University Sets Pitt Bucket Brigade for Haiti Campaign

In an effort to help bring some long-term relief to the victims of the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, the University of Pittsburgh is organizing Pitt’s Bucket Brigade for Haiti campaign. During the course of the next few weeks, 500 five-gallon buckets will be distributed throughout the University’s Oakland campus in offices and residence halls to collect hygiene products for the victims.

Pitt is working with the North Side-headquartered Brother’s Brother Foundation, which
promotes international health and education through the distribution of donated medical, educational, agricultural, and other supplies.

“News of the devastating earthquake in Haiti has caused much concern throughout our University community,” said G. Reynolds Clark, Pitt’s vice chancellor for community initiatives and chief of staff to Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg. “With our wide range of international programs and many students from around the world, it is only natural that we have chosen to respond in a practical and immediate way. We are proud to work with the trusted and experienced Pittsburgh-based international aid organization, Brother’s Brother Foundation, as our University community unites in delivering Pitt’s Bucket Brigade for Haiti.

Items needed include baby or wet wipes, nonliquid soap, wash cloths, hand towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, and brushes. No donations of shampoos or any materials that may leak will be accepted.
The filled buckets should be ready for pickup by Feb. 8 and will be sent to Haiti via Brother’s Brother Foundation.

Monetary donations to the Brother’s Brother Foundation may be made at www.brothersbrother.org/donateform.htm.

The epicenter of the 7.0 magnitude quake was 10 miles west of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and its depth was just 5 miles beneath the Earth’s surface, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported. The quake has caused massive destruction of buildings as well as death and injury to many residents of Port-au-Prince. International relief agencies are struggling to get aid supplies into the Caribbean nation—the airport and the country’s main port were heavily damaged by the earthquake.

The quake was felt in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, and in eastern Cuba, but no major damage was reported in either place.

For more information about Pitt’s Bucket Brigade for Haiti campaign, contact Steve Zupcic, assistant director of Pitt’s Office of Community Relations, at 412-624-7709 or stz@pitt.edu.