As you are aware, one of the worst natural disasters to hit the western hemisphere occurred in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, on January 12th of this year. The current estimate of the death toll of the earthquake is 217,000. Time Magazine reports that “one-third of Haiti’s population, or about 3 million people, have been affected by the earthquake” and that “60% of the city’s buildings were shoddy and unstable”. This has left the nation with a huge humanitarian and health crises.
Over the last week, my wife Linda and I made the decision that I should travel to Haiti with a missions team from Brentwood Baptist Church the third week of April. I just feel that going on this trip is the right thing for me to do.
I told a couple of friends about the trip on Thursday over breakfast. One of them had a great comment, “You can’t fix all the problems affecting Haiti, but you can spend a week helping solve a small part of the problem”. And he’s right, I want to help.
One thing about the decision about my trip to Haiti in April is that the expenses associated with the trip were not in the family budget for the year. I practice what I preach and I have a 2010 business and family budget, so I’ll need help to support the expenses associated with the trip which are estimated to be about $1,500.If you would like to help me travel to Haiti with the mission’s team, you can make a tax deductible charitable contribution at the Brentwood Baptist Missions contribution website. Under “Journey Participant Name or General Gift” please indicate that the donation is for “Scot Justice, Haiti April 2010 Trip” (my trip is not on the drop down menu yet). If you would like to contribute by cash or check, please let me know and I’ll work out the logistics with you.
And I wouldn’t be the Virtual CFO if I didn’t mention that if you make a donation by March 1, 2010 to charities providing earthquake relief in Haiti, you can claim the donation on your 2009 income tax return.
I hope I am able to blog and Tweet about my experiences while in Haiti, if Haiti's technology infrastructure will allow. I’ll also be blogging about the planning process as well as the trip.
Thanks in advance for your consideration and any support you can offer. A contribution of any size is welcome and much appreciated.
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