Catholic Relief Services sees ‘tremendous response’ for Haitian appeal

Baltimore, Md., Jan 20, 2010 / 01:21 am

Catholic Relief Services on Tuesday reported it has received a “tremendous response” of cash donations for relief and recovery in Haiti as it seeks to secure $25 million to help the victims of last week’s massive earthquake.

On Tuesday Catholic Relief Services (CRS) reported it received $13.1 million in donations. This figure is up from its Jan. 17 report of more than $11.9 million in donations, $7.3 million of which came via the internet.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, created by the billionaire Microsoft co-founder, on Jan. 14 announced it had awarded a $1 million grant to Catholic Relief Services to help its response to the needs of the earthquake’s victims.

The foundation said CRS has “experienced personnel and a stock of emergency supplies” in the country. The donation will help cover CRS’s initial relief efforts in areas such as shelter, food, water, sanitation, health and other needs.

Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan, Chairman of CRS, said there has been a “tremendous response” from all over the world and particularly in the United States.

“Catholic Relief Services, the Red Cross, and so many other aid agencies are already hard at work in Haiti, and they will need our ongoing support as they begin the long and difficult process of helping the people of Haiti to rebuild their lives,” the archbishop wrote on Tuesday on his blog The Gospel in the Digital Age.

As CRS chairman, he added, he is “so grateful” to those who donated. He especially thanked the New York Yankees baseball team, which donated $225,000 to CRS' Haitian relief efforts as part of the $500,000 the team has committed to relief.

“Please keep in your prayers the people of Haiti and those who are working so hard to bring them aid and comfort,” Archbishop Dolan concluded.

The Catholic Relief Services website has been reconstructed to accommodate its heightened volume of online traffic. It is located at http://crs.org