JAMAICANS continue to rally support for Haiti, offering assistance in cash, kind and service to the millions of people left displaced by last Tuesday's powerful earthquake which killed hundreds of thousands and crumbled the majority of the buildings in Port-au-Prince, the capital.

RJR

Jamaicans have, in the past three days, contributed more than $6 million in cash to the Haiti Crisis Fund established by the RJR Communication Group, using account number 822317 at the Cross Roads branch of Scotiabank.

RJR started the fund with a quarter of a million dollars on Wednesday and has received large deposits as well as deposits as small as $40. Hundreds of people, RJR said, also took thousands of items to its 32 Lyndhurst Road offices and several others joined its staff in the evaluation, packing and handing over process to aid agencies.

Courts Jamaica staff also joined the RJR workers in the evaluation and packing process.

Charity organisations play their part

Jamaica Red Cross is to send a contingent of trained and qualified people to support the relief efforts.

Food For The Poor Jamaica is offering logistical and technical support.

Lime opens text line

LIME Caribbean has established a text line for its customers who wish to make a donation to the Haitian Earthquake Relief effort.

Customers -- prepaid or post-paid -- can simply text the word "Haiti" to 444-4357(HELP) to make their donation. Each text costs $50. The entire amount collected across the Caribbean will be donated to the relief effort.

LIME employees have also launched an employee donation initiative across the 13 islands in which the company operates to collect cash, clothing, canned, non-perishable food and personal hygiene items to send to Haiti.

Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Jamaica is co-ordinating a drive in the schools to collect items for the earthquake victims. These items will be sent to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management.

Jamaica 4-H Clubs

The Jamaica 4-H Clubs has joined the relief effort by transforming their parish offices into collection points for donated items for the Haitian children.

"The 4-H Clubs expresses its sympathies to everyone who was affected by the devastating earthquake in Haiti, and particularly those who lost their loved ones. As a youth training organisation we are especially sympathetic towards those children who are suffering in one way or another as a result of this untimely disaster," 4-H Chairman Vindel Kerr said.

All 4-H parish offices, including the National Headquarters, have now been activated as collection centres for items for the children of Haiti.

National Leadership Prayer Breakfast

Proceeds from the National Leadership Prayer Breakfast will be used to assist earthquake survivors in Haiti, as well as outreach programmes for vulnerable children in Jamaica, run by the non-profit organisation Hear the Children Cry.

Digicel pledges US$5 million

Digicel has pledged US$5 million to the relief efforts in Haiti. The company also launched a text and voice donation line so that customers in its 32 markets worldwide can make donations to the cause.

PricewaterhouseCoopers

PricewaterhouseCoopers has joined the list of firms reaching out to provide financial assistance to Haiti.

Last week, PricewaterhouseCoopers partners Maxim G Rochester and Leighton McKnight presented a cheque for $500,000 to the Salvation Army to assist in relief efforts.

Financial institutions join in relief efforts

* FirstCaribbean International Bank has joined its parent company, CIBC, in donating a combined CA$100,000 to the Haiti earthquake relief effort. Donations to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund can be made at any FirstCaribbean branch across the Caribbean.

* Royal Bank of Canada, parent company of RBTT Financial Group, has announced a CA$100,000 donation to the Red Cross to support relief and humanitarian efforts in Haiti.

* All Scotiabank branches and locations are acting as collection points for non-perishable food items, clothing and bottled water. All Jamaicans are being invited to drop off donations at any of their 40 locations across the island.

* Accounts have been opened at Scotiabank and the National Commercial Bank to accept donations on behalf of the Red Cross and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management respectively.

* Victoria Mutual Group has established an account for its employees and members of the public to make donations to assist in relief efforts.

Monetary donations may be deposited to VMBS Haitian Relief account number 25324104 at any VMBS branch. Jamaicans living in the Diaspora may contact VMBS offices in the USA, Canada or the United Kingdom to make donations.

Persons may also donate clothing, canned food and bottled water to any Victoria Mutual location.

* NEM Insurance Company has committed to donating three container-loads of 'Wata' to Haiti. The water, valued at $1 million, will be shipped to Haiti through the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management.

GraceKennedy sends food

GraceKennedy Limited will be sending 6,000 cases of canned goods. The company has pledged to match 2:1 all funds donated by staff of its subsidiaries worldwide.

Claro to match donations

Claro is using the company's seven Customer Attention Centres as collection points for non-perishable items, which will then be delivered to the Salvation Army. The telecommunications company has pledged to match the total monetary donation made by Claro staff members, which would then be deposited into one of the authorised bank accounts.

Doctors on call

Dr Winston De La Haye, president of the Medical Association of Jamaica, says the association is awaiting word from the Ministry of Health and the Jamaica Defence Force to determine how best to help in the provision of medical assistance to the thousands of injured.

UNFPA

The United Nations Population Fund office in Kingston said it is working as part of the co-ordinated United Nations response and with other partners to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the affected.

Experts are carrying out assessments in Port-au-Prince to determine the extent of the human toll and material damage in as much detail as possible.

"We are sending reproductive health supplies to meet the special needs of women, to prevent women from dying in pregnancy and to ensure safe deliveries," said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, UNFPA's executive director.

Red Stripe pours in $6m; Diageo sends food, supplies

Red Stripe employees have opted to forego their team fun day and instead donate the funds to Haiti. This will release over $6 million to the cause, the company said.

In addition, team members will also make voluntary donations to the Haiti Relief Effort. The response from the entire staff and executive has been so overwhelming that an account, 'the Red Stripe Haiti Relief Fund', has been set up at the Desnoes & Geddes Co-operative Credit Union to receive contributions.

Also, on Friday, Diageo, Red Stripe's parent company, used its specially commissioned 727 aircraft to deliver more than 45,000 pounds of food and emergency supplies to earthquake victims in Haiti. The relief supplies include new World Health Organisation-sanctioned emergency health kits that contain enough material to provide basic medical care to more than 10,000 people for 90 days.

Manchester Parish Council plans walkathon

As part of the drive to raise funds for the Haiti earthquake relief effort, the Manchester Parish Council in conjunction with the charity group A Brighter Day will take part in a walkathon in the parish capital Mandeville on January 23.

Parish Disaster Co-ordinator Lajean Powell told the Observer that the target was to raise at least $1 million.

"We are pretty much appealing to the wider public to join and support the effort," Powell said.

She said the parish council was also appealing to the public of Manchester to make contributions for the Haiti relief fund to a national bank account set up by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management.

Powell said members of the parish council and staff members of the council had already made pledges while items such as clothing and non-perishable foods were also being collected.

St Elizabeth Parish Council reactivates bank account

The St Elizabeth Parish Council is reactivating a dormant bank account and has also made its disaster co-ordination office available to facilitate individuals and companies in St Elizabeth wishing to assist the Haiti earthquake relief effort.

Individual councillors and parish council staff attending Thursday's monthly parish council meeting got the initiative going by pledging well in excess of $100,000 towards the relief effort.

Councillor Everton Fisher (PNP, Balaclava Division) launched the initial appeal at the council meeting. He received the support of his colleagues for a proposal that a $2,500 salary increase which will accrue for councillors this month from a hike in the income tax threshold should go towards the fund.

Most councillors and some staff officers then followed up by pledging donations ranging from $5,000 to $20,000.

It was subsequently revealed at the meeting that a previously dormant account at the NCB Black River branch -- 674299168 -- was being made available for monetary donations.

Mayor and chairman of the council, Jeremy Palmer (JLP, Pedro Plains Division), announced that the parish's Disaster Co-ordinator Renee Britton would have central responsibility.

Palmer said Tuesday's earthquake which devastated the northern Caribbean country and left thousands dead was an event which required the "hearts of humanity to rise to the occasion".

Barrel appeal

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is asking the Jamaican public to supply it with barrels in an effort to help with the packaging of relief items for Help Haiti. Barrels can be delivered to the ODPEM's offices at 2-4 Haining Road, Kingston 5 starting today.

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