Marcus Center for the Performing Arts' MLK Steering Committie To Team Up WIth Salvation Army

The MLK Steering Committee is proud to team up with the Salvation Army to help increase online donation awareness for the Haiti earthquake relief. The Salvation Army will be at the 26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration encouraging patrons to go online and donate to help those affected by this disaster.

The Salvation Army has had a presence in Haiti since 1950 and currently operates schools, clinics, a hospital, feeding programs, children's homes and church-related activities spread across two major facilities in Port au Prince, close to the epicenter of the earthquake and at other locations in the country.

One of the facilities, or compounds as it is referred to, includes a home for more than 50 children; a school with a daily attendance of 1,500 children; a medical clinic caring for 150-200 people daily; and a church that on any typical Sunday welcomes nearly 1,000 people. The facility is less than 10 minutes from the National Palace and is in an area known as St. Martin that's home to predominantly poor living in the nation's capital.

According to reports from Salvation Army staff in Port au Prince, no one in the compound was injured during the earthquake, but the children's home, the clinic and church suffered major damage. SeverAl Smaller buildings, including residences, have collapsed completely. People were sleeping in the parking lot overnight, while severe aftershocks continued to affect the country.

The second compound that houses Salvation Army administrative offices is being used as an emergency operations center; damage was slight to this compound, according to Salvation Army reports from Haiti.

The Salvation Army world services office is preparing to send more than 44,000 lbs of pre-packaged emergency rations to the country, along with emergency disaster teams. The Salvation Army is working with other agencies to identify appropriate transportation for the food. As with all such relief efforts, The Salvation Army will be a part of the initial emergency response while assessing longer term needs of the residents. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti at this time and especially our Salvation Army officers and employees throughout the country," said Lt. Col. Dan Starrett, who directs the Salvation Army World Services Office.

The Salvation Army is accepting monetary donations to assist in the effort. Please
visit www.SAmilwaukee.org to make a donation.

The MLK Celebration will commence at 1:00 PM in Uihlein Hall, which will include multi-cultural performing arts salute to Dr. King. Representation from community organizations will include the Milwaukee Chinese Orchestra, Discovering Our Destiny, Latino Arts Mariachi Juvenil and much more. This event has played to capacity crowds for the past several years.

The theme this year is "People Must Work Together." This year's theme was selected from many of Dr. King's speeches and writing, but most notably from Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom. These powerful words are truly fitting for this collaboration and patrons around the world assisting in the Haiti relief.

The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for 129 years in the United States. Nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. About 87 cents of every dollar raised is used to support those services in 9,000 communities nationwide.
For more information, go to www.SAmilwaukee.org.

The Marcus Center for the Performing Arts is owned and partially funded by Milwaukee County. The Marcus Center has been the premier entertainment destination for Milwaukee and Wisconsin since 1969. It provides the setting for outstanding cultural experiences, where the arts come to life for current and future generations. Located in the heart of the Downtown Theater District, the Marcus Center is a community facility that offers live performance of opera, ballet, children's theater, symphony and first-class national touring productions.

 

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