“Images and news reports of the devastation in Haiti have had a profound effect on so many of us, and the outpouring of support for the recovery effort has been inspiring.”

-       Bancroft Potter, owner/founder of Sperry Tents Seacoast.

Calls from the tragedy and heartbreak following the disaster in Haiti on January 12 have been heard worldwide as relief programs have formed to aid the devastated nation.  With countless schools, hospitals, residencies, and commercial buildings destroyed, Haitians are unwillingly exposed to the oppressive sun, heat and rain.   Learning of the dire need for temporary shelter, we were compelled to contribute to the relief effort in the best way we knew how…tents.

We plan to send three large tents to Port Au Prince, Haiti and assist with their installation in the devastated city over the next several weeks.  One of the tents will be stationed in Leogane serving as a school facility, while the other two will stand in Port Au Price housing a recovery center for disabled Haitians and providing shelter for the homeless.

The tents will provide a combined total of over 8,000 sqr ft of protection from the rain when assembled; collectively weighing nearly 6,000 lbs, and valued at over $50,000.  The tents will be shipped to Port Au Prince in a 40-foot overseas transport container on April 9^th from Pease International Tradeport in Portsmouth, NH.  Sperry Tents Seacoast has already raised $2,000 towards the $4,500 shipping cost of the tents.  When fully loaded, the container, which will be subsidized by WTG Transportation of Exeter NH, will hold between 5 and 10 tons of supplies donated by Seacoast companies and residents.

Life and Hope Haiti, a New York based organization, is in charge of coordinating the shipment which is scheduled to set off from Boston on April 15 and arrive in Haiti May 3.