and the Catholic Medical Mission Board  (CMMB) join forces through Kids-Love-Kids, a new program of the Environmental Center. The collaboration seeks to create a bond between U.S. school children and the children of Haiti. 

The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center and Operation Goody Bag are marshaling resources and visibility for the program in the U.S..  CMMB is handling logistics to deliver "goody bags" to children on the ground. 

U.S. school children will supply hands and heart for the program.  They fill hand-colored lunch bags with such items as organic lollipops, Glee Gum, Teddy bears, coloring books, crayons and personal notes.  The goal of Kids-Love-Kids is to multiply the effort nationwide, enlisting teachers, students and others around the country. 

"When a child here creates a goody bag and writes a note in their own words for a Haitian child, they learn real compassion, and how to put those feelings into action. At the other end, we want the children in Haiti to know there are other kids in the world who really care about them," said Deirdre Imus, Founder and President of The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology. 

Show Them Your Heart 

You can help multiply this important relief effort with a donation of $4/bag. A gift of $100 helps purchase the contents for 25 "goody bags." Donate Now  Simply select "Operation Goody Bag" from the pulldown menu to make a donation by credit card via the Hackensack University Medical Center Foundation. The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center is part of Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC), a 501 (c) not for profit corporation.*

How Big Are Kids Hearts?

Operation Goody Bag originated as a service initiative at East Brook Middle School in Paramus, N.J. to help first responders following 9/11.  To date, this single school has distributed more than 125,000 goody bags  to U.S. military personnel as well as local fire, rescue, ambulance, and K9 organizations, veterans' homes, VFW posts, military hospitals and US military academies. 

Through collection drives, letter writing initiatives, translations and donations . . . Operation Goody Bag and Kids-Love-Kids provides children -- and all Americans -- with an easy way to get involved and personally express their caring and concern.  Haiti, with a population of 9.8 million, is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and home to about one million orphans. According to UN 2008 figures, about half the population is under age 20.