Help Reiser Relief Help Haiti - Donate on Nov 15 - Give to the Max Day

Reiser Relief invites you to join in a day of generous giving designed to support nonprofit organizations across Minnesota. On November 15 GiveMN.org will sponsor their forth annual, 24-hour online Internet fundraiser called Give to the Max Day.

You have the opportunity to make a huge difference for the poor in Haiti. With your help Reiser Relief can continue to provide essential services to many Haitian families in their day-to-day efforts for survival.

These services include providing fresh water, stocking food centers, funding education, supporting the poor elderly.

One of our goals is to keep Father Reiser’s legacy alive by continuing to fund his projects in Haiti and be involved in helping to fund additional much-needed projects in Haiti as Father would have done.

Click this link and donate on Nov 15 to Reiser Relief  - Bringing Hope to Haiti

You can pre-schedule your online donation by logging into "Your GiveMN account" from November 1-14.  This feature allows donors to schedule their gift ahead of time to be processed on Give to the Max Day, November 15, just like scheduling household bill payments or other transactions.  

Scheduled donations are deducted from donors' credit or debit card at 12 a.m. on November 15 and will be eligible for the 12 a.m. to 1 a.m. Golden Ticket, as well as helping their nonprofit advance on the leaderboard. We hope this new feature will help donors take part even if their calendars are full on November 15.

To schedule a donation Click this link and donate on Nov 1 to 14 - Reiser Relief - Bringing Hope to Haiti and then look to the right on page  - as seen by image to the right to setup this automatic feature. 

If you are unable to make a contribution on-line, you can mail your contribution noting “GTMD” on the memo line.  Reiser Relief Inc. PO Box 48096 Coon Rapids, MN 55448.

It’s hard to believe that a year ago at this time, our beloved friend and spiritual leader, Father Bernard Reiser, was still alive and actively involved with his mission he held so close to his heart, Reiser Relief. Father was pleased with the progress that had been made in Haiti, but he had so much more he still wanted to accomplish in the poverty-stricken country.

With the help of some of his dedicated supporters, Reiser Relief is making a difference every day: To provide relief, hope and dignity to the poor, elderly and homeless people of Haiti.

This exciting, one-day event allows thousands of Minnesotans to come together and support their favorite organizations. Last year, in 24 hours, more than $13 million was raised for non-profits across the state. Give to the Max Day also provides opportunities for your donation dollars to go further. Through prize grants, your donation on November 15 could help the Reiser Relief win an additional $1,000; $5,000; and potentially $10,000 gift.

Look for Reiser Relief on the Main and Medium sized nonprofit leaderboards where you can join in the friendly competition as you watch nonprofits jockey for position in four leaderboard categories (All nonprofits, medium nonprofits, small nonprofits, colleges & universities). As you watch your favorite nonprofit inch up the leaderboard, maybe an extra donation or two from you could help them win prize grant money by placing somewhere in the top 10.

Make your gift go even further! GiveMN’s Give to the Max Day amplifies your giving impact. Learn the different ways you can "MAXimize your donations for one day only!

24 Golden Tickets - During Give to the Max Day, one donor will be randomly chosen every hour by GiveMN to have $1,000 added to their donation. It’s a Golden Opportunity for Reiser Relief to further

support Haitians in need.

Here is how it works: Throughout the Nov. 15th event, an individual donor will be selected from donations made within that given hour, between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 11:59 p.m.

Even donors who give $10 will be entered into these random drawings, and if you choose to give $10 every hour, you will have 24 chances to win an additional $1,000 donation for Reiser Relief.

Another example: if you choose to make 24 separate $10 donations within a specific hour (3:00 a.m. - 3:59 a.m.) you will have 24 chances to have a $1,000 added to your donation for Reiser Relief for that hour. ONE $240 donation would have ONE chance.

So basically, entry for the Golden Ticket contest is based on individual transactions. There's no limit to how many times a donor or nonprofit can win these bonus dollars during the entire event.

Attention night owls: Giving activity is lighter at night and in the wee hours of the morning. Consider donating to Reiser Relief during these hours.

Super-size Golden Ticket - Ten-Grand Golden Ticket - One donor’s contribution will be randomly drawn by GiveMN at the close of the event 11:59 p.m. from ALL CONTRIBUTIONS TRANSACTIONS made during the 24-hour period to have $10,000 added to their donation.

Our Mission

-To provide relief, hope and dignity to the poor, elderly and homeless people of Haiti.

-To provide relief from malnutrition and water born illness by providing food and clean water to women, children and elderly living in slums and impoverished situations.

-To provide hope for the poorest children and orphans by funding education and housing.

-To strive, by the Grace and Greatness of God, to be the hands and feet of Christ in serving the most vulnerable Haitians.

 

Video from our May 2012 Haiti Trip  

May 2012 Blog Writings - Haiti Trip
May 20 - Hait Day 1 -  May 23-Water Truck -  May 24 So Many things
May 24 RESILIENCY  - May 26 MINISTRY

My sister, Joyce, and I, Father’s nieces, made our first visit to Haiti in May and at this time, Joyce is currently leading a mission trip in Haiti. We were able to see firsthand some of the many projects Father Reiser and Reiser Relief are part of in Haiti. We were thrilled to see all that has been done (good things ARE happening in Haiti!), but extremely touched and saddened to see how much suffering still takes place there on a daily basis. The trip strengthened our belief that we at Reiser Relief CAN make a difference in Haiti -- a difference to the MAX.

Thank you for participating as we work together to provide relief to the neediest people in the Western Hemisphere. We thank you for your interest and support in helping us spread HOPE to the men, women, and children of Haiti. Any contribution you can make is greatly appreciated.

Ann Brau

President, Reiser Relief

http://www.ReiserRelief.org

Father Reiser’s niece

Watch a 4-minute video created in 2009: An Introduction on how to make and track your a donations on GiveMN by Exec. Dir. Dana Nelson

Click this link and donate on Nov 15 to Reiser Relief Bringing Hope to Haiti

Public Service Announcement for Give to the Max Day

got milk? - and some Haitian cookies?

Got Milk? It's a well known phrase and commercial and we all know what a great combination Milk and Cookies are.

Below is a common Haitian family cookie recipe.

Haitian Dirt Cookie Recipe

In a large bucket or bowel, sift in the dirt, shortening or oil and maybe some salt.

Gradually whisk in the water stirring continuously to produce a heavy liquid batter until it becomes smooth and creamy – a little kneading maybe necessary to help water penetrate all the grains of dirt evenly. Other ingredients maybe added deepening on personal preference. It should be noted, many recipes are handed down from generation to generation.

For better results - use pure clean fresh drinkable water.

Batter consistency - It can be more in a paste form or more liquidity - the "baking" time will differ. For better results it’s preferable to make the cookies on a nice clear sunny day so to allow the heat of the sun to fully bake the cookies dry in the open air. Depending the month of the year, the summer months with a hot scorching sun will produce a finished product faster and can be brought to markets sooner and be sold on the streets.

If the batter is in more in a paste form, the batter can spooned out into a 3 inch dollops or dough ball and then take the spoon to flatten out to about 4 inches to 6 inches round. With a liquidity batter mixture, pour the creamy rich batter out onto a level tarp, here again take the spoon to flatten out to about 4 inches to 6 inches.

Tis the season to bake cookies - but a new recipe is needed for these the dirt cookies are not nutritious, but they do fill your stomach, so the locals report.

Let's get the dirt out --

Depending on your palate, it’s been reported that the dirt cookies have an unpleasant taste. A reporter sampling a cookie found that it had a smooth consistency and sucked all the moisture out of the mouth as soon as it touched the tongue. For hours, an unpleasant taste of dirt lingered.

Your financial support makes it possible for us to feed children and families in Haiti. Nutritious meal packets cost less than $1.50 to produce and 94 percent of all gifts going to the feeding program, your gift will go a long way in the fight against hunger.

A single packet of food provides highly nutritious meals for six children and our produce by Feed My Starving Children.

$52 provides 216 MannaPack meals - $208 provides 864 meals for patients in a malnourishment clinic - $855 will fill ½ pallet with MannaPack meals to support a mountain village - $1710 provides an entire pallet of meals.

Let’s clean the tummies and get the dirt out - Help fill a stomach with real food.

http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Haiti-Relief-Online-Fundraiser

Thank You for your Donations.

All Day November 16 2011 -- Online Fundraiser to support the poor in Haiti Thank you for your generous gifts to Reiser Relief to help fulfill it's mission: to help the impoverished people of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

 Many of you tried very hard in trying to be a lucky winner of a Golden Ticket and we thank you so very much for your time ( at all hours) , continued dedication and for your GIFT of giving to the MAX.

 We all came together supporting Haitian families in desperate need through GiveMN's - Give to the Max Day online fundraiser, which they made it fun to partake in with the " Willy Wonka - Golden Ticket" drawings and various leaderboard grants - all designed to help nonprofit organizations to get an end-of-year boost to further their mission. "Give to the Max Day" - LeaderBoard

 GiveMN's platform helped Minnesota nonprofits raised more than $13 million during the one-day online giving event "Give to the Max Day" with 47,534 donors that donated to 3,978 nonprofits. Reiser Relief raised $16,626 and was #20 on the Small Nonprofit Leaderboard, along with over $7,000 offline donations that are still coming in.

You are assisting thousands of needy families and individuals to obtain fresh, clean water for their daily drinking, cooking, and household needs for these poverty-stricken people.

 Haiti Thanks You! With deep gratitude, we thank you for helping us to "Keep the Hope Flowing!" Together, we make a difference in touching the lives of thousands of people! We are reminded that giving drink to the thirsty is one of the seven corporal works of Mercy. "Amen I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers or sisters of mine, you did for Me" (Matthew 25:40). May God bless you most abundantly!

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Bernard Reiser
President of Reiser Relief

Reiser Relief keeps wheels turning in Haiti

by Sue Austreng Staff Writer - ABCNEWSPapers.com
Saturday, May 7, 2011

Their hearts beating with boundless compassion and their wallets eager for bountiful harvest, some 500 guests attended the April 26 Bringing Hope to Haiti fund-raising event at the Courtyards of Andover.

The fifth annual Reiser Relief fund-raiser was staged at the Courtyards of Andover and guests did, indeed, to their best to “keep the wheel turning.”

That wheel – the wheel of life fueled by Reiser Relief projects providing fresh water, stocking food centers and funding education and eldercare facilities – is turning in the impoverished country of Haiti.

According to Doris Schulte, vice president of the Reiser Relief board, $55,000 in donations have been collected as a result of the event – and checks are still coming in.

editorial note from Reiser Relief May 14th "Thank you for generously supporting our Keep The Wheel Turning - Haiti Fundraising Event, held April 24. We are pleased to share that we raised $82,000 for Reiser Relief projects that evening. Praise God! We are so grateful for your participation!"


Money was raised at the April 26 event when guests purchased $5 general admission tickets, participated in live and silent auctions, purchased raffle tickets, paid entry fees to play a couple of games and bought copies of Rev. Bernard Reiser’s devotional book, “Reiser’s Ramblings.”
“We are so grateful for the generosity of so many people,” said Schulte.

Reiser, the founder of Reiser Relief and longtime priest at Epiphany Catholic Church, Coon Rapids, echoed Schulte’s sentiment.

“We are so grateful for the support from all of you,” Reiser said. “May God bless each of you most abundantly and know you are in my daily Mass and prayers.”

Fresh water project

In addition to Bringing Hope to Haiti fund-raiser money going to Reiser Relief’s Haitian service projects, a refurbished water truck will be sent to the Caribbean country, as well.

The truck, acquired and refurbished by Harri Rinta, will be used along with a second Reiser Relief water truck to deliver fresh, free water to 24 neighborhoods in one of the poorest slums in the western hemisphere.

Kevin McClellan, coordinator of the Reiser Relief fresh water project, said that the project provides yearly delivery of more than four million gallons of clean water to the poor in the Haitian slum of Cité Soleil.

According to www.ReiserRelief.org, the Reiser Relief water trucks deliver four 3,500-gallon loads of water, six days a week, 52 weeks per year to thousands of people.

That is the equivalent of 800,000 five gallon buckets of water each year.

Birth of Reiser Relief

Reiser Relief was formed by Reiser shortly after he returned from his first trip to Haiti more than a dozen years ago.

Since its beginning, as stated on its website, Reiser Relief has “helped to bestow new hope for many hundreds of God’s needy people through the generosity of a great number of people.”

Reiser Relief monthly expenses include:
• $2,000 to pay salaries for Haitian water truck drivers, maintain the trucks and buy fuel

• $2,500 for teachers’ salaries

• $1,250 to cover the costs of running two schools

Those interested in learning more about Reiser Relief – and those who would like to make a donation – should visit http://www.ReiserRelief.org.

Donations can also be sent to Reiser Relief, Inc., 1800 111th Ave. N.W., #320, Coon Rapids, MN 55433.

All donations to the 501(c)3 non-profit organization are tax deductible.

Sue Austreng is at sue.austreng@ecm-inc.com

My heartfelt thank you for your generous gifts at our annual Haiti fundraiser

My heartfelt thank you for your generous gifts at our annual Haiti fundraiser. You certainly are serving Christ in a most magnificent and glorious way with your gift and we are most grateful and blessed for having your support. You have, in a very personal way, shown love and caring for God’s neglected children and adults.

Thank you for your dedication to serve these very, very needy people of Haiti.

As you know, we live in a world facing extreme challenges. It is truly heartwarming, therefore, when someone goes to great lengths to help those in need. There is so much need among the families and communities where we are working. I can assure you we will find important use for your kind donation.

Reiser Relief provides essential services to aid Haitians in their day-today efforts for survival. These services include providing fresh water, stocking food centers, and funding education and eldercare facilities.

Many of our outreach projects are in or near Cité Soleil, a slum near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. Reiser Relief funds a water truck that operates six days a week, delivering fresh water free of charge — a lifesaving resource to numerous impoverished Haitians who use five-gallon buckets to haul this water back to cardboard shanties or tin shacks that serve as family homes.

My trips to Haiti have been an experience of a lifetime, never to be forgotten. The scenes of Haiti will always remain fresh within my mind and heart. I will always maintain a determination to alleviate a little bit of suffering as best I can. All humans are made in God’s image and likeness, and they deserve to be treated with dignity, honor, and to have at least the bare essentials of life. The reward for those who help the poor will certainly be most bountiful on the last day, as our Lord said: I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers and sisters, you
did it for me. (Matthew 25:40)

God’s love and generosity toward us is often taken for granted. Considering the many gifts we all enjoy, it is worth our time to pause and say, “Thank you, God!” Through helping others, we do express our gratitude for all the gifts we enjoy. Likewise, your gift is an expression of gratitude — a thank you sent to God.

Our work is inspired by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. With the help of supporters like you, Reiser Relief can continue to save the lives of the extremely impoverished people of Haiti. May God bless you most abundantly for your support! I thank you and assure you that you shall
be included in my daily Mass and prayers.

Sincerely in Christ,

Father Bernard Reiser
President - Reiser Relief Inc.