Press Release

References:  Project Rennwish Main Site

"Buy a Bandage" Contributions for Haiti Reaches Nearly 50% of Goal
Project Rennwish, Inc.

January 19th, 2010: Today, Project Rennwish, Inc. (http://rennwish.org (a 501c3) announced that donations and commitments from throughout the world total nearly $40,000 for immediate relief in Les Cayes, Haiti. While the target is $75,000 overall, we believe the concept and ideal of giving to a "person-to-person" charity will continue to inspire many in reaching that goal.

"Since the horrendous crisis in Haiti, people from around the globe: USA, Canada, Switzerland, France, Germany, Poland, Australia, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, to name a few, have joined together through community web discussion forums and social networking sites to make a real and tangible difference." said John Dunkle, on behalf of Project Renwwish. "Today, Rennwish has a "face". It's the face of your friends and your community on the Internet. It is from within those "communities" we have made a measurable and tangible difference in Les Cayes Haiti over the years. More importantly given the extremity of the crisis today in Haiti, it is imperative that we do not fail with the "Buy-A-Bandage" project today".

Project Rennwish "Buy-A-Bandage":

Announced on January 15th, the "Buy-A-Bandage" crisis relief effort is targeted to subsidize the children, community, and hospitals in Les Cayes, Haiti, for emergency medical supplies, food, and basic necessities for its operation and relief of victims -- those items are depleted. In short, we will buy and distribute Medical supplies for the Les Cayes Hospital, re-stock Pwoje Espwa's medical clinic, and provide medicine, food, and comfort for many of the injured children, women and men who are strewn throughout the Les Cayes region, including area villages, meeting centers and hospital grounds awaiting any relief whatsoever.

On January 18th, a small amount of money was successfully wired into Haiti for the initial purchase of food, medicine, and supplies. "Those much needed goods will be distributed to a village that is hosting many refugees from Port-au Prince which is now out of food, one of the local hospitals, and finally, a smaller orphanage outside Les Cayes that is in critical need.", Dunkle indicated. "We are fortunate, as many are still struggling to get any money "in country". We have done so in a tiny but important way - and we will continue to do so as the funds sent today will only last a day. While it is one very small step - we are indeed moving forward.".

Project Rennwish in Les Cayes:

"While we are a tiny non-profit, as compared to larger organizations, our advantage is that we have developed ongoing relationships and partners in Les Cayes, which is where we have focused our relief efforts”. Dunkle continued, "We are fortunate to have developed those personal relationships with many Haitian villages, children and partners through the years. I'm often asked why Les Cayes, and the answer has been that the need is acute and it’s a region that has been overlooked for now, given the huge existing crisis in Port-au-Prince."

That model for a non-profit exposure is unique as compared to larger organizations. The mechanism for spreading the word about this critical, real-time relief program has been primarily through "word of mouth" in automotive, collector, and social forums. "Project Rennwish has no "paid staff" and therefore obviously, there is no advertising budget. We don't pay for banner advertising, media spots, nor any of that sort of thing. Rather, we believe in our model of "person-to-person"," Dunkle said.

That philosophy has put a "face" on giving… "Let's be honest," Dunkle continued, "when I used to give to charity, I wondered how much went to the designated cause or project. Our objective has been to eliminate that concern, and being a tiny and focused non-profit, it allows us to ensure that for those who donate even a single $1, we can pass through that whole dollar to our programs. So, being small does have its advantages."

In fact, Rennwish has publicly stated often times that when any donation fees are incurred from bank fees or transfer fees, the existing owners contribute processing fees back into the donation amount. "We refer to those who contribute to Rennwish projects our "stakeholders", as they have as much vested in the success of our programs as the beneficiaries. This is even more important during this crisis - where one person's entire donation directly passes through any organization to assist those most in need.” Mr. Dunkle said.

Background

Project Rennwish is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation dedicated to changing the lives of children, communities and families in need by providing food, shelter, clothing, education, and medical assistance. Worldwide in scope, our purpose is to make available programs and assistance that directly impacts and positively reinforces personal and family values regardless of race, color, nationality or financial means. Our objective is to provide an improved way of life and value based lifestyle to impoverished regions which positively influences the greater society.

For more information, please visit http://rennwish.org