YOU CAN HELP CDF PROVIDE URGENT AND IMMEDIATE SUPPORT FOR HAITIANS

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Ottawa, January 14, 2010 -The Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada (CDF) is raising funds in response to the horrific earthquake that is estimated to have already claimed thousands of lives in Haiti.  Working in partnership with the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), CDF will be providing relief to those affected by the disaster.  

Wayne McLeod, CDF President, and the CDF Board are reaching out to Canadians and are asking them to support those who have lost so much.  "The people of Haiti already had difficult lives, and it's almost impossible to imagine the devastation the earthquake has brought them," said Wayne McLeod, CDF President.  

According to reports, reverberations from the earthquake's epicentre, located 10 miles south of Port-au-Prince, have all but leveled Haiti's capital city. Hospitals have crumbled, as have the presidential palace and the United Nations peacekeepers' headquarters. The death toll continues to rise and survivors are still being dug from the rubble.

"We appreciate CDF's willingness to partner with us in our efforts to support the credit unions and other partners of our project in Haiti," said Valerie Breunig, Executive Director of the Worldwide Foundation, WOCCU. 

In July 2009, WOCCU established its program to extend financial services to Haiti's rural poor with funding from the United States Agency for International Development. Communications lines have been down since yesterday's earthquake, and contact with WOCCU program staff still hasn't been established, making an accurate assessment of the damage to Haiti's credit unions difficult to determine.

CDF is now accepting donations to provide assistance to Haiti's 175 credit unions and the nearly half-million members that they serve.  

To support Haiti's credit unions and their members through the international credit union disaster relief fund, make payments via cheque, credit card or mail.  Donate online NOW or by mail at Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada, Suite 400, 275 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2L6. 

Please phone or e-mail sarah.richardsoncoopscanada.coop">Sarah Richardson, CDF Fundraising Officer.

E-mail: sarah.richardsoncoopscanada.coop">sarah.richardsoncoopscanada.coop

sarah.richardsoncoopscanada.coop">Phone: (613) 238-6711 ext. 217

Please indicate that your donation is designated for the Haiti Disaster Relief Fund.