~ Bishop Ellis Foundation also gives $2,000 ~

 PHILIPSBURG--The solidarity of the Catholic community of St. Maarten with the suffering people of Haiti was evident in the financial support it garnered last weekend.

The special collection taken at all Masses in the Catholic churches in Philipsburg, South Reward and Simpson Bay amounted to US $8,250. The parish-based Bishop Ellis Foundation contributed an additional $2,000 to the parish collection in view of the urgent need of the people of Haiti.

The local Catholic parish noted that with more than 150,000 dead and some 3,000,000 displaced survivors, the staggering need of suffering Haiti looms large before the world. The Catholic Parish of St. Martin of Tours, along with all the Catholic parishes in the Diocese of Willemstad, has responded generously to the present need in Haiti.