Give: Financial gifts best provide immediate assistance when and where it's most needed. Send checks (write Haiti Earthquake Relief on the memo line) to ELCA Disaster Response, 39330 Treasury Center, Chicago, IL 60694-9300. Give via credit card online or call 800-638-3522. On 2009 federal tax returns, individuals can deduct donations for Haiti given through Feb. 28, 2010.
Volunteer: Call Kevin A. Massey, director, Lutheran Disaster Response, at 800-638-3522, ext. 2822, or visit www.elca.org/disaster.
Like so many college students, Nathaniel Pharmer-Eden is hooked on Facebook. After two weeks of worry, one of the first things he did when he learned that his relatives in Haiti were alive was to update his page: "Just got a call saying all my family in Haiti is safe and well ... God is wonderful!!!"
Nathaniel is the son of Mary M. Pharmer, pastor of St. Mark Lutheran Church, Madison, Wis. In summer 2009, Pharmer took a sabbatical. With the help of a Clergy Renewal Program grant from the Lilly Endowment, she took Nathaniel, 21, and Johanne, 18, to their birthplace for the first time.
The rest of this article is only available to subscribers.
© 2013 Augsburg Fortress, Publishers
