grants are specifically for senior living employees who have loved ones in Haiti and seek money to visit, evacuate, or financially support family members there. Senior living companies don’t need to be ALFA members to apply for the grants.

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is rallying its troops for two efforts to help Haitian families: (1) It has joined 160 member countries of the Switzerland-based World Organization of the Scout Movement to collect money and encourage support of relief agency partners such as the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army, and (2) BSA has launched a drive to obtain tents and sleeping bags for displaced Haitians. Go to http://worldfirendshipfund.kintera.org/haitianrelief to donate or buy items to send to Haiti.

The American Humane Association's program manager for Animal Emergency Services has deployed to Haiti as part of the Animal Relief Colition for Haiti, which is jointly led by the World Society for the Protection of Animals and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The team is implementing a feeding program for community dogs and providing veterinary aid, in cooperation with the Haitian government and the Ministry of Environment.

From raising funds to collecting relief supplies to distributing life-saving shelters in Port-au-Prince, Rotary clubs (www.rotary.org) worldwide—including members of the 17 Rotary clubs in Haiti--continue to help earthquake victims. Rotary member and pediatrician Claude Surena has been tapped by President Rene Preval to coordinate the national government's emergency response. He also chairs Rotary's Haiti Disaster Preparedness Committee, which is ensuring incoming relief supplies are used effectively. He and his family also have been caring for injured quake victims on the grounds of their home. Clubs throughout the regional Rotary district that includes Haiti quickly mobilized to send more than 55 planes carrying 50,000 pounds of medical equipment and supplies into the cities of Pignon and Port-de-Paix, bypassing the myriad of logistical problems in Port-au-Prince. Rotary clubs throughout the Caribbean have raised more than $310,000 for immediate relief and long-term rebuilding. Thirty-three projects were already underway to provide water, sanitation, medical care, and education in Haiti before the earthquake. The Rotary Foundation has set up a Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund to streamline the contribution process.