The Annie E. Casey Foundation Awards Grants to Support Children and Families in Haiti
The Annie E. Casey Foundation will award $150,000 in grants to four organizations working in Haiti following the devastating earthquake that occurred in that country on January 12, 2010. The funds will support the on-the-ground relief work of the four organizations whose particular focus is on direct assistance to children:
- Jhpiego, an international nonprofit health organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, will receive $25,000. With a 15-year history of working in maternal and child health in Haiti, the organization is working both to meet the immediate medical needs of newborns and infants and help the country rebuild its health-care system.
- Lutheran World Relief is responding through its network of 400 staff on the ground through its partnerships to provide food, clean water, sanitation, shelter, and health kits. Casey will fund this work with a $25,000 grant.
- Save the Children, a global humanitarian organization that has worked in Haiti since 1978 and currently has 250 staff members in the country, will receive a $50,000 grant. The agency is providing food, medicines, and supplies, as well as safe spaces for children to play and family reunification supports.
- UNICEF, part of the United Nations system, is providing lifesaving food, medicine, and shelter throughout the affected area, including orphanages in Port-au-Prince. Casey will support these efforts with a $50,000 grant.
The grants come at a critical time for children and families in the devastated country. “The earthquake has left countless children traumatized and either orphaned or separated from their parents and families,” Foundation President Douglas W. Nelson says. “The Casey Foundation understands the immediate focus on food, shelter, and water, but we also recognize that concurrent efforts must take place to connect these children with families and prevent a generation of disconnected children.”
In addition, to the four grants, the Casey Foundation is encouraging staff to make a donation to relief organizations by providing a two-to-one match. The Foundation is also assessing opportunities to provide future technical assistance to public systems that may be affected by the relocation of youth and families to the United States following this crisis.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is a private charitable organization, whose primary mission is to foster public policies, human-service reforms, and community supports that more effectively meet the needs of today’s vulnerable children and families.