When the catastrophic earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, we were overwhelmed by the support from travelers and donors.

In less than a week, more than a half million dollars was raised to support the efforts of the American Red Cross in Haiti.

The Red Cross contributed an initial $1 million to relief operations from its International Response Fund, and their staff on the ground was quick to assess and respond to survivors’ needs immediately following the earthquake. They sent supplies to Haiti from nearby warehouses in Panama and the Dominican Republic, and deployed six disaster relief experts to the disaster zone to help coordinate efforts.

In the days immediately after the earthquake, the Red Cross worked tirelessly to aid in recovery efforts, including:

• The American Red Cross committed $30 million to a partnership with the World Food Programme, which fed one million people in Haiti for one month.
• The Red Cross distributed more than 2.5 million liters of water in Port-au-Prince and Leogane.
• Two additional disaster relief specialists were deployed to Haiti and Panama
• A total of 43 Red Cross flights landed in Port-au-Prince and the Dominican Republic.
• More than 500 people per day received health care and treatment at Red Cross health facilities, and an additional hospital was set up in Carrefour.