UNFI Associates Donate for Haitian Relief

February 22, 2010: The earthquake disaster in Haiti has a personal connection to UNFI. In the spring of 2009 UNFI’s Michael Funk and Tom Dziki visited the Haitian village of Anse-à-Pitres with Vitamin Angels, and later sponsored a project to provide clean water to this small village. UNFI received this communication a few days after the earthquake:

“I talked with Dr. Alexandre, who is in Anse-à-Pitres. There was a lot of shaking, but very little physical damage there. I believe that the water system was not damaged. But I have not been able to get in touch with any of the guys from AJPA. I have not been able to reach Facile. Even though there is not much physical damage in Anse-à-Pitres, everyone has many friends and relatives in Jacmel and Port-au-Prince, two of the cities that were hardest hit. It seems as though everyone has lost families members. The collective trauma is unimaginable.
I will let you know when I have more news.”

After the earthquake, UNFI associates all over the country wanted to help.  In response UNFI researched and then selected two agencies with a track record of success in Haiti.  UNFI collected associate donations to the two agencies and and matched associate donations with matching funds from UNFI.  The two agencies are the United Nations World Food Programme and Partners in Health.  The World Food Programme (www.wfp.org) is the world’s largest humanitarian agency, providing immediate relief by assessing needs and coordinating with other agencies to provide food, water, and supplies. Long term, WFP helps rebuild infrastructures such as roads and bridges, while continually monitoring the ever changing needs of the people affected by disaster.  Stand With Haiti - Partners In Health (www.pih.org), has been working in Haitian communities for over 20 years to provide modern medical care. PIH hires and trains thousands of community health workers to prevent illness, monitor needs, and provide quality health care.

On February 10, 2010, UNFI associate and company donations were totaled up and sent to the two charities.  Associates designated which charity would receive their donation and UNFI matching funds, resulting in $26,660 donated to Partners In Health and $23,340 donated to the World Food Program.

For more information about the water project in Anse-à-Pitres, read UNFI Funds Haitian Water Project.