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| Contact Information | |||||
| Lynda Sprague | |||||
| Director of Marketing | |||||
| 401-944-8500 | |||||
| lsprague@cedarsliving.com | |||||
| Haitian Children Have Clean Water: A Thank You from Susan Whipple | |||||
| Dear Friends,
So much has happened since We “Rocked 4 Haiti” on the last Sunday of March. First and foremost, I want to express my deepest gratitude for the amazing efforts of every single person who gave so charitably of their time and talent, and to our incredibly generous sponsors. From the first conversations among friends about what we could do to help following the devastating January earthquakes in Haiti, to the recent relief efforts we have undertaken, divine intervention has guided each step. RI Rocks 4 Haiti hosted over 900 people at Rhodes as they danced the day away to Rhode Island’s most popular bands, making our event probably the most successful for Haiti our state has ever seen. In total from earthquake to event, nearly $90,000 was donated from sponsors and individuals to help the devastated children of Marigot, Haiti and the Pat Pezzelli Memorial School. Shortly after the event, I received two phone calls. One call stated that the airport in Jacmel (closest to our school) was closed to international flights. This frustrated our intent to fly food and supplies immediately to the school. In a second call, Father Luc at our school told us that the children were becoming gravely ill from dirty water and he feared the worst. Immediately it was clear that our main goal would be to get a water purification system to Marigot. Once again, serendipity played a role as we found a company called LifeGivingForce that delivers portable water purification systems to countries in need and discovered that they were planning a trip to Haiti the last week of April. We contracted with the company and I am thrilled to tell you that the system was installed this week and 400 children are now receiving clean water daily. In fact, the wonderful system produces 750 gallons of clean water per day so many people in Marigot will now have access to safe, clean water. Attached to this email are some wonderful pictures from the installation that occurred this week. Father Luc also told us that in addition to water, the children were also in dire need of food. On Tuesday of this week, a freight truck loaded with 10,000 pounds of rice, beans, macaroni, medical supplies and school supplies left Cedar Crest’s parking lot on route to Boston and then to Marigot, Haiti via boat (see attached photo). The supplies should arrive at our school by mid-May. I need to say that the clean water and this enormous shipment were only possible because of the generosity of our friends and supporters – like you. Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I promise to keep you informed of our progress and look forward to the day when I can tell you that our children are well fed and back to a normal school routine. God Bless, Sue Whipple | |||||
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