Helping Haiti

As a borough comprised of direct or second-generation immigrants, many of us are in constant contact with our loved ones back home. Our families extend across the waters to a slew of homelands with which we identify.

This commonality so many of us share makes the tragedy in Haiti this week hit us all so much harder. The devastation is so dramatic and widespread that we find ourselves drawn to empathize with the plight of our Haitian American brothers and sisters.

Whether we share ancestry or not, we cannot help but be moved by the scenes of this natural disaster. The fact that Haiti is already the most economically depressed nation in the Western Hemisphere makes the tragedy that much more upsetting.

The hearts of all of us at the Queens Tribune – and throughout the borough – go out to those who have been touched by this calamity.

We encourage all to do what they can to aid in what will surely be a rebuilding effort of monumental proportions. You can donate online at nyc.gov, by phone at (212) 788-7794 or by sending checks with Haiti Earthquake Relief written in the memo made out to Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, One Centre Street, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10007.