On Friday, March 12, 2010, some middle school kids, one teacher, and two moms from St. John's School in Houston volunteered at Project C.U.R.E. Mostly the boys worked with me (Dan Fox) stacking pallets in the warehouse, while the girls worked with Ingrid Fowler in the sorting area. The kids were just wonderful! After two hours of work, we enjoyed a cookie break (at right). To support the relief efforts in Haiti, St. John's School raised almost $26,000 in cash donations from a car wash and bake sale, a talent show, a silent auction of student and faculty art work, and several other events.

Half of this relief money was presented to Project C.U.R.E. for Haitian relief following the devastating earthquake. Lower School students collected toiletries and other needed items for Haiti. Thanks, guys! That will deliver about 1/3 of a container of medical supplies to a very needy hospital. A lot of patients over there will also thank you. Dan Fox, Volunteer, PROJECT C.U.R.E. Houston

The vice-president of operations for PROJECT C.U.R.E. sent this out to the directors of operations of the four warehouses to redistribute.  The video really is compelling. What we do really makes a BIG difference to those who receive it.

(No, the Houston warehouse was not directly involved in this shipment.)

Dan Fox, Volunteer, PROJECT C.U.R.E. Houston 

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I think some of you are aware of our program with Hill-Rom to recycle beds.  The first effort was last summer in Mexico.  Below is a link to the second effort on beds from Australia to Papua New Guinea done in conjunction with our partner Samaritan Aviation.  We struggled this week to get the beds cleared through customs while their team was there ready to install the beds but on the last day the beds were cleared and delivered to the hospital.

The end of this will show you how the simple things you do have an impact.  We are talking about beds folks, not x-ray units or ultrasounds etc, beds!

Michael Medoro is on his way to Ghana in a few weeks to repeat another project like this with Hill-Rom from Europe and we have two more loads scheduled to go to Mexico in April!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=491679425561&ref=mf

George Roberge, Vice President of Operations, PROJECT C.U.R.E.

Last Friday, Feb. 12, 2010, we loaded a 40-ft. sea-going container for India. About ten people helped with the loading itself, plus hundreds of volunteers over the weeks who helped with sorting, testing equipment, paperwork, etc. Lately hospitals have sent us TONS of materials, mostly boxed materials to be sorted.  As you can see, we have filled the warehouse, even the aisles, with pallets of materials to be sorted.  What you can't see is the 160 pallets that have been stored in off-site warehouse space donated to us.  That's about the space occupied by a four-bedroom house.  A lot of the boxed materials were designated by the donors for Haiti.  We are keeping these pallets segregated from the other materials.  When we sort these pallets, we continue to keep the materials segregated.  After the materials are boxed and palletized, the pallets are clearly marked HAITI and stored for the next shipment to Haiti. We are overflowing with material to be sorted, and we have plenty of space to store materials that have been sorted and boxed for shipment.  At the moment we sure could use more volunteers to help sort, especially Tuesday thru Friday (usually retirees but anyone is welcome). On Saturdays we usually have volunteer groups of working people from churches, schools, workplaces, and civic groups. Dan Fox, Volunteer, PROJECT C.U.R.E. Houston

I volunteer about three days a week at PROJECT C.U.R.E. Houston. And about three days a month I am a substitute teacher at John Paul II Catholic School in west Houston near PROJECT C.U.R.E.  It's a wonderful place, some of the finest kids and finest adults that I have ever met.  The fourth grade, under the guidance of Mrs. Richard and Ms. Condara, conducted a Haiti Relief Collection in January.  Items donated included crutches, ankle casts, bandages, first-aid cream, and other items needed by people with injuries from falling debris.  This is the first of two carloads. In addition to supplies, the students also collected money to donate to PROJECT C.U.R.E. to help Haiti.  On Ash Wednesday,Feb. 17, 2010 , right after Mass, Principal Mrs. Hengst presented a check to Lane Gibson, Director of Operations for PROJECT C.U.R.E. Houston, for $2,100. PROJECT C.U.R.E. deeply appreciates the contributions of the children and adults of John Paul II Catholic School, and all the other individuals and organizations that help us to help the less fortunate people of the world.  Thank you!  Dan Fox, Volunteer, PROJECT C.U.R.E. Houston

Apache Corporation last Friday presented PROJECT C.U.R.E. with a check for $60,000 to sponsor three 40-foot containers filled with over $1,000,000 in supplies and equipment bound for Haiti. In addition, a large group of Apache employees volunteered several hours Friday afternoon to help us sort and box incoming supplies. See picture below. We sincerely thank you, as do thousands of injured Haitians and their loved ones. For more about Apache's commitment to Haiti, visit the company's website.
The earthquake in Haiti prompted many organizations around the world to contribute to the relief effort. And PROJECT C.U.R.E. had four warehouses full of medical supplies and equipment ready to be shipped where the need was greatest, if somebody would fund the cost of transportation. Our traditional shipping method is ocean-going containers. But the seaport at Port-au-Prince had been damaged beyond use. A number of organizations, including the U.S. Military, started airlifting medical supplies.  Today the Houston warehouse shipped our first load to Haiti, 26 pallets of boxed goods. A private air freight company paid for a truck to take the Houston shipment to Miami for the flight to Haiti.
In more routine news, three weeks ago on Wednesday 01/13/2010 we shipped a container of medical supplies and equipment to Togo, a small country west of Nigeria, Africa. Then last Wednesday we did it again. And in two weeks we will ship a container to India. Lately we have received over 100 pallets of material donations from area hospitals. Our warehouse is packed. Pallets are being stored in the aisles, sometimes two-high, blocking access to other pallets. Tasks that normally take one hour now take two. And we know that at least 50 more pallets will arrive this coming week (Feb 2-6). If you know anybody that might could lend us some warehouse space (maybe 2000 to 5000 sq ft) near our warehouse (Westheimer @ West Belt) for maybe three months, please let us know. Contact LaneGibson@ProjectCURE.org , tel 832-677-5175. This is a very busy time for PROJECT C.U.R.E. Houston. But it's even more hectic for our staff at the Denver HQ. My hat is off to everybody involved. And my thanks to everybody who helps us in so many ways.   Dan Fox, Volunteer, PROJECT C.U.R.E. Houston

Greetings! PROJECT C.U.R.E. is proud to announce a new blog, which will highlight volunteers, donors, sponsors, and special programs in the Houston community.

We will begin by posting previous Houston newsletters and will add news items as we go along. Please stay tuned for more information.

If you have any questions about the content featured here, please contact Dan Fox.