Healing Hands for Haiti

the Healing Hands for Haiti Medical Center

I am fully supporting the Healing Hands for Haiti organization. As mentioned previously, I had hoped to travel with them, as part of the Utah Hospital Task Force, to do rescue work in Haiti next week (for 21 days). They have secured an airplane, tents, MRE's, and all the necessary supplies to take 150 volunteers to Haiti for 21 days. They had over 400 people apply, and took the most priority qualified individuals first. It costs roughly $300,000 to take one plane to Haiti round trip. (The flight departs from Salt Lake City with the volunteers, and will return immediately filled with medical patients who will receive medical attention in Utah.) This organization wants to take more volunteers down- Haiti needs the help! But they need more funds.
Over 110,000 people have died in Haiti in the past 2 weeks. That doesn't even begin to include the people who have been lost, displaced, and injured. Haiti needs help.
Why support Helping Hands for Haiti/Utah Hospital Task Force over another organization? There are rumors and stories out there of volunteer groups showing up in Haiti and getting turned away for various reasons. I don't know how true those stories are. But I do know that Helping Hands is doing this the right way. They are working closely with the UN and USAID. They are bringing all of their own food (MRE's) and water for their volunteers. They will be rebuilding the destroyed Healing Hands for Haiti clinic (an existing clinic/hospital for rehabilitating amputees, and for performing amputation surgeries) as well as performing emergency medicine with USAID. The clinic has its own closed in compound where the rescue volunteers will be living in tents. (In other words, these volunteers aren't just showing up and hoping to be put to work and housed somewhere. This is a self sufficient group.)
A lot of organizations are out there raising funds, but you don't really know where and how the money is going. With this organization, you know. The money pays for the plane to get the volunteers down there. (The LDS Church has donated all of the tents, food, and more.) And the money pays for the construction of the clinic and the medicine. You can trust this group.
Donations can be made at http://www.healinghandsforhaiti.org - during the payment process please click on the “Add Special Instructions to Seller” and note that the donation is for Utah Hospital Task Force.

If you feel you have items to donate or questions regarding needed donations please contact them at info@utahhospitaltaskforce.org. Donated goods are being collected at the following address:

Aspire / UHTF

Attn: Dave Beachem

11585 South State Street #104

Draper, Utah 84020

(in the interest of full disclosure, I am on the waiting list to go down if additional planes can be secured)