UNITED WAY MIAMI & THE MIAMI HERALD/EL NUEVO HERALD RAISED OVER $480,000 THROUGH OPERATION HELPING HANDS

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UNITED WAY MIAMI & THE MIAMI HERALD/EL NUEVO HERALD RAISED OVER $480,000 THROUGH OPERATION HELPING HANDS

 Funds have been Distributed to 15 Non-Profit Organizations Providing Relief and Recovery Assistance to Haitians Following Earthquake

Miami, FL (November 18, 2021) – United Way Miami and The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald announce they have raised over $480,000 through Operation Helping Hands to help the earthquake victims in Haiti. As a result, the operation provided grants to 15 organizations offering relief and recovery assistance in the affected areas. Univision 23 helped raise awareness of Operation Helping Hands’ Haiti Relief Fund as a media partner.

This is the largest earthquake to hit Haiti since the magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated the country in January 2010. Reports indicate mass damage to building structures and reports of loss of life. United Way teamed up with Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center and additional nonprofits to assess short and longer-term recovery needs in the affected areas. After a carefully executed vetting process, the partners provided relief funds to the following organizations:

  • Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, Inc.
  • FOKAL
  • Global Empowerment Mission
  • IsraAID
  • The Lambi Fund of Haiti
  • Flying High 4 Haiti
  • Hope for Haiti
  • PRODEV Foundation
  • Haiti: GHESKIO Centers
  • Haitian American Nurses Association of Florida, Inc
  • Project Medishare for Haiti
  • Ayiti Community Trust
  • Food for the Poor
  • Haitian Health Foundation
  • Man Dodo Humanitarian Foundation

“We are extremely grateful to the supporters of Operation Helping Hands who have provided this assistance for the people of Haiti following this unexpected tragedy,” said Mary E. Donworth, Senior Vice President, Community Impact of United Way Miami. “Our 23-year-old partnership with The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald proves that we are deeply committed to supporting and caring for those in need both in South Florida and in neighboring communities.”

“We are honored to work with United Way Miami and The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald through Operation Helping Hands,” said Gepsie M. Metellus, Executive Director of Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, Miami-Dade County. “This partnership made it possible for us to support Haitian-led non-profit organizations working on the ground in the affected areas deliver immediate relief and address longer-term recovery needs,” continued Metellus.

One hundred percent of funds raised through Operation Helping Hands is being used to help the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. The type of assistance varies from the provision of basic hygiene kits, water and medical supplies; to educational materials, including tents to serve as classrooms; to health care; and the repair and construction of homes. The organizations, The Lambi Fund of Haiti and FOKAL, are working with a network of rural community organizations to distribute the assistance in the affected cities, towns and rural communities in the provinces of Grand’Anse, Nippes and Sud, including Les Cayes, Jeremie and Petit Trou de Nippes.

“We understand the importance of uniting in a time of crisis,” said Nancy A. Meyer, The Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald President. “We are proud to work with United Way Miami, plus other nonprofits, and provide Haitian families with relief items and services needed during and after such a tragic event.”

About Operation Helping Hands
Operation Helping Hands (OHH) is a partnership between United Way Miami and Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald that was created in 1998 in the aftermath of devastating hurricanes Mitch and Georges, to provide the people of South Florida a way to help those involved in emergency situations. OHH has been reactivated several times since to help Floridians extend a helping hand to those hit by natural disaster, pandemic, and humanitarian crises.

About United Way Miami
United Way Miami is a driving force in the community, successfully responding to emerging needs and transforming people’s lives. Since 1924, we have worked together with our network of donors, volunteers, and partners, to generate and amplify resources, and advocate for policies that improve the quality of life for all. We leverage our unique role as convener, strategic funder, service provider, awareness builder, and influencer so that everyone in Miami-Dade has access to quality education and the opportunity to lead healthy and financially secure lives — the building blocks of a thriving community.

November 18, 2021