United Way pledges $40,000 in emergency aid for Haiti and support for Boston’s Haitian Community

BOSTON - On the heels of a city-wide meeting last night to organize a local recovery effort, United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley announced today that it will be investing a total of $40,000, and setting up an online action center, to respond to the devastating impact of Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Port-au-Prince and to address some of its long-term effects on Boston's Haitian community. 

United Way will provide the Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay with $20,000 to be used in immediate rescue and relief efforts.  The Red Cross has already begun sending money, supplies and staff to Haiti to support these efforts. 

"There are some tremendous organizations, including the Red Cross, that are addressing  the dire needs on the ground in Port-au-Prince, and United Way is happy to be able to support those efforts," said Michael Durkin, president of United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley. "We're also well-aware that the impact of this catastrophe will extend beyond the borders of Haiti, adversely affecting the Haitian Diaspora here in Boston.  Families will need resources to get in touch with loved ones, care for family members and recover from staggering impact of the earthquake."

For this purpose, United Way will also be providing $20,000 in support funding for the Haitian Multi-Service Center, run by Catholic Charities, in Dorchester. The Haitian Multi-Service Center supports newly arrived and long-term resident Haitian immigrants and refugees in their quest for educational development and financial stability. Funding in response to the earthquake will help provide counseling and crisis management services to local families as well as emergency financial support to keep families affected by the earthquake stable.

"We are so grateful to United Way for this act of solidarity with the Haitian community," said Tiziana Dearing, president of Catholic Charities of Boston. "The need is tremendous in Haiti right now.  As the tragedy unfolds, we know there are and will be increasing needs in the Haitian community here in Boston, too.  Families are being stretched and torn. This generous gift will help ensure that we can wrap our arms around the Haitian community and support families there and here in the days to come."

Massachusetts has the third largest Haitian population in the Country.  According to the 2007 Census Bu­reau; American Community Survey, there are an estimated 14,361 Haitian-born immi­grants living in the city of Boston. Haitians make up the second largest share of immigrants in Boston (8.5%).

To empower others to help the Haitian Community in Boston, United Way has set up an online action center at: www.chooseyourimpact.org/haiti. The website will enable donors, advocates and volunteers to respond to the tragedy, by supporting local families impacted by the earthquake.

 Both the Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay and Catholic Charities' Haitian Multi-Service Center are long-standing partners of United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley.