Disasters in Haiti and Chile: You Can Help!

Meeting Immediate Needs

• Right now, monetary donations are needed most. Because of transportation and security issues, it is difficult to get donated supplies to Haiti and Chile. The American Red Cross and The Salvation Army are accepting monetary donations for Haiti and Chile earthquake relief. Nationally, The American Red Cross and The Salvation Army are sending trained emergency workers and materials; locally, they are collecting monetary donations and preparing for a call-up of volunteers, if it becomes necessary. United Way Worldwide is working through Sociedad Activa, the United Way organization in Chile, and its community partners to respond to this disaster.
  • To donate through the American Red Cross, visit americanredcross.org.
  • To donate through The Salvation Army, visit salvationarmy.org.
• Volunteering for disaster relief in Chile: If you have prior disaster relief experience, have fluency of the local language and have expertise in a technical field such as medicine, communications logistics or water/sanitation engineering, we encourage you to register with the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI.org) volunteer database. To find other volunteer opportunities, please click here.
• Your contributions to Community Investment through the United Way Community Campaign support our partners including the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army, enabling them to train volunteers for disaster response. Community Investment dollars also help to meet local emergency needs so that other donations can go where they are most needed around the world.
•  United Way 2-1-1, a free community information and referral hotline, can refer you to information about Haiti and point you toward more opportunities to donate. Dial 2-1-1 or visit 211ct.org.
• If you represent a large corporation, there are special ways you can help:
  • In-kind donations of products, skills, and services may be made through Aidmatrix, a nonprofit organization that is working with global organizations and local partners in Haiti and Chile to coordinate the earthquake response efforts. Click here to donate through Aidmatrix.
  • If you are a global corporate leader, click here for special information on how you can help.

United Way Supports Long-Term Recovery

Since the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, the United Way system has rallied to support those in need. United Way’s role is to support long-term recovery efforts and rebuild lives and infrastructure and to help people in Haiti and Chile address educational, financial and health-related challenges.

• United Ways in Florida and the Caribbean region are responding immediately to the disaster in Haiti. Some examples:
  • Fondos Unidos de Puerto Rico has partnered with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency and Pentecostal Social Service to distribute water, juice, over-the-counter medicines, first aid products, protein bars, canned food and other necessities sent from Puerto Rico to Haiti. Thus far, four containers have been sent and are being distributed in Port-au-Prince and Croix Des-Bouquets, Haiti.
  • United Way Jamaica met on January 26 with Ronald Jackson, head of Jamaica's Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, and representatives from other aid organizations to determine United Way's long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts in Haiti.
  • Fondo Unido de Guatemala is sending 600 water filters to Haiti. The water filters ensure 100 percent removal of parasites and 99.99 percent removal of pathogenic bacteria and provide 10 gallons of safe drinking water within 24 hours.
  •  United Way Brasil is working with local corporations interested in giving and is helping to connect in-kind donors such as Procter & Gamble with Fondos Unidos de Puerto Rico.
  •  United Way of Trinidad and Tobago has chartered a boat and is collecting goods that will be channeled through Fondos Unidos de Puerto Rico.
  •  United Way of St. Thomas / St. John is organizing a concert for long-term recovery.
  •  United Way of Miami-Dade raised and disbursed $500,000 in critically needed emergency supplies to people in Haiti through Operation Helping Hands.
  •  United Way of Tampa Bay operated an information and donation phone bank at Tampa's Channel 8 (NBC) during a 5-6 p.m. newscast.
  • United Way of Broward County met in late January with a coalition of more than 50 local organizations and government, to formulate a long-term disaster recovery committee that will assist with the rebuilding effort.
• The Role of United Way Following the Earthquake in Chile
  • United Way’s role is to support long-term recovery efforts to rebuild lives and infrastructure devastated by the disaster in Chile, as we have done and continue to do in Haiti, and to help residents address educational, financial and health-related challenges.
  • United Way’s national organization in Chile and other United Way members in the Latin American region have mobilized their staff, volunteer leaders and resources in response, and will work together to determine the most pressing long-term recovery needs.  Examples may include access to health care, rebuilding schools and housing, and meeting critical basic needs for shelter, food and clothing.

• United Way Worldwide has established a Disaster Fund that supports long-term recovery efforts to rebuild devastated lives and infrastructure, and to address the educational, financial and health challenges caused by disasters around the world. Contributions to the Fund support recovery and long-term rebuilding needs of the devastated Haitian communities and help meet the needs of Haitians affected by the disaster. 95% of every contribution goes directly toward long-term recovery work; 5% covers the transactions costs of the contribution processor. Click here to donate to the United Way Worldwide Disaster Fund, or text HAITI to 864833 (UNITED) to donate $5. Standard text messaging rates apply.  People can make a $10 donation by texting CHILE to 864833 (UNITED). Standard text messaging rates apply.  Checks can be made out to United Way and mailed to United Way Worldwide, P.O. Box 630568, Baltimore, MD 21263-0568. The memo line should include "United Way Worldwide Disaster Fund" and, if desired, should indicate Disaster Recovery / Rebuilding, Chile or Haiti.

• United Way Global Corporate Leaders such as Accenture, Aetna Inc., AT&T, Citigroup Inc., Cummins Inc., Deloitte, Eaton Corporation, GE, HSBC - North America, IBM Corporation, Kellogg Company, Microsoft Corporation, Nationwide Insurance, NBC Universal, New York Life Insurance Company, Procter & Gamble, Pfizer Inc, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Principal Financial Group, Qwest Communications International, Inc., United Airlines and UPS are working with United Way to contribute financial and other resources, while also engaging their employees to assist in disaster response.

• Retailers Team up with United Way to Support Haiti Relief

You can support the global relief effort in Haiti by shopping at your favorite stores! Polo Ralph Lauren has teamed up with United Way to raise money for the global recovery effort in Haiti. 100% of proceeds from the Haiti Relief Polo Shirt will be donated to the humanitarian effort in Haiti through the United Way Worldwide Disaster Fund. Ralph Lauren is also making a corporate donation to the United Way Worldwide Disaster Fund and matching employee contributions. Click here to buy a shirt! New York & Company is collecting donations in their stores and online and matching gifts up to $100,000. Click here to make a donation online or find a store near you!

 

For the Latest Information

For the latest information on United Way's global and local response to the need in Haiti and Chile, click here.   

For local updates from our partners, click on their names below:

• American Red Cross, Connecticut Chapter

• The Salvation Army of Greater Hartford

For national updates from the American Red Cross or The Salvation Army, click on their names.

For help in trying to locate U.S. citizens living or traveling in Chile, contact the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, at 1-888-407-4747 or 1-202-647-5225, or go to their website.

Media: for a one-page update on United Way's role in Chile's recovery, click here.