The Change the World Kids’ belief is simple: No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.

Weeks after the earthquake in Haiti, kids our own age and their families are in crisis, homeless, critically ill or injured, and without the basic needs of life.  Our relief effort Teens Connecting Continents – Haiti is rapidly responding to the people of Haiti and creating events that will continue to help support them during the early stages of this disaster.

First, the urgent need in Haiti is financial support. Change the World Kids are partnering with Three Tomatoes Trattoria and Dartmouth Medical School to raise money for Haiti.

On the evenings of January 26, 27, and 28, Change the World Kids partnered with Three Tomatoes Trattoria and the Dartmouth Medical School to provide urgent needed relief for kids and families in crisis after the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Hundreds of diners in each of the four locations of Three Tomatoes responded to the initiative. For every entrée purchased during the three evenings, Three Tomatoes donated $5.00. People made additional contributions to the Teens Connecting Continents Haiti project. The effort raised over $12,000! We are deeply grateful for the outstanding support from our communities.

Change the World Kids immediately forwarded this financial support to Partners in Health (PIH) and Pure Water for the World, two organizations with deep roots, both in Haiti and in our community.

Partners in Health (PIH) has provided health care in rural Haiti for almost 25 years. Its clinics and hospitals, still functioning after the earthquake, were critical first response resources to the critically ill and injured. Its doctors and nurses, many of them trained Haitians, are in a unique position to help the streams of people currently flooding the PIH clinics, as well as the country through the decades to come.

In Haiti, Pure Water for the World (PWW), a Vermont non-profit organization, was centered Cite Soleil, Port-au-Prince, working to reduce waterborne diseases. Its local infrastructure quickly helped it reach earthquake victims. Immediately after the earthquake, PWW began distributing water filters and setting up water distribution sites. Still far more children and adults remain dehydrated and threatened by waterborne diseases.

Dr Paul Farmer of PIH, co-founder of PIH with Dartmouth President Dr. Jim Yong Kim, speaks of the resilience of the Haitian people as a key element in the long road to Haiti’s recovery. We appreciate that our communities are also full of people who reach out beyond the customary.

You can help change the story, the news, and the world for current and future generations. Make a donation by clicking the button on the right. Create a benefit event in your community.

Watch our website for information about additional events in the coming weeks.

Never doubt the power of partnerships to make a positive – and immediate – difference in our world.