Royal Caribbean Partners to Help Haiti

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Feb. 2, 2010) – Royal Caribbean International is helping Food For The Poor deliver aid to earthquake-stricken Haiti through a cash donation, as well as delivery of critical goods. The cruise line has ships that go into Labadee, on the northern coast of Haiti, and those ships have been ferrying water and food to be distributed to those hurting from the quake.

In addition, the cruise line hand-delivered a check recently to Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor.

“We are grateful to Royal Caribbean for extending a hand to the people of Haiti in their time of greatest need,” Mahfood said. “This will help us get aid quickly in the hands of those who need it most, and even more importantly, to begin to look to the future and rebuild homes and schools that were destroyed in the quake.”

Royal Caribbean has been delivering goods to Cap-Haitien, which was not damaged in the quake, but has since been the destination for thousands fleeing the capital looking for food, water and shelter. Food For The Poor workers on the ground in Cap-Haitien report that about 30,000 have fled there so far and that they have been able to provide food, hygiene kits and shoes to those seeking help.

“Our experience with Food For The Poor has been extremely positive and we have found that partnering with their organization on the ground in Haiti has been one of the most effective ways we can work together to get relief supplies to the people that need it most,” said John Weis, an Associate Vice President for Royal Caribbean International. “We have worked with them in the past during the relief efforts following the tropical storms in 2008 and we are working with them now in this most recent tragedy.”

Food For The Poor is collecting donations at www.foodforthepoor.org/haitiquake and by phone at 1.800.487.1158. Food For The Poor is also accepting cases of canned meats, fish, canned milk, pre-mixed formula, and peanut butter in plastic jars, as well as large tents at its headquarters: 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Fla., 33073. The charity cannot accept clothing.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the United States, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian agency provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.foodforthepoor.org.

Kathy Skipper
Marketing/PR Manager
(954) 427-2222 x 6614
[email protected]