Urgent Appeal to Assist Haiti

January 14, 2010

Dear Reverend Father,

By now you have heard of the devastation of Haiti following this week's massive earthquake. The suffering is beyond words – tens of thousands have perished, untold numbers are homeless, without water, shelter or life-saving medical care.

The first few days of a humanitarian crisis of this magnitude are absolutely critical.

IOCC needs your help.

Here's how you and your parish can make the difference for the suffering people of Haiti:

• Pray for the people of Haiti and those who have lost loved ones in this disaster and for the safety of those who are working to assist them. See www.iocc.org/prayers

. Please alert your parish to this Urgent Action Appeal by sending them an email, using the attached bulletin insert, and linking IOCC to your parish's website.

• Send a gift to assist the victims of disasters around the world, like the Haiti Earthquake, by giving to the IOCC International Emergency Response Fund, at www.iocc.org

or by sending them to IOCC, P.O. Box 630225, Baltimore, MD 21263-0225.

• Assemble hygiene kits and emergency clean-up buckets to be shipped to places like Haiti – or wherever disasters strike. There is a critical shortage of these supplies and we need your help to provide this aid. For information on hygiene kits, go to www.iocc.org/kits

.

Thank you for providing this critical support for thousands who are waiting for our response now. Please download this Sunday bulletin insert to alert your parishioners on the important work of IOCC in Haiti

– and please remember the people of Haiti in your prayers.

In Christ,

Constantine M. Triantafilou
IOCC Executive Director & CEO