Hands-On Day for Haiti

Thank you so much for making Sunday such a SUCCESS!!

The “Goodwill in Motion” this past Sunday at our “Hands-On Day for our Neighbors in Haiti” event was a sight to behold!! The fervor of volunteers working together in one large room was an experience to behold. Words fall short in an attempt to describe 66 volunteers, working side-by-side, heart-to-heart and hand-to-hand – each moved by the desire to help the sick and wounded by supplying hospital sheets and tourniquets – each connected by the wish to add dignity to the multitude of burials by decorating sheets for palls.

The morning began with a moment of reflection – our intention was to make a difference in the wake of this earthquake disaster. For the next five hours a crescendo of love and compassion directed busy hands to sort, cut, design, paint, glue, iron, fold, pack and label hundreds of sheets and pillowcases for a total of 43 boxes packed, sealed and ready for delivery by days end:

- 167 decorated palls,
- 1,109 nondecorated palls and sheets,
- 5 boxfuls of tourniquet fabrics and
- 40 sets of new packaged sheets, at final count
Outstanding!!

Our “gifts of love” were carefully packed and sealed and transported to Munster, Indiana where John Shattuck, a member of Friends of the Orphans, will ensure safe delivery to Haiti. Some sheets will go to St. Damien’s Hospital in Port au Prince and will be used for bedding – some for tourniquets. Many will be used to bury the dead.

We were moved by the volunteers who turned out this past Sunday. We are inspired by their willingness to help and we are thrilled to have such a long list of people and businesses to thank. We Give Many Thanks to these Many Heroes:

Perma-Seal Basement Systems
Jennifer Wolfe Photography
Keith Kelly/ Innovative Communications
Berto’s Deli
Prairie Yoga
The Yoga Place
Yoga Among Friends
2HotYoga & Pilates
Shala Yoga
Conrady School Adventure Club
Students at Sutherland School
The Quilt Basket in Downers Grove

Plus, all the many more generous folks who donated the bed sheets and pillowcases, money, food, supplies and time!

For us, this event – this roomful of neighbors helping neighbors – brought into focus how small this world truly is. “Who isn’t our neighbor?” becomes the better question. People reaching out to people is where Global Hope comes in. A hand in need reaching to a hand extended in service is where our volunteers come in. We applaud our community of volunteers – they performed magic at this event – magic that will be felt all the way to Haiti. Enjoy a special view of that magic with this video of the event from our friend Keith at Innovative Communications: