CHICAGO, IL (January 20, 2010) – Exactly one week after an earthquake leveled Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and other parts of the country, online donations to Covenant World Relief’s Haiti Disaster Fund have surpassed the $100,000 mark.

As of noon today, $103,542 had been contributed to the online Haiti Relief Fund. This total does not include checks that have been mailed or gifts collected by churches during special offerings on Sunday. To donate online, click here.

“There has been an amazing outpouring of love and support for those who are suffering in Haiti,” says Dave Husby, Covenant World Relief (CWR) executive director.

“On Tuesday, World Relief International thanked the Covenant for being “the first to give.”

Within hours of last week’s disaster and before new donations began pouring in, Covenant World Relief funds already were at work purchasing aids kits as part of a special emergency fund arrangement with World Relief International. The emergency fund maintained by CWR allows World Relief International to immediately access funds while a new donation effort is mounted. On Tuesday, World Relief International thanked the Covenant for being “the first to give.”

World Relief and local church partners continue to launch more feeding centers in the Leogan neighborhood of Port-au-Prince and Jacmel, two hard-hit areas that have been slow to receive any emergency aid.

Clean water is desperately needed, and World Relief is working with a local partner to bore holes and install submersible water pumps.  The pumps are capable of pumping 12 gallons a minute.

Hundreds of injured and traumatized victims are receiving urgent care at King’s Hospital – one of the few medical facilities still functioning in Port-au-Prince.

World Relief and its partners have set up and supplied three operating theaters, staffed by American and Haitian surgeons, doctors and nurses. King’s Hospital has 300 beds for the most seriously injured.

To donate to the online Haiti Relief Fund, click here.

Medical Teams International, another CWR partner, has sent medical personnel to work in Haiti. They also are working at King’s Hospital and moving to areas outside the city that have received little help. Many people are fleeing Port-au-Prince to seek treatment in other areas.

Husby emphasized that funds donated to CWR will be at work in Haiti for a long time to come, working through various partnerships as relief efforts transition to redevelopment initiatives.

Donations to the Haiti Relief Fund also can be mailed. Checks may be made payable to the Evangelical Covenant Church and mailed to 5101 N. Francisco Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625. Mark the check for Haiti Relief. All gifts will be acknowledged for income tax purposes.

To assist local churches desiring information for distribution to congregants, Covenant World Relief has created and posted online a downloadable bulletin insert. In addition to encouraging people to donate, the insert also provides links to websites that provide continually updated information.

Husby also is orchestrating conversations during next week’s Midwinter Pastors Conference in Denver designed to network local churches and other entities that are providing relief assistance in an effort to coordinate and streamline assistance for maximum effectiveness.