Bedford Co. reaches out to help Haiti

Last week's earthquake in Haiti, which killed as many as 45,000 to 50,000 according to Red Cross estimates, has touched communities around the world, and Bedford County is no exception.

Chesley Enloe of Shelbyville has been to Haiti three times, both on business and for mission work. He first went in 1980 with concrete contractor Reggie Smith to build an orphanage on Haiti's central plateau.

Later, while he was working for Wilson Sporting Goods, he went to Haiti for a two-week business trip to discuss golf club production. While there, he saw the beautiful twin-spire Catholic cathedral in Port-Au-Prince, which has been destroyed by the earthquake.

Enloe is active in the Church of the Nazarene, serving as director of compassionate ministries for the East Tennessee District Missions Council. His third trip to Haiti was a sort of working vacation, during which he stayed on a Nazarene mission campus in Petionville.

Enloe said Bill Dawson, field strategy coordinator for Nazarene Missions International, is "a good friend of mine" who travels regularly to Haiti and was there during the earthquake. The Nazarene Communications Network web site reports that Dawson and other Nazarene officials were safely evacuated to Miami, where relief work is being coordinated.

"There are no denominational lines in Haiti right now," said Enloe. "All of them are working together .... because they need each other right now."

Enloe is currently at Mt. Hermon Church of the Nazarene, and will discuss Haiti's needs there this Sunday.

"We're going to give the people of our church an opportunity to make donations," he said, "but we're not going to send less than $500."

He and his wife will also discuss Haiti's needs during meetings he will attend in Chattanooga.

Shelbyville native Gerald "Gerry" Rollins and his son Riley were in Haiti at the time of the earthquake, on a mission trip with Light & Life Evangelical Ministries, according to Gerry Rollins' wife, Dela. The group was working on water wells in the impoverished island nation.

Gerry and Riley were not in Port-au-Prince but rather in Cap-Haitien, on the northern coast, she said. Dela had communicated with her husband by text message, and knew that he survived the quake and was scheduled to arrive back in the U.S. Thursday afternoon, but had not yet spoken to him and knew few details. She heard from him at about 5 p.m. Tuesday, the day of the earthquake, but didn't hear from him again until Thursday morning.

Gerry Rollins now lives in Rutherford County, where he owns and operates Rollins Excavating, but his daughter Taffy Reed and other relatives live in Shelbyville. Riley Rollins is a real estate agent but also teaches an exercise class in Shelbyville.

Some local churches are already planning relief efforts, in some cases by supporting existing denominational relief groups. The Rev. Stephen Caine said First Presbyterian Church would support Haiti relief through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

A staffer for First Nazarene Church said it would probably discuss at an upcoming board meeting whether to participate in Haiti relief.

St. William Catholic Church will have a special collection to help the situation in Haiti and also plans prayers for the people of Haiti during Mass this weekend.

The American Institute of Philanthropy, which maintains the CharityWatch web site, has created a Web page listing Haiti relief charities which earn its "A" or "B" rating based on the percentage of donations that goes to providing services (as compared to administration or fund-raising). The address is www.charitywatch.org/hottopics/Haiti.htm... .

All Middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky Kroger stores are now accepting monetary donations for Haiti relief, which will be given to the American Red Cross International Relief Fund for Haiti. Customers can add the donation to their shopping total as they check out.

A two-hour telethon to benefit Haiti relief will be aired at 7 p.m. Friday on WKRN (Channel 2), WSMV (Channel 4), WTVF (Channel 5), WZTV (broadcast Channel 17, cable channel 3), WNAB (broadcast Channel 58, cable channel 11), and cable channels CNN, BET, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT. It will be hosted by Haitian-born musician Wyclef Jean and actor George Clooney with on-scene reports from newscaster Anderson Cooper in Haiti. According to The Associated Press, proceeds will go to Jean's Yele Haiti Foundation, UNICEF, Oxfam America, Partners in Health and the Red Cross.