Canada Reaches Out to Haiti

Across the provinces men and women, young and old, of all ways of life and religion are coming together to reach out to the suffering in Haiti and provide what they can to the rehabilitation of an injured Haiti.

From coast to coast, Canadians are coming together to show their support for the Haitian people:

• In Fort McMurray, Alberta, St. Anne School has raised more than $6,000 in the past week through their “Walking to Haiti” initiative where students and staff alike spend their school breaks walking laps around school grounds in exchange for community pledges and donations towards the Haiti cause. The final goal is to complete an accumulated 5328.24 kilometers, the equivalent distance from Fort McMurray to Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
• This same drive is shared by O’Gorman Intermediate Catholic School in Timmins, Ontario, where an Olympic connection is raising awareness and funds. Travelling to local elementary schools, Principal Weltz is offering students a chance to hold and take a picture with an Olympic torch for just $3 going to Development and Peace in Haiti, with a final fundraising goal of $4,000.
• Over  in Alberta, the Haiti Association of Calgary organized a benefit concert series featuring singer-songwriter Lindsay Ell and Haitian musician Georges Gabriel amongst others. During the performance at St. Cecilia’s Church on January 28^th, 2010, many large donations were made through Development and Peace for the Haiti emergency.
• Janis Power, an Ontario teacher led the cause at her school, Woodslee’s St. John the Evangelist elementary school, organizing student-produced bead bracelets throughout the school. At a minimum donation of $2 each, she found the community ordering 200 bracelets.

• Finally, one of the most powerful stories of selfless individuals reaching out to Haiti, is that of Sister Marguerite Laliberté’s initiative in Old Montreal’s Acceuil Bonneau homeless shelter. So far, the Grey Nuns have raised about $500 for the Haitian emergency, most of which was donated by those coming in for a hot meal. Laliberté tells of one man who collected tin cans every night for a week, then donated the full $150 proceeds to those suffering in Haiti.

James Dempsey, Toronto office intern