When the news broke that a 7.0 magnitude earthquake had devastated the Americas’ poorest nation, the response from local churches and organizations was immediate. Two area churches with ties to Haiti have been leading relief efforts for over a week, requesting and receiving donations of necessities, medical supplies and money from residents eager to help.

Mt. Zion United Methodist Church in Garner is stepping up to the plate by soliciting much needed donations from the surrounding community.

“Items have continuously been coming in, and I suspect we’ll be getting even more donations throughout the week,” said missions chairperson Lisa Blauvelt. “I would just encourage people to donate – Haiti is a very poor country, and they desperately need our help.”

According to Blauvelt, the church is especially trying to gather blankets and towels together, as millions of displaced Haitians are now sleeping outside on the ground.

A team from Mt. Zion is scheduled to go to Haiti for a missions trip in June, a trip that has been in the works for over a year. According to Blauvelt, the church got involved with Haiti because of Helen Little, a missionary from Horne Memorial United Methodist Church in Clayton. Little and her team were in Haiti when the earthquake struck, and Blauvelt received e-mail updates from Little throughout the ordeal. The team had been riding on a school bus back to their camp when they felt the ground shaking and witnessed buildings crumble.

Horne Memorial’s team has since returned home safely.

Blauvelt says her own team considered accompanying Horne’s team to Haiti this month, but decided to push back their trip until school was out.

The trip is still scheduled for June 14 – 21, and there is room on the team for anyone interested in going.

“We hope by that time things are a little more stable and organized,” said Blauvelt. “We had originally planned to help build an orphanage and a church, but we’ll probably be more focused now on clean up, rebuilding and just helping them get their lives back together.”

Although Mt. Zion has sent their youth group on missions trips throughout the U.S. and in other countries, this is their first adult missions trip.

“We may not fully understand the reasons, but I believe God always has a plan and a purpose,” said Blauvelt. “And maybe the reason it’s taken us this long to get an adult missions trip together and to a place like Haiti is because they will need our help more than ever now.”

Pastor Alan Swartz at Horne Memorial has seen the response from the community firsthand. According to Swartz, over 18 tons of donated items have been collected so far.

Items are being stored at Carolina Graphic Printing in Clayton, a business that has donated warehouse space and will accepting items this week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Once the warehouse in Clayton stops storing donations, the church will be working with the Merci Mission Center in Goldsboro and shipping necessities to Haiti from there.

“The response has just been tremendous,” said Swartz.

When being interviewed on a morning radio show last week, Swartz says he made a remark that they were in particular need of donations of beans and rice. By noon that day, he says they received 1,000 pounds of the staples.

The team from Horne Memorial that was in Haiti at the time of the disaster has returned home safely, with the exception of one member – a native of Haiti who remained behind to continue relief efforts. Swartz says the church has plans to send another team down in March to assist with clean-up and rebuilding efforts.

“It’s going to take a long term effort,” he said. “These are people who had so little to begin with that need to at least get back to the point they were. We’re definitely in it for the long haul.”

Items can be dropped off at either church or at the warehouse, although Blauvelt recommends calling before stopping by to ensure someone will be there to receive your donations. And she encourages everyone to give back, no matter how small they think their donation may be.

“You’d be surprised at what one person can accomplish - and there are lots of ways to get involved, from giving donations to helping pack up items, or even going on our missions trip,” she said.

Community Anchors Limited, Inc. (CAL) a Raleigh non-profit organization that works to provide services for victims and people associated with industrial and natural disasters, is also working to help Haitians.

CAL President Dr. Terence Leathers said the organization would send a group of at least six people to Haiti in the next three weeks to assist in any way possible. CAL is meeting with local ministers and may add to the group’s size this week.

“We are really looking for people who want to roll up their sleeves and help,” Leathers said.

After talking with the Governor’s office and the Raleigh Emergency Management Agency, Leathers said the group will have training on emergency management this week at Mt. Vernon Christian Church in Clayton with follow-up training before going to Haiti.

Leathers said the group’s biggest need is funds for medical supplies and food. To donate, send financial gifts to P.O. Box 26911 Raleigh, NC 27611.

Items can be dropped off at the following locations:



Mt. Zion UMC

15772 NC 50 N, Garner

772-8415

Horne Memorial UMC

121 E. Second Street, Clayton

553-6464

Carolina Graphic Printing "CGP Inc." on Atkinson Street

501 Atkinson Street, Clayton

585-0100

Items Needed for Haiti Right Away!

Basic Needs

Blankets

Sheets

Towels

Wash Clothes

Health Kits*

Food (non-perishable, particularly beans and rice)

Tarps

* Health Kit - Contains Specific Items:

1 hand towel (15" x 25" up to 17" x 27")

1 wash cloth

1 comb (large and sturdy, not pocket-sized)

1 nail file or fingernail clippers (no emery boards or toenail clippers)

1 bath-size bar of soap (3 oz and up)

1 toothbrush (single brush only in original wrapper; no child-sized brushes)

1 large tube of toothpaste

6 adhesive plastic strip sterile bandages



You can also donate to UMCOR, which 100% of gifts go to relief efforts to Haiti Emergency. You can donate online at www.umc.org to UMCOR Advance #418325 which is the Haiti Relief or you can write a check to Mount Zion UMC and in the memo put UMCOR Advance #418325.

Horne Memorial is accepting checks and monetary donations as well – make checks payable to Horne Memorial UMC and designate it for “Haiti disaster.”