Travis Taylor :: Blog.

WORLD VISION RUSHES VITAL RELIEF SUPPLIES TO HAITI EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS

Afternoon flight out of Denver will carry 18 metric tons of basic supplies to quake zone

DENVER, January 14, 2010 – Today, Christian humanitarian agency, World Vision will rush 18 metric tons of life-saving supplies from its warehouse in Denver to the island nation of Haiti, which was hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake Tuesday, which has affected some 3 million people.

These supplies and others already pre-positioned by the aid group will help meet the immediate survival needs of those affected by the quake until rebuilding efforts can begin.

“When emergencies like this earthquake happen, it is critical that people gain access to basic supplies as quickly as possible,” said Amanda Pennington, communications officer for World Vision’s Global Pre-Positioning Resource Network. “We keep supplies like these ready at all times in warehouses around the world, so that we can move immediately when emergencies like this happen anywhere.”

Today’s shipment will include the following supplies:

• tarpaulins for temporary shelter
• blankets
• collapsible water containers
• hygiene kits, which include a month’s supply of toilet paper, sanitary pads, toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, body soap and laundry soap for a family of five
• cooking sets, which include aluminum pots and pans, bowls, utensils

The flight will leave Denver airport today at 5:30 p.m. and is scheduled to arrive in Port-au-Prince at 6:30 a.m. on Friday.

World Vision has been working in Haiti for some 30 years and had 370 staff members in Port-au-Prince when the quake hit. While World Vision’s office in the capital sustained significant damage, all staff were confirmed safe and are initiating a response to the devastation.

World Vision will be loading the palettes of supplies and will have staff available for interview between 8 and 10 a.m. CT at its warehouse at 11000 East 40^th Avenue, Denver, CO 80239.

END

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. For more information, please visit, www.worldvision.org/press

As you guys now, I’m a Wolrd Vision artist.  I just got an email with this information as to how you can get involved and help World Vision in Haiti respond to the devestating earthquake damage.  Please read below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Haiti quake: World Vision anticipates massive needs and difficult response

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, January 13, 2010—Christian humanitarian agency World
Vision plans to begin assessing damage and preparing a relief response
today after the major earthquake that hit Haiti Tuesday. The agency has
worked in Haiti for 30 years and has some 370 staff in country.

Downed communications, blocked roads and continuing aftershocks slowed
relief efforts overnight, with staff unable to leave the agency’s
Port-au-Prince office for several hours due to fallen debris in the
roadways.

“It felt as if a truck had hit a wall,” said World Vision staffer Magalie
Boyer, of the initial tremor. “There is extensive damage in the city.
People are getting ready to spend the night in the streets. They are not
comfortable staying in their houses.”

“World Vision Haiti will distribute first aid kits to survivors, along with
basic materials such as soap, blankets, clothes and bottles of water as an
initial response,” Boyer added.

Meanwhile, World Vision staff from less affected regions of Haiti are
mobilizing and the agency’s global experts are expected to arrive in the
disaster zone as soon as possible. Crystal Penner, a World Vision aid
worker, was in the central plateau region of Haiti when the quake hit:
“There are relief goods prepositioned in various locations across the
country, though the challenge will be getting those supplies swiftly to
those in need,” she said.

“We would be very concerned about a quake of this magnitude anywhere in the
world, but it is especially devastating in Haiti, where people are acutely
vulnerable because of poor infrastructure and extreme poverty,” said Edward
Brown, World Vision’s relief director in the United States.

Reaching hard-hit areas with supplies is expected to be a significant
challenge due to damaged roads and infrastructure, including the main
airport and government buildings.

Donations of cash are needed for the response. The public can help by
visiting worldvision.org or by calling 1.888.56.CHILD.

END

For interviews with aid workers in Haiti, and more information, please
contact Rachel Wolff at +1.253.394.2214 or rwolff@worldvision.org.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working
with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full
potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision
serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Here are some videos of the Christmas concert we had in early December.  It was an amazing night, Sasha (Alexander Tseitlin) and I put a lot of work into this night and it paid off. Next year will be even better.

The audio recording came out great, but we were not really prepared to do video… we ended up gathering together 4 angels from different home camcorders that were rolling that night, so that’s why you will see different picture ratios, and I’m not really ever in the shot (most of the time I’m at the bottom left of the screen, you can see my shoulder, it’s a great shot) and the video quality is not that great on certain angles…

…you can still get the idea on how the night went and enjoy the songs!

Spread these videos around and we hope to have you join us next year at the concert!

OK, it’s here.  If you livce anywhere near LA you better come out!  This really is going to be something special, I anot wait.  We’re playing with a 20 piece orchestra ( whom sound amazing), a 40 voice choir( who also sound great) and my band.

It will be somewhat of a “dress up” event, so put on your christmas concert attire and join us Sat night at 6pm to kick off the Christmas season.

Details:
Sat. December 5th

Starts at 6pm - doors open at 5:30pm
Calvary Church of Pacific Palisades
701 Palisades Dr.
Pacific Palisades, CA  90272

Child care will be provided for kids up to 5 years old

This week has been completely loaded with work, life and music… that’s kind of all the same in my world.  I just got invited to play at Newsong Church in Irvine this Sunday night.  I’ll be playing at the Hub at the Justice NOW event.  Details here: http://www.justicenow.tv/archives/19

Also, I’m excited about the Christmas Concert that’s coming up on Saturday Dec 5th.  I arranged some parts for a choir (40 plus members, it’s huge and sounds great!), and my good buddy Sasha has put together some amazing arrangements for the String Orchestra and Kids Choir to accompany my band.  It’s going to be insane, the good kind.  So dress it up, put your holiday season black & whites on and lets kick off December with a night of music to remember.  Here’s a link to get more details below, just click on the banner.

Hey all, in between songs now chatting live with Kyle Liedtke on KNLR radio (Bend Oregon) New Life Radio… tune in if you’re in the area.

For all you South Bay folks out there, (that’s the south bay of Los Angeles), I’ll be playing a few songs at an event called Justice NOW at 5:30pm tonight at Tree of Life.  We will be focusing on the them of justice, honoring some good folks fighting the fight, and worshiping together with several different churches from the local area.  If you would like to join us online, we will be streaming it live at http://global.newsong.net/

All week long I’ve been gearing up for this years Christmas Concert. On December 5th, we’re having a huge concert at Calvary Church of Pacific Palisades featuring my band along side an 18 piece orchestra and choir. It’s going to be an incredible night of music. I love playing with orchestras, and I think this will be the first time to actually play with a choir and orchestra at the same time… wish me luck I’m just wrapping up the choir arrangements today. I know it’s not even November yet, but working on all of this stuff is getting me in the Christmas mood. I think it kind of steals the excitement of Thanksgiving some… oh well, I’m thankful. I’ll get my turkey and dressing on when it’s the right time.

If you’re interested in coming out, the Concert will be Saturday night, December 5th at 6:00pm. We will start at 6pm sharp, unlike many of my concerts (The Gathering…) Here’s a little taste of some of the Christmas music that you will hear (imagine these songs with an orchestra and choir and you’ll get the picture.

We had some major scheduling conflicts for the next Gathering concert that was supposed to be on October 25th. So instead of canceling it,we decided to join forces with another event happening at Calvary Church called Collaborate. (more…)

Well, we’re about to get right back on these long Texas highways today. I’ve got to say, I used to think the scenery was boring when I lived here in Texas, (more…)