Why we're helping ....

Haiti is the poorest county in the western hemisphere and most of its 9 million people suffer from the staggering economy, tattered infrastructure, poor sanitation and a crippled healthcare system.

This year the country was torn by a devastating earthquake.

People typically can afford neither a doctor nor medications. The country is still reeling from a series of tremendous blows dealt by four violent hurricanes and other storms over the summer.

So many young children in this country are in need of vital nutrition because their mothers have died or are unable to nurse them. So without infant formula, they die.

It's really desperate there and it's getting worse.

Mothers, many of them young, typically realize they can't afford to care for their newborns and will abandon them. Other mothers die in childbirth or shortly thereafter due to any number of diseases. A lot of mothers are sick or are so malnourished they can't produce breast milk—their bodies are working overtime just to sustain themselves, doctors say. Therefore, infant formula, which is extremely expensive in Haiti, is critical.

And the good news is, we can do something about it – with your help. Come on, let’s get together April 18.

Join us for the 5K run; shop in the Silent Auction; or just donate a few bucks. The cost of a Starbuck coffee could help keep a vulnerable baby alive.

On April 18 at USF, we’re all going to come together to save lives. What will you be doing that day?