American Red Cross President and CEO Gail McGovern is on the ground in Haiti visiting relief operations and helping to coordinate the distribution of aid. She is meeting with Haitian Red Cross President Gedeon and will visit a first aid post, outside the damaged American Red Cross headquarters, one of 11 mobile posts where volunteers are working to treat wounded survivors. She will also visit a Red Cross relief distribution center where family kits, water and shelter supplies are being organized and given to survivors. Later today, McGovern will meet with the Haitian government, as a follow up to her visit yesterday with Red Cross leaders from around the world and heads of state of other nations, to help coordinate the global response effort. McGovern also talked today with USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah.

Other Key Developments

• Red Cross teams from other nations are delivering clean drinking water to survivors gathering in six different communities.
• In addition to the established first aid posts, outreach teams are also aiding the injured in nearby camps. Red Cross responders from six countries are treating injuries and triaging people for surgery at hospitals and medical centers in Port-au-Prince, Carrefour and Jacmel.
• Planes and trucks carrying Red Cross humanitarian assistance are arriving in the region every day, delivering much needed materials such as medical supplies, tarps, blankets, hygiene items, buckets, shelter supplies and kitchen sets. So far, more than 500 tons of Red Cross aid has been mobilized.
• The American Red Cross is donating 2.9 million pre-packaged meals from its stocks in the United States to the World Food Program for distribution in Haiti.
• In the days ahead, the American Red Cross will provide supplies for temporary shelters in Haiti. Kits, containing wood, tarps, rope and tools, as well as tents and blankets, will be made available for an initial 20,000 families.
• Approximately 100 American Red Cross Creole-speaking volunteers will be aboard the USNS Comfort to translate for patients.
• In Florida, American Red Cross chapters are providing a variety of support services as citizens return to the United States from Haiti. These services may vary slightly depending on the individuals' needs when they arrive, but may include shelter, food, emotional support, basic first aid, comfort kits and referrals to other community services.

Haiti is going to require massive long term relief and development; and the Red Cross will be there to help. It is clear that what took minutes to destroy will take many years and the collective support from governments and relief agencies across the world to help mend. The American Red Cross is working in close coordination with other responding organizations and will undoubtedly collaborate on joint, long-term recovery projects.

• People who want to help those affected by the Haitian earthquake, can make a designated donation to the American Red Cross International Response Fund. Donations may be sent to the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis, 441 E. 10th St., Indianapolis, IN 46202-3388, made online at www.indyredcross.org/donate or by phone at 317-684-1441.
• The Red Cross is also receiving money through a third-party mobile fund-raising effort in which mobile donors can text "Haiti" to 90999 to send a $10 donation to the American Red Cross.

You can help the victims of countless crises around the world each year, like the earthquake in Haiti, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster, please do so at the time of your donation. Donations can be mailed to the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis, 441 E. 10th St., Indianapolis, IN 46202-338, made online at www.indyredcross.org/donate or by phone at 317-684-1441.