Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Rotary Club Sends 69 Shelter Boxes to Haiti
In response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, The Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Rotary organized a fund raising relief effort to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Haiti.

The Haitian Earthquake Relief Initiative began with a challenge grant of $500 from a Club member. The Rotary's response was generous and the challenge match of $500 was exceeded by over $2,500. The response from others was also immediate and overwhelming. First, the Mountain Empire Rotary Club in Arizona found our posting on the web in GazeboNews and responded to our call for help with a $7,000 donation. More Rotary Club members donated and made appeals to their personal networks and another $15,000 was raised.

But most gratifying was the overwhelming response from our community. All the schools from elementary through high school, public and private in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff joined in our Haitian Earthquake Relief Initiative. Funds were collected from the students, parents, faculty and staff in their schools. In addition, the students setup a community wide collection effort on Saturday, January 30. In the cold and snowy weather, the students stood outside the local post office and grocery stores to raise money for Shelter Boxes for Haiti. The results were nothing short of phenomenal, over $40,000 was raised by our students.

So what began as a $500 challenge at the Wednesday morning Rotary meeting, evolved into a widespread effort to help the people of Haiti. On behalf of the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Rotary Club, its President, Len Dedo, thanks everyone who generously donated and is proud to have raised $69,000 to provide Shelter Boxes for the Haitian people.