CHICAGO More than 18 months have passed since Haiti was devastated by a catastrophic 7.0 earthquake and rebuilding Haiti is still a work in progress. State Senator Kwame Raoul of Chicago continues to collaborate with International Child Care (ICC), Children’s Memorial Hospital (CMH) and Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine's Global Health Initiative to help resurrect the Grace Children’s Hospital (GCH) in Haiti. On Wednesday ICC is hosting a dinner at 6:30 p.m. at the Union Club in Chicago to address progress and challenges with the GCH reconstruction.

"I am proud to work with a Chicago-based coalition to continue to aid Haiti, focusing on rebuilding GCH as a resource for pediatric healthcare needs," said Senator Raoul. "Thousands of children and families will benefit from a fully operational GCH and this Chicago-Haiti partnership will continue working to make sure this hospital and other resources are provided.

ICC has been serving the people of Haiti and the Dominican Republic for 43 years and they assist more than 200,000 people in those nations annually. John Yates, International Director for ICC and representatives from CMH will share specific insights on Wednesday regarding the reconstruction and additional goals to revitalize Haiti.

For Senator Raoul helping improve life for Haitians is a deeply personal commitment. Raoul was born in Chicago to Haitian-born immigrants and he still has family who live in Haiti. His father practiced medicine, made house calls to the underserved and underprivileged across Chicago, and was a board member of International Child Care and now Senator Raoul is an ICC board member.

Business professionals, public officials, architects, doctors, philanthropists and other supporters will participate in Wednesday’s meeting.

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