Albany area Catholic donations for Haiti earthquake relief has now approached $650,000, and still counting

Staff members of Catholic Charities of the Albany Diocese are assembling stacks of thousands of thank you letters that are going out to all those who have donated to the diocesan collection for Haiti earthquake relief - an effort that has now reached close to $650,000.

Once again, parishioners in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany have demonstrated just how incredibly thoughtful, concerned and generous they are when they see how others are suffering. The contributions for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti have exceeded anyone’s expectations, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard said today.

Following Bishop Hubbard’s call on parishes to take up a special collection during a weekend Mass last month, Catholics in the 14-county diocese have donated nearly $650,000 and still counting. This represents totals received from 80 percent of the parishes so far, from Catholic school donations, and from individual contributions received directly by Catholic Charities of the Albany Diocese.

Sister Maureen Joyce, director of Catholic Charities, said 100 percent of all these and future donations are being and will be forwarded to Catholic Relief Service (CRS) and its Caritas partners specifically for earthquake relief in Haiti. Those two organizations have stepped up relief efforts in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, delivering food and water to hundreds of thousands, and providing medical care to thousands more. CRS has been active in serving the needs of the beleaguered nation of Haiti for many decades, and has been at the forefront of the current earthquake relief efforts.

To date CRS has raised more than $38 million for its emergency response. It has seen an overwhelming outpouring of support in response to the crisis in Haiti. "Catholic dioceses, parishes and schools across the country started mobilizing their networks immediately, and have generously, and creatively, supported our work to help the victims in Haiti," said Joan Rosenhauer, CRS Executive Vice President for U.S. Operations. "For that, we are extremely grateful."

Bishop Hubbard said, “Words alone can’t express how pleased and proud I am that the people of the Albany Diocese have come through with such enormous generosity.” He added, “This is just one more example of how we as Catholics take to heart the social teaching of our faith that calls on us to care for those who are suffering, as we all have seen in the devastation that has impacted the lives of so many people in Haiti.”

At this stage, parish donations total nearly $524,000, the diocesan schools have collected another $2,700, and individual donations that have come in directly to Catholic Charities have reached $122,000, for a total of $648,463 at this time.

Bishop Hubbard noted that the collection for this catastrophe mirrored similar efforts shown by diocesan parishioners following 9/11, the Gulf Coast hurricanes, and the Asian tsunami.

-Ken Goldfarb, Diocese of Albany

Ken can be reached at 518-453-6618