Heart to Heart Responds to People Affected by Pacific Rim Crises

OLATHE, Kan./October 2, 2009 — Heart to Heart International Inc., a leading global humanitarian organization, today announced that it is mobilizing resources for a multinational crisis response to address medical needs of more than 100,000 people affected by recent natural disasters along the Pacific Rim.

Over the past week, major tropical storms struck the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, causing extreme flooding, displacing 2.5 million people and resulting in nearly 300 deaths; major quakes off the coast of Indonesia resulted in displacement of nearly 1 million people, thousands of injuries and more than 1,000 deaths; and underwater earthquakes off the Pacific islands of Samoa and Tonga generated a tsunami that injured thousands of people and caused nearly 150 deaths.

“When these disasters struck in succession, we knew we had to expand our relief operations throughout the Pacific Rim,” said Jon D. North, Heart to Heart’s CEO. “Our initial concentration will be on the Philippines, where we have strong partnerships and local volunteer support. But we are also responding to requests from international groups and local partners in Indonesia and Tonga with targeted shipments of medical aid in the coming days and weeks.”

Heart to Heart has opened its inventory of nearly $35 million (U.S. wholesale) worth of medical aid to humanitarian partners in affected regions. The organization expects to begin shipping aid through its global transportation partnership with FedEx the week of October 5.

Heart to Heart has specific humanitarian products that will help address medical needs in these crises:

• The Ready Relief Box™ is a “portable pharmacy” that can be hand-carried into remote or hard-to-reach areas. The box contains life-saving medicines and supplies for up to 500 patient encounters. Heart to Heart expects to deliver 100 of these boxes to affected regions.
• The Medical Surge Module provides healthcare workers in hospitals, clinics and medical outposts with enough medical supplies for up to 2,000 patient encounters. The organization expects to deliver 25 modules to disaster zones in the Pacific Rim.
• The Personal Hygiene Kit gives individuals appropriate hygiene care for up to two weeks, helping disaster survivors ward off deadly germs while living in temporary shelters or exposed environments. Each kit contains such items as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, etc. Heart to Heart expects to ship 2,500 hygiene kits to people in crisis.

Heart to Heart continues to assess the immediate, near-term and long-term needs of people affected by these recent crises.

As shipments begin next week, Heart to Heart is calling on concerned citizens and generous corporations to join its multinational relief effort. The primary need right now is financial support. The organization provides several convenient ways to donate for this response:

• Donate online at www.hearttoheart.org
• Call in your donation on its toll-free line at 866-341-GIVE (4483) or locally at 913-764-5200
• Send your donation to 401 S. Clairborne, Suite 302, Olathe, KS 66062

Because Heart to Heart effectively utilizes in-kind support from partners and volunteers, the organization can typically transform every $1 cash donation into $25-$35 worth of medical aid.