To the editor:
Aid for Kids, formerly known as The Degenhardt Foundation, is a Houlton-based non-profit agency dedicated to helping children both here at home and around the globe. The foundation was formed in 2005 after Aid for Kids’ founder, Dawn Degenhardt, retired from the Maine Adoption Placement Service (MAPS). Now, we at Aid for Kids would like to invite each of you to partner with us to send much-needed aid to Haiti. Because of the high number of new amputees (close to 1 million), the people of Haiti are in dire need of crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, dressings, medical tape, sterile gloves, gauze and other medical supplies. We will be collecting these items and hopefully many more over the next few weeks. If you have any medical supplies that you would like to donate, we ask that you please drop them off at York’s of Houlton or Polaris Cable. Once the items have been collected, they will be sent to Portland and shipped to Haiti by Partners for World Health.
In addition to collecting medical supplies, we will be accepting donations to purchase Shelter Boxes for Haiti. Shelter Box, an affiliate of Rotary International, is a disaster relief charity that provides emergency shelters.
Shelter Boxes have been sent to more than 40 countries that have experienced natural disasters since the agency’s inception in 2000. Aid for Kids will be purchasing one on behalf of the foundation, but the total number ordered will depend on the generosity of our donors.
The Shelter Boxes are $1,000 each and include a 10-person tent, water purification tablets, blankets, mosquito nets, a stove, dishes, tools, and supplies for children. Feed the Children has called the Shelter Box “the best disaster relief tool that they have seen in 20 years.” We want to encourage individuals, businesses, churches, schools and community groups to help with this worthwhile project. No donation amount is too small. Together we can send much needed help and support to Haiti!
Please send your donation to Aid for Kids, 18 Market Square, Houlton, Maine 04730. Checks should be made payable to Aid for Kids with “Haiti Relief” on the memo line. Aid for Kids is a fully tax-deductible charitable organization. If you want to know more about Aid for Kids, please visit www.aidforkids.org or contact us at 532-4107 or 532-7584.
If you would like more information about Shelter Boxes please visit www.shelterboxusa.org.
Hodgdon
