When the 7.0 earthquake shook Haiti, leaving more than 230,000 people dead and 1.3 million homeless, you gave from your heart.
You told us about some of your spirited efforts, like the Peer College Counselors in Reseda High School in Los Angeles who sponsored a fundraising drive that raised $628 for Doctors without Borders (the organization the students chose to support) in just 20 minutes. Go, Reseda!
But that's not all you wanted to do. You also wanted your government, not just yourself and your community, to do the right thing. To generously aid Haiti. In the right way, in ways that put Haitians in the center of decisionmaking. In ways that are sustainable.
That's where we come in. Soon after the earthquake, we pulled groups together from within and beyond our coalition to coordinate actions we can take together to get our government to help Haiti.
Organizing for a $3 billion reconstruction package. Backing Jubilee USA's great work to cancel Haiti's heavy debt burden. Calling for Haitians to make the decisions that will affect their lives.
Now, we're expecting the Obama Administration to introduce a substantial aid package to Congress shortly. We'll work to make sure this is the generous Haitian-led aid that we believe in. Then we need to make sure our Congress passes it before their hearts forget.
We can't let them forget. Forget about the Haitians who are still without food, wounded, homeless.
LAWG will keep bringing groups together for collective action to get our government do the right thing. And we will keep letting you know how you can help to make this happen.
We know the most important first action was giving directly to groups who provide relief. That's why our first three alerts about Haiti told you not to give to LAWG, but give to your favorite relief group.
But getting our government to do right is also important. Now, we're asking you to give a non-taxdeductible gift to the LAWG for our advocacy efforts. Or give a tax-deductible gift to the LAWGEF for our educational work.
Help us help Haiti. And get ready for the big push to get our Congress to say yes to helping Haiti! Stay in touch with our campaign to help Haiti rebuild with rights by visiting our campaign page here.
