In an effort to help Haiti in its time of need, the St. Croix Firefighters Union 2832, Virgin Islands Fire Service, Haiti Community Support [HCS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization] and St. Croix Rescue will host a Boot Drive on Friday, Jan. 29 from 2-7 p.m. HCS was established by Virgin Islander Bruce Wilson and his Haitian-born wife Mathilde a number of years ago to assist her home village of Au Centre. With the recent earthquake, their mission has expanded exponentially.

Trucks will be positioned in Sunny Isle (next to Red Cross), Christiansted Waterfront (next to the Fort) and Frederiksted (in the vicinity of the police station). All proceeds will be used to purchase medical supplies to support the clinics that HCS has set up in La Plen to give direct assistance to the earthquake victims. Mathilde Wilson and volunteers from HCS, St. Croix and St. Thomas Rescue Squads are currently in Haiti assisting the community by providing medical care and basic necessities to those injured and displaced by the earthquake. However, they are in desperate need of simple medical supplies used to treat the most basic injuries. Injuries that normally would not be life threatening are now jeopardizing the life of many Haitians because of the lack of aid and supplies. HCS will continue to send volunteers from the Virgin Islands to Haiti biweekly to provide their services; supplies will be carried to Haiti as new teams depart.

Members of the community are strongly urged to do their best to assist the Haitian people by supporting the fundraising and making a financial donation this Friday. The process is simple: pass (drive or walk) by one of the collection points between the hours of 2-7 p.m. and toss a contribution in the boot.

For more information and to read updates from local relief teams, please logon to www.haitisupport.org. For more information, call 332-1028.