Volunteer E-News February 2010 In this issue: Haiti update, Resolutions, Olympic ReStore hours, build site update, social media, new staff, Mobio update, Humour for Habitat, Genworth’s Meaning of Home, corporate thanks
Relief Efforts in Haiti: How you can help An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti on January 12, 2010 approximately 20 km west of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Thousands of buildings and homes were destroyed, and the number of those affected is in the millions. Habitat for Humanity’s strategy will be to mobilize and organize the Haitian people and communities to provide homeless families with an emergency humanitarian response including shelter kits, site clean-up, home rehabilitation and rebuilding. Shelter kits are a basic package of building materials and tools which will be distributed to families by Habitat employees and partners who have been trained in disaster response and construction techniques, including certified masons and carpenters. In the next phase of the response, Habitat for Humanity plans to repair damaged homes and build new homes using a transitional shelter model, whereby the shelter provides an immediate solution for a family but also provides a permanent base structure which they can build on to later. How can you help? Although we would all love to personally help out with the efforts in Haiti, conditions on the ground prevent us from sending volunteers at this time. As soon as conditions are more favorable and volunteer-friendly, Habitat for Humanity International will consider engaging some select volunteers in a few months. Please note that Habitat Canada and its Global Village program have no plans to recruit or send volunteers at this time. Really, the best way to help Haiti is to send donations through Habitat for Humanity Canada (http://bit.ly/hfhcanadahaiti) or another non-profit organization that is assisting with the relief. Donations made by Canadians before February 12 will be matched by the Canadian government.
vancouverhabitat.bc.ca - volunteer@vancouverhabitat.bc.ca - (604) 681-5618 ext. 23 facebook: http://bit.ly/hfh_gv - twitter: @HFHGV_ReStore - flickr: flickr.com/photos/hfhgv/