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Haiti giving tops $4 million
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 Feb 10, 2010 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As the official death toll from Haiti's Jan. 12 earthquake matches that of the 2004 South Asian tsunami, Americans who care are responding by donating generously through Southern Baptist disaster relief channels.

The financial gifts for Haiti relief are flowing in a steady stream of donations both large and small – even from very young donors, said Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global Response.

Haiti's government announced Feb. 9 that the catastrophic earthquake had claimed 230,000 lives in the capital, Port-au-Prince, but that number did not include bodies buried by private funeral homes in private cemeteries or the dead buried by their own families, news services reported. The new figure matches the death toll from the tsunami that ravaged South Asia in 2004.

But the suffering of Haiti's people – more than 700,000 of whom remain homeless – has touched many hearts in the United States, and the desire to help Haitians in need launched a tidal wave of donations to Southern Baptist organizations involved in the disaster response.

At last count, more than $4 million has been given through four Southern Baptist organizations – $1.0 million through Baptist Global Response, $1.1 million through the International Mission Board, $1.54 million through the Florida Baptist Convention, and $400,000 through the North American Mission Board.

The great thing about giving through Southern Baptist disaster relief channels is that 100 percent of every dollar donated goes directly to ministries that help people in need, Brown said.

"All four organizations have seen checks, cash, and on-line donations stream in by the thousands – an average of more than $130,000 a day all together," Brown said. "It's such a blessing to see good-hearted people respond so generously. Many of the people we've talked to have said they wanted to give through Southern Baptists because they knew every penny would be used to help people in need."

The donations have come in from churches, businesses, schools, and individuals of all ages, said Megan Stull Riel, associate director of BGR's U.S. office.

"A rural school in Bakersfield, Calif., sent a check, saying they are in a small, economically disadvantaged community that has a large heart for helping others," Riel said. "The student council of a school district in Braymer, Mo., raised $132 by letting students pay a dollar each to wear a hat to school, then the student council matched the donation. Fifteen members of the senior class in a Christian school in Upper Marlboro, Md., personally signed a letter that accompanied their donation, thanking us for the opportunity 'to be a part of the healing of this nation.'

"We also had parents whose children gave them money and asked them to send it in," Riel added. “One parent said her three boys – ages 7, 8, and 12 were so touched by the plight of the Haitian people that the two youngest kids gave all the money they had and the 12-year-old gave $20. Another parent said her children were giving money they had saved from their allowances and sent a check for $267.50."

One Florida congregation was moved to respond, in part because so many members of their community had family directly affected by the earthquake, said Kathy Burton, a public relations specialist for the Florida Baptist Convention.

Burton said: "One church sent a note with their donation that said, 'We have a large Haitian community in our church and they are definitely hurting. Every Haitian family in our church has some family still in Haiti and most in Port au Prince. It has been a very trying time for them, trying to locate family members and learning of family members who were injured or did not survive. We had a special prayer service this past Wednesday and took a collection for the Florida Baptist Convention to help with the disaster relief.  Please find a total of $6,316.06 enclosed from our congregation.'"

From Colorado, Dolores Southern Baptist Church wrote the Baptist Global Response office to say they showed slides of the devastation in Haiti and took up an offering of $1,000 for Haiti relief. As the church treasurer, Colleen Smith, was organizing the money, a 9-year-old boy ran up to her and said, "Wait until I go to the van. I want to help." He returned with a handful of $1 and $5 bills – $50 in all – that he had been saving to buy a toy he wanted. "He told his mother that those people needed the money more than he needed the toy," Smith said.

Another Colorado congregation, Circle Drive Baptist Church in Colorado Springs, got their children engaged in the Haiti relief effort by asking them to make handcraft items that could be sold to adults in the congregation. Children’s minister Kathy Routt, whose husband, Mike, is senior pastor of the church, wrote to say the children were excited to see they could play an active role in helping suffering people in Haiti, and the congregation raised $1,359 for the Haiti effort.

"One of the passionate desires of the Colorado Kid Company of Circle Drive Baptist Church is for each of our children to develop a heart for the people of the world to know Jesus," Routt said. "So as the images of Haiti’s begin coming in one of our first thoughts was 'How can our kids help?' So we prayed, 'God, what can our kids do to help?'

"That Sunday morning and the following Wednesday evening, the children worked very hard making crafts. We prayed over them and ask God to use these crafts to raise money to help the people in Haiti," Routt added. "The next Sunday our pre-teen fifth graders and their teachers manned the tables as members of our church made donations to Haiti in exchange for craft items. It was so exciting to see the eyes of our fifth graders light up as they collected donations and realized they were having a part in making a difference in someone’s life in Haiti."

As much as money gifts are needed for the long-term disaster response in Haiti, church members will be more enthusiastic when leaders find ways for them to be personally involved, Brown  noted.

"It's great to see people finding creative, hands-on ways for children and teenagers to help. We hope others will look for ways to help their people experience the satisfaction of doing something personally to help Haitians in need," Brown said. "The 'Buckets of Hope' project being coordinated by the North American Mission Board is a great example of how that can be done.

"Everyone who has given – or will give – to Haiti relief through Southern Baptist channels can be certain that their gifts will be used for ministry projects conducted in partnership with Haitian Baptist churches," Brown added. "And it will make a long-term impact because we are in Haiti for the long haul, just like Southern Baptists are still working in areas affected by the tsunami with long-term development projects that offer people the ability to help themselves.

“We'll not only help in Haiti with the urgent needs of the moment, but we also will be helping families and communities rebuild their lives,” Brown added. “Southern Baptist relief and development ministries are designed to help people experience the love of Christ today and find hope for the future."

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To donate to the BGR disaster response fund, please click here. Every dollar given will be used 100% in relief efforts conducted in partnership with local Baptist churches.
 

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