Bloomberg, NYC honoring Haiti rescuers

James Coll, right, and Randy Miller, left, members of the New York City Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, help rescue Mario Voltaire from a collapsed multistory building. Both serve in the NYPD's Emergency Services Unit. Coll is a resident of Seaford, and Milller is a resident of Patchouge. (Jan. 17, 2010) Credit: Charles Eckert
New York City officials will hold a ceremony to honor the police-fire rescue team that has just returned from Haiti.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is holding the ceremony on Tuesday morning with commissioners from the police and fire departments, and the Office of Emergency Management.
The team is trained to respond to catastrophes involving the collapse of heavy steel and concrete. It saved a number of lives in Haiti, and also recovered bodies.
The team previously worked at ground zero and in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav.
Team leaders include fire Battalion Chief Joe Downey of West Islip. He lost his father, Chief Ray Downey, on 9/11.
>>PHOTOS: Newsday's Charles Eckert in Haiti | Frantic rescue effort in Haiti | Deadliest recent earthquakes
>> LIVE: Twitter coverage of the scene in Haiti, from aid agencies, and reaction worldwide
>> VIDEOS: Latest videos from Haiti and on LI
>> MORE: Read more about LIers grieving and LI's efforts to help | Latest news from Haiti | Haiti's road to chaos: 2006 Newsday series
HOW TO HELP
* You can help immediately by texting "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be charged to your cell phone bill and given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts.
* Wyclef Jean, a rapper and hip-hop artist from Haiti, urged people to text "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5 toward earthquake relief. Yéle Haiti is a grassroots movement inspiring change in Haiti through programs in education, sports, the arts and environment, according to its Web site.
* The State Department Operations Center has set up the following number for Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747. The Red Cross has also set up a Web site to help family members find and contact relatives.
* You can also go online to organizations such as the Red Cross and MercyCorps to make a contribution to the disaster relief efforts.
The FBI warned Internet users to be wary of e-mail messages seeking donations in the aftermath of the quake. People who want to send money or assistance should contribute to known organizations and should be careful not to respond to unsolicited e-mails, officials said.
Other Web sites accepting donations include:
-Haitian Health Foundation
-Hope for Haiti
-UNICEF
-International Medical Corps
-Beyond Borders
-AmeriCares
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