Moving Along

The response we have received from the community has been second to none. Schools, churches, and businesses are supporting the peanut butter drive left and right. In fact it has been difficult to keep a list of everyone collecting or raising peanut butter for the drive! We will post a complete list of the businesses very soon after we have confirmed the list.

Yesterday, everyone in the school brought their peanut butter down to my room and I can honestly say that I have never seen that much peanut butter at in one place before. It was really good to see. One student brought down a six pound "jar" of peanut butter for the drive! I didn't even know they made six pound jars! We hope to have an estimated count by the end of the day, but the count will only include what is at the school and what is at a couple of businesses that have given me their numbers. However, there are just so many places collecting right now that it will be difficult to ever get an exact number but we will do our best for you all! Thank you for checking the blog and we will continue to update with how we are doing. It is great to see and hear all the positives that are coming in surrounding this cause! If you are a visitor or come by the blog feel free to leave a comment. Also, on the left of the screen is a paypal button. If you want to donate, but do not want to send peanut butter via mail because of shipping, then feel free to donate through paypal and we will purchase however many jars we can purchase with your donation.

Finally, I want to give a shout out and thanks to ESPN analyst and reporter
Adam Schefter who retweeted our blog! The word is getting out! Stay positive and we will make this happen!

What a Heart

I just received an email that I wanted to share.

"I also wanted to pass along the story of a 5th grade boy here who cleaned out his piggy bank and gave $106.55 to help the people in Haiti!"

This is from a teacher at Anne Mason Elementary School here in Georgetown. How amazing, that this child was willing to give every penny that he had saved to give to the hurting people in Haiti.

All too often we don't realize how much our children actually know and understand about the hurt in the world. As parents, we try to shield them from the pain, which is only natural; but they know it's out there. Even if this child can't fully comprehend the tragedy that has taken place, he knew that there were people that needed that money more than he did. As adults, the majority of us can't even comprehend what it's like for the people in Haiti right now, but will we be as giving?

If you are feeling as giving and compassionate as this child was, please click the Donate button on the sidebar. All money will be going to purchase jars of peanut bar and/or to help the NWHCM cover shipping costs.

Miracles

Amidst the death and destruction from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, there have risen stories of triumph. Stories that can only be described as a miracle.

From the Associated Press:

International aid teams have saved 121 people from the rubble, an unprecedented number, according to aid organization. Dr. Jon Kim Andrus, deputy director for the Pan American Health Organization, said that "countless more have been rescued by Haitians working with no equipment at all," he said.

A 69-year-old domestic worker, Ena Zizi, said she prayed constantly during her week under the rubble.

She had been at a meeting at the residence of Haiti's Roman Catholic archbishop when the Jan. 12 quake struck, trapping her in debris. On Tuesday, a Mexican disaster team pulled her to safety.

Zizi said after the quake, she spoke back and forth with a vicar who also was trapped. But he fell silent after a few days, and she spent the rest of the time praying and waiting.

"I talked only to my boss, God," she said. "I didn't need any more humans."

Doctors who examined Zizi on Tuesday said she was dehydrated and had a dislocated hip and a broken leg.

With all of the tragic stories that air on the news and on-line, it's easy to feel hopeless, like there is nothing you can do to help. I hope that these two stories remind you that there are still miracles happening, and we can be a part of that. Any help that we can send to this country will make a difference.

The Need Grows

The people of Haiti had another trecherous day as a powerful aftershock sent its people running and screaming. This tremor was centered about 35 miles away from Port-au-Prince. In Petit-Goave, the town closest to the epicenter, there were at least 7 buildings that collapsed. According to the Associated Press, "there were no reports of people crushed or trapped, perhaps because the earlier quake frightened most people into sleeping outside."

This aftershock, added to the rain that came on Tuesday, is making relief efforts that much more difficult. The shock ripped 8 inch cracks in a road west of the capital where US troops were setting up to offer aid to the people sleeping in the streets.

These people need our help. According to the European Union, there are nearly 1.5 million people that have been left homeless after the quake. That is half of the population of Haiti. We are seeing progress in our endeavor with more and more schools, individuals and companies offering to help everyday. There is now a Paypal link on the left hand side of the blog where you can donate any amount. This money will be used to purchase jars of peanut butter and/or go to help the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission pay for shipping costs. We need your help. We cannot reach our goal without the support of all of you who are reading this.

First Day of the Drive

We have been promoting the drive heavily over the past few days. Today is the first official day of the drive but jars have already been coming in left and right. It is great to see the students bringing peanut butter today and hearing all the positive feedback. We do not have an exact count yet after the first day but a rough estimate would be around 600 jars, which is a nice way to start off the drive on the first day. While this is still a long way from our goal the positive feedback and the partnerships we have made will help us reach our goal. Schools within the county have offered to participate in the peanut butter drive and raise both money and jars which we are so happy to hear. Also, school systems outside of the county have agreed to participate in the peanut butter drive as we try to reach our goal of 3 million. With the help of all of you and the help of school systems and companies outside of the community of Georgetown/Scott County we should start to see a rapid increase in the number of jars we are receiving.

Also I would like to thank the following companies for collecting peanut butter or being a drop off point for the peanut butter so far:

Theatres of Georgetown
Hair Worx
La-Z-Boy in Lexington
Christian Broadcasting Systems

Making Strides

Just wanted to give everyone an update. I have been amazed at the support we have received so far. We have had over 400 hits to the blog, awesome! Kroger is completely out of their Kroger brand peanut butter, and Wal-Mart is out of their brand also!!! We've had people drop peanut butter off to our house and have had emails from kind souls who have heard about our project and wanted to see how they could help. The big news today, Tyler Florence retweeted us!! Which means, our blog address went out to the 117,000 people that follow him on twitter!!! Way to go Tyler, thanks for the help to get our word out there.

Again, we're making great progress, but we still have a long road ahead of us. Anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated, by us and by the people of Haiti that need all the help they can get right now.

"I expect to pass through life but once.  If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again."  William Penn

Shipping

We have received some questions about shipping and how we will be shipping the peanut butter to Haiti. The Northwest Christian Haiti Mission will be shipping all of it down and sending it with their people for distribution. We will be doing fundraisers to help the mission with the costs of shipping. However, at the moment our goal and focus is on gathering the peanut butter and getting it all together. We will help get it down to the people as soon as possible, and hopefully after three weeks the airports in Haiti will be up and running smoothly especially to ship it down.

Thanks for the all question and support. Tell your friends in your hometowns and your friends in other cities. This is such a great cause and we look forward to everyone's support with this fantastic undertaking!