Honoring Mothers – Here and in Haiti

April 19, 2010, SEATTLE – The second Sunday in May offers an annual opportunity to honor Mothers across the nation. It is an occasion to commemorate and celebrate their countless contributions with gifts of love. When it comes to Mom’s priorities, children’s needs come first. What better way to honor Mom than by helping disadvantaged Mothers provide for their children? World Vision Gift Catalog offers a variety of opportunities to assist Mothers and their families in Haiti and around the world, by purchasing essential life-sustaining items.

As a first responder to the January 12 Haitian earthquake, World Vision has provided assistance to more than a million people. Since the quake, nineteen Child-Friendly Spaces have been opened and offer children a chance to be children – to play, learn and heal from emotional trauma. Thirteen health clinics in Port-au-Prince offer medical care and hope to families. Relief efforts are ongoing and support is still needed to help build a brighter future for the children of Haiti.

Gifts that will aid children and families in Haiti include:

- Ongoing support that helps rebuild lives and communities, providing safe places for children and clean water ($20 per month)

- Food and health care ($50 provides $150 worth of care)

- Long-term aid, including food, medical care, building and farming supplies ($75 provides $225 worth of aid)

“Mother’s Day is a time for celebrating life, and for giving back to others,” says World Vision Gift Catalog National Director Devin Hermanson. “There’s no better way to celebrate than to provide a gift of lifesaving supplies to a needy family, while teaching your own children about giving to others.”

The World Vision Gift Catalog, located at www.worldvisiongifts.org, offers more than 100 poverty-fighting gifts ranging in price from $16 to $39,000 that can be purchased in the name of a mother, child, friend, or loved one. In addition to specific products, World Vision has created a series of funds to support immediate and long-term needs of quake survivors in Haiti.

After purchasing a Gift Catalog item, the recipient in turn receives a special card describing the gift that was purchased and the impact it will have in the life of a person in need.

Since the World Vision Gift Catalog was first introduced in 1996, new gifts have been introduced and its popularity as a gift-giving alternative has grown substantially with more than 100,000 purchases made last year. Goats were the most popular item in 2009: over 50,000 goats were given to families in need thanks to the generous contributions of gift catalog donors.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information, please visit www.worldvision.org/press.