Bank establishes Haiti relief fund

By Michele Morgan Bolton, Globe Correspondent

Needham Bank has established a Haiti Relief Fund at its Dedham Square branch to respond to relief efforts of the Dedham Temple Haitian Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The effort follows the devastating earthquake last month that leveled much of the island nation, killing roughly 200,000 people and leaving many others without vital resources for survival.

Donations, which will be collected through March, can be made at Needham Bank’s Dedham Square location at 402 Washington St. or mailed to Needham Bank, P.O. Box 29, Dedham, MA 02027, Attn: Dedham Temple.

Checks should be made out to the Atlantic Union Conference, which is the temple's Northeast Region headquarters.

The Dedham temple recently held a day of prayer to commemorate the catastrophe that took the lives of many members' relatives and other loved ones, officials said. Pastor Philippe Emmanuel Joseph left Haiti in 1977; his church serves nearly 200 people from Dedham and adjacent Boston neighborhoods.

The denomination's North American Division has designated a special offering on Sunday, Feb. 6, to help Seventh Day Adventists in Haiti rebuild and reach out to their country in this time of tragedy.

"Help them know that even in disaster, God is with them and so is their church family," said a notice on the church's website.

Needham Bank is a customer-owned institution with five branches in Massachusetts.

Michele Morgan Bolton can be reached at mmbolton@verizon.net.