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The Cathedral Matches Donations for Haiti Relief The images of suffering and destruction in Haiti have washed over us during the past three weeks. Buildings lying in rubble around their foundations. People living in make-shift camps. Parents looking for their children, and children looking for their parents. More than one hundred thousand people have been estimated dead, and that number is expected to rise in the coming days and weeks. In the wake of these images, though, we have also been reminded of the faithful spirit of the Haitian people. A woman singing quietly under the shade of a tree. Families joining hands and praising God in the middle of a village that is no more. A man traveling for days to rescue his wife and children. This disaster is personal to many of us. Members of the Cathedral have long been involved in Haiti. We have built churches and schools, worked in hospitals and health clinics, and participated in water and hunger relief projects. A number of our members are in Haiti now, and more are planning to go as soon as it becomes clear that their presence will be helpful. As is so often true, each time we go there to help them, we come back here to realize that they have helped us in immeasurable ways. “Build back better.” These are the words that some people are starting to use to describe the multi-year effort that will be required to rebuild the lives and communities that have been shattered by the earthquake and its aftershocks. Even after the immediate needs for water, food, and medicine have been met, there will be much more to do. Debris will need to be cleared. Infrastructure will need to be built. Systems for health, education, food security and water and sanitation will need to be created. Economic investment will need to be made. Haiti was already one of the poorest countries in the world. The Cathedral has decided to use $25,000 of its Millennium Development Goal budget to support the efforts of our members in Haiti by matching dollar-for-dollar the donations that you make to the aid and development agencies through which they are working. The current list of these organizations includes –
If a Cathedral member makes a donation to any organization on our list before March 1, 2010, then we will match that donation dollar-for-dollar until we have spent $25,000. We will post the details about how to comply with this matching gift program, together with an updated list of identified organizations, here. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at 404-365-1000 or send me an email. We are thankful for the relationships we have developed with the people of Haiti over the years and grateful that we are able to respond faithfully to the tragedy that now threatens their very lives. The Rev. George M. Maxwell, Jr. |
From the Rev. George M. Maxwell, Jr., 