Big Hearts Find Small Ways to Give in Haiti

Date: Monday, February 08, 2010, 7:58 am
By: Tonya Pendleton, BlackAmericaWeb.com

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Volunteers sort through clothing donated for Haitian earthquake relief at the Haitian Multi-Ethnic Community Center. (AP)

While we celebrate the Super Bowl winners, and the world looks again to the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancover, the media reports die down about Haiti. But that doesn’t mean that the millions of people impacted by the deadly earthquake last month don’t still need help.

What has been truly amazing thus far is how many people have answered the call in ways both public and private. The Haitian people have proven to be resilient and grateful, but they could not have anticipated just who and how people would answer the call to assist them in their most significant hour of need.

Here are just some of the ways that people have come together to provide aid for Haiti.


HOMELESS HELP HAITI

You may not think that those with so little to give would be able to join the millions of people nationwide who have reached out to give to those suffering in Haiti. But you’d be wrong. For those with much more to give, a donation of $14.64 may not seem like much. But given the fact that it was collected from a Baltimore homeless shelter makes it that much more impressive.

The Baltimore recently reported that $14.64 was donated to the American Red Cross in Baltimore from the residents of the Guilford Avenue Shelter in downtown Baltimore. The money was collected during church service held in the shelter and was described as a spontaneous outpouring of giving by the lay priest who conducted the service.

"Their selfless sacrifice should be a lesson of encouragement to the rest of us to also give our money, time and energy to the relief efforts," thyen-Mayor Sheila Dixon said in a statement. "If those with so little to give do so, what is our excuse not to?"


LAP DANCES FOR HAITI

An Ohio strip club has gotten into the giving spirit in a whole new way.

Marilyn’s on Monroe in Toledo says they too felt the pain of seeing people suffer in the Haiti earthquake, and they want to donate to relief efforts. According to CNN, Marilyn’s is hosting “Lap Dances For Haiti” to donate money to earthquake relief. Manager Kenny Soprano (and that is not a typo) says that “Charity is charity. If the people need the money, who’s to judge who and where it came from?”

Over the weekend, the club donated 100 percent of its regular $10 cover to earthquake relief. The club hasn’t yet decided which charity it will donate to.


HAITIANS IN TEXAS GIVE THEIR ALL

When Haitian-born Orlando Alexis left his homeland to move to the United States with his family, he hoped he was moving to a better life, even if it meant leaving relatives - including his mother - behind. Years later, he promised his mother, who he hadn’t seen in 40 years, that he would move her from Haiti to the states.

In the wake of the earthquake it hasn’t exactly turned out that way. Alexis and his wife have instead decided to sell everything they own and move back to Haiti to assist with the ongoing relief and rebuilding effort. Alexis told NBC News, “I made a commitment right then and there that I wasn’t going to allow myself to sit here and not do anything.” His mother was able to escape the earthquake and any injury, but her home was destroyed.

Through their church group, the Texas-based couple will sell both of their homes and their businesses with everything intact to live in Haiti. Says Alexis: “God will provide.”


AND A CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM

Twelve-year-old Adora Svitak is already a pretty accomplished little girl. She has written a book of short stories, .....


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