Disaster Relief Efforts in Haiti

Portlight Strategies and Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC) have collaborated in effort to ship donated items to Haiti.

Items needed are tangibles such as food, bottled water, tools, outdoor gear, blankets, crutches, walkers, orthotic braces and supplies, wheelchairs, most any medical supplies including bandages, wound care, medical gloves, etc., and any other durable medical equipment. The address for the FODAC warehouse is:
 
Portlight Strategies, Inc.
4900 Lewis Road
Stone Mountain GA 30083

Anyone interested in going to Haiti to help staff one or more shelters for Haitians with disabilities please email paul@portlight.org.

Here are some helpful links to keep you posted on the situation:

ReliefWeb Info on Haiti

Reuters AlertNet - Alerts on Haiti

How to use Twitter relating to Haiti relief efforts (Word Doc)

Key words for researching Haiti (Word Doc)

ATIA Conference  |  Orlando  | January 27-30, 2010

For the first time, the Pass It On Center will present a full-day Pre-Conference. This all-day session on Jan. 27, Begin with the End in Mind: Creating and/or Improving Your AT Reuse Program, is a hands-on workshop for individuals who want to begin a reuse program or make significant improvements in an existing program. Using the promising practices identified in the Indicators of Quality for Assistive Technology Reuse (IQ-ATR), Pass It On Center Director Carolyn Phillips will lead a team of instructors from AT Reuse programs and PIOC in helping participants to begin the project planning process. The activities address key facets of organizational structure, accounting, sustainability, program operations, management, human resources, user services and marketing. An emphasis on the assessment and mitigation of risk is interwoven throughout the program. Participants will leave with a jumpstart on their program plans, the Pre-Conference workbook, new tools and a comprehensive start-up project plan based on the IQ-ATR.

AT REUSE STRAND
The Pass It On Center will present a strand of 10 presentations on AT Reuse at ATIA Orlando. The sessions cover a series of program building blocks and strategies and feature speakers who are expert in the field of reuse. The Conference takes place January 28-30, 2010.

REGISTRATION & FEES
ATIA has reduced the cost of the conference this year. In addition, all members of the AT reuse community are eligible for PIOC discounts. To register, go to www.atia.org and click on REGISTRATION OPEN. Enter one of the following coupon codes to receive the PIOC discount on your conference registration:

8CPAS for $350 until Dec.18
8LCPAS for $400 from Dec.19 until the conference starts, including on-site.

Pre-Conference registration is in addition to the main conference and no discounts are available. Registration is $275 until Dec.18 and $300 thereafter.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM

The Pass It On Center, in Atlanta, Georgia is in the initial stage of developing an emergency response system based on an existing network of Assistive Technology (AT) Centers across the United States. At the foundation of this project is there national survey which just got underway.

The purpose of this survey to develop an understanding of the current involvement of a variety of programs, including but not limited to the state Assistive Technology Act programs and their subcontractors, with efforts related to assistive technology reuse and emergency planning, management, and response.   Feel free to forward this survey to other agencies/organizations that you know who are currently involved with, or interested in, these efforts

 

If you would like to take the survey please following link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=wSOEqoWYnhBjNQ541bKy2A_3d_3d

The information that will be obtained will be vital to developing effective emergency response systems for all populations.

If you have any questions please contact George Heake at george@passitoncenter.org or 215-204-7177.