The Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC) has established a system for state employees to contribute to ongoing earthquake relief efforts currently underway in Haiti. Funds donated to the CVC, the workplace giving program for state employees, will be forwarded to the International Disaster Relief Fund of the American Red Cross.

The Red Cross is the world’s premier emergency support organization and is currently anchoring on-the-ground relief work in Haiti. Rescue teams from around the world—including Virginia Task Force 1 from Fairfax County—are also providing emergency support for the estimated 4 million Haitians impacted by the disaster. The CVC’s special fund drive will facilitate the collection and transfer of financial aid from Virginia state employees to these direct relief efforts.

Virginia state employees have a history of stepping up to help victims of natural disasters. The CVC operated special drives for Hurricane Katrina relief in 2005 and in 2008 for tornado victims in parts of Virginia. From early September through the end of December 2005, employees contributed more than $400,000 for Hurricane Katrina relief.

To give to the Earthquake fund, state employees are asked to:

1.      Write a Check or Money Order to “Red Cross International Response Fund”

2.      Mail or hand deliver this check to the CVC office at
CVC – Disaster Relief
Dept. of Human Resource Management
101 North 14th Street  - 12th Floor
Richmond  VA  23219

3.      Checks will be forwarded directly through the Red Cross Disaster Services for immediate use.

4.      Gifts by credit card (MasterCard and Visa) can be made using a standard CVC pledge card. Enter the charity code as “9999” and mail the pledge form to the address above.

Employees should keep a copy of their check for tax purposes. As in previous disaster campaigns, gifts will be recorded as a Direct Campaign for CVC purposes.

The American Red Cross, which estimates that up to 3 million people have been affected by the earthquake, has already advanced $10 million to the Haiti Relief Center.

For more information about the activities of the Red Cross in this disaster, go to www.Redcross.org.