Merck Commits $200,000 to JRF’s Haiti Project

JRF has received $200,000 in funding to build an elementary school near the heart of the earthquake devastation in Haiti. The much-needed gift, announced in October, comes from the Merck Company Foundation, the charitable arm of the Whitehouse Station, NJ-based pharmaceutical company. The money will allow JRF to rebuild the Tabarre Elementary School in Port-au-Prince.

JRF adopted the school just after the massive earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010. By April, we had teamed with a group of medical professionals to treat earthquake victims, and during the mission, we learned about the Tabarre School. Forty students from the neighboring tent city were trying to learn in a makeshift plywood school room with no floor, no electricity and no air conditioning. They were sitting on four small benches, 10 kids to a bench, while three teachers were earning less than $100 per month.

Merck’s generous donation will allow JRF to construct the school and buy uniforms for the children. The project will begin in 2011 and is expected to bring about a doubling of the school’s enrollment.

JRF also has created an “Adopt A Student” giving program. Donors can sponsor a student’s full tuition for one year, including school supplies, furniture and structural improvements to the school for $200 per student. In return, students will send their sponsors letters, photos and samples of their schoolwork.

To donate, make your check payable to:
Jewish Renaissance Haitian Relief Fund
Jewish Renaissance Foundation
149 Kearney Avenue
Perth Amboy, NJ 08861
Attention: Haiti Project Coordinator Yves Theodore

For credit card payment, call Executive Assistant Kristi Zayas at 732-324-2114, x124.