January 31, 2010

Cook County Employees Called on to Help Support Efforts in Haiti

President Stroger sends an open letter to employees, encouraging their support of Haitian relief efforts.

By now, we’ve all heard about the devastation of the January 12 earthquake in Haiti, with the death toll estimated at more than 200,000 and tens of thousands more injured. The island’s infrastructure – including hospitals, clinics and sewage systems – has been severely damaged or destroyed, leading to ongoing and life-threatening shortages of food, water and basic medical care.

We can all help. Cook County nurses have already begun to leave for Haiti to help with medical relief, and more nurses and doctors are making plans to travel to the island with medical delegations to help relieve the suffering. This week the County Board passed my resolution supporting aid efforts to Haiti, and payroll stuffers asking for support have gone out to employees, as well. To support this effort, please consider making a donation to one of the following groups:

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  Healthcare Relief Efforts - To support putting doctors on the ground and rebuilding Haiti’s health clinics and hospitals, consider a donation to Partners In Health at www.pih.org or at www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti. Their medical professionals have more than 20 years of experience in Haiti.

   

• Community Relief Efforts - To support local community relief efforts, consider donating to the Haitian Crisis Relief Fund, which plays a central role in mobilizing local material support for Haiti, including when the island was slammed in 2008 by four hurricanes in a single year. Go to www.haitiancongress.org and click on the ‘donate’ key. The website also has information about drop-off sites for people who want to donate supplies.

• Emergency Relief Efforts - To support emergency relief and recovery efforts through the American Red Cross and its partners, including the global Red Cross and Red Crescent network and the Haitian Red Cross, go to www.redcross.org, click on the “Donate Now” hotkey, and click on the option “Haiti Relief And Development.”

Donations to all of these relief efforts are tax deductable.

Cook County employees have a tremendous track record of service, not just in the work we do every day, but in the way we step up to the plate under extraordinary circumstances. We’ve given thousands of dollars over the years to relief efforts, including for Katrina victims, for 9-11 victims, and for the people in Turkey struggling to put their lives together after that country’s devastating 1999 earthquake. And we’ve sent volunteers to help in many of these crises, including Katrina, 9-11 – and right now, today, for the Haitian earthquake victims.

Those of us who live in Cook County have a special bond with Haiti. Chicago’s first resident and founder, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, was from Haiti. And for all Americans, we remember and celebrate Haiti’s people as the first in the western hemisphere to throw off the bonds of slavery. Literally thousands of people of Haitian heritage call Cook County their home.

I know you join me in sending our deepest condolences to the people of Haiti in this time of tremendous need – and in making a donation to one of these outstanding charities. We share the goal of doing all we can to help alleviate the suffering and allow the people of this proud nation to rebuild in the wake of this tragedy. Join me in supporting this proud tradition of service and giving.

Sincerely,

Todd H. Stroger

President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners