Greetings from Haiti

Dear Family & Friends,

First of all, Dom and I would like to thank all of you for the emails, phone calls, and packages that we have received from you over the weeks after the earthquake. We cannot express how blessed we feel to be safe and sound and so well loved by our families and friends. We were able to take a vacation to the Dominican Republic last week and are spending this week in Wisconsin with Dom's family. This has been some much needed R&R and we are so thankful to be with our family. We are planning on returning to Haiti on Sunday, February 14th and anticipate that unless unforeseen changes occur we will complete our tour there in July of this year.

We know that many of you have put together packages for us and others have been asking for ways to help Haiti.  We plan on putting the packages sent to us to good use upon our return. However, we understand that we are really unable to to reach those who need the most help. Our immediate circle of friends are those who have jobs to return to, and a means to rebuild the life that they once had. Many Haitians do not have this opportunity in the future. Dom and I feel that it is important to encourage our friends to consider making monetary donations to some organizations listed below as opposed to sending aide through us. We simply cannot reach the people who require the most help and we feel it is so important to direct resources to the proper venues.

We have been matching the donations of our family and friends, and have already donated $500 to Catholic Relief Services. We chose Catholic Relief Services because it had a base in Haiti pre-earthquake and we personally know the people working at the non-profit. We also support the American Red Cross and the World Food Organization and feel that these three organizations are doing profound work in Haiti. Please let us know if you make a donation and we will match that as well.

The Haiti that we lived in before January 12th is a different world from the one we live in now. But we believe that we are there for a reason and should see the challenge through. We both have great love for the country and hope that in some small way we can contribute to the process of rebuilding.

Much love to you all,

Crystal & Dom