Sea Container Instructions - April
SEA CONTAINER INSTRUCTIONS: APRIL 2010 SHIPMENT
Parish Twinning Program of the Americas (PTPA)
Collection Site: Nashville, Tennessee (area of Smyrna, southeast of downtown) – Address Changed Two Years Ago
- Call Coordinator to confirm the delivery address before delivering items in person or mailing your items to us.
If you have put your shipment forms on computer, please update them fully with any changes necessary.
* Time Frame To Receive Shipments: Monday APRIL 19 through Friday APRIL 30 (DEADLINE) *
Mondays through Fridays only--between 8 AM and 4 PM (No Saturday/Sunday delivery)
We cannot take shipments during the week that follows the deadline. Our rate is $6.00 per cubic foot.
You may deliver your goods in person to the warehouse during that time frame--by the end of the final day (earlier in the period is better) or you may mail your goods to the warehouse to arrive during that time frame well before the deadline.
Easter is Sunday, April 4 (well before deadline); Daylight savings time begins Sunday, March 14; IRS deadline-Apr. 15.
Important: Contact your twin parish first to find out what they need and whether they are willing to pick up their items within two months of the unloading. Donít send unsolicited items, because they may not make the effort to pick them up.
* You or your parish must belong to the Parish Twinning Program to ship on our sea container, and your shipment must be charitable in nature. For security reasons, we do random inspections of the items that are shipped to our warehouse.
If you miss our deadline or wish to explore other shipping options, these companies also ship to Haiti (see handout):
CASCO (954) 525-1717 E-mail: info@shipcasco.com Web site: www.shipcasco.com
Rays of Hope for Haiti (616) 633-4258 They have a warehouse in Grand Rapids, MI Web site: www.raysofhopeforhaiti.com
Missionary Expediters (800) 299-6363 Web site: www.solvenet.com // Lynx Air 1-888-596-9247 Web site: www.lynxair.com
Econocaribe (866) 326-6648 or (305) 693-5133 Web site: www.econocaribe.com (they have a charity discount)
* Sea Container Coordinator & Contact Person: PAT REHOVSKY
Our ìsea containerî is an ocean shipment of charitable goods to specific churches and projects in Haiti. The shipments usually, but not always, go to Catholic parishes involved in our sister parish program. Our sea container shipment is currently done once a year in springtime. Churches, communities, and individuals gather or purchase goods, then ship them or deliver them in person to our gathering point/warehouse (ìpoint of originî), and give us a check towards their shipping costs based on its size measured in cubic footage. The shipping is NOT free--we cannot afford to offer that.
You must decide whether you are BRINGING the shipment in person to us (see below) or
MAILING your items to our collection site warehouse (also see below).
Please appoint one detailed person in your parish/group to coordinate the planning, receiving, taping, labeling, shipment forms, estimating for cubic feet, arranging for payment (by check), and the paperwork for all that you send.
ALSO SEE SIX ATTACHED FORMS: 1) Shipment Form; 2) Label Form; 3) Shipping Cost Worksheet;
4) ìSuggested Items To Sendî sheet; 5) Directions to Warehouse; 6) ìOther Shippers to Haitiî handout.
* IF BRINGING YOUR SHIPMENT IN PERSON TO OUR WAREHOUSE: *
Call our coordinator at least a day before your delivery to give your estimated date & time of arrival so he can expect you. You CANNOT leave your shipment if no one is there. See the attached sheet for directions to warehouse.
GO AHEAD AND AFFIX YOUR LABEL FORMS to the top of each box with clear tape over the whole label. If you choose, you can put extra copies of label forms inside the boxes before closing them in case an outer label is lost.
Rent trucks and trailers if you need. Major renter phone #s: U-Haul - 1-800-468-4285; Ryder - 1-800-467-4337;
Penske - 1-800-222-0277; Budget - 1-800-367-0522; Thrifty - 1-800-367-2277.
AT THE WAREHOUSE, YOU WILL NEED TO HAVE:
(1) A CHECK FOR THE TOTAL SHIPPING COST made out to: Parish Twinning Program Sea Container
Remember to add $50 to your total cost (beyond your cubic volume cost) for each large, heavy, or cumbersome item.
(2) OUR SHIPMENT FORM (manifest) listing a summary of the types of goods being shipped, total number of boxes for each type of item, a grand total of the number of boxes of all types, and total cost (see Worksheet) based on its approximate cubic volume; (3) Worksheet (filled out); and, (4) Extra copies of your forms which you can keep.
* IF MAILING YOUR SHIPMENT TO OUR WAREHOUSE: *
Call coordinator. You must allow a realistic amount of time for shipments to get to us before the deadline. Your mailed shipments will only be accepted for delivery at the warehouse weekdays between the prescribed hours.
* Make your "Box #1" a prominent, sizable box and place it in shipment so it is easy for our coordinator to locate!
If you are putting your shipment on pallets (especially if shrinkwrapping) and using a freight/common carrier (trucking company) to get your shipment to our U.S. warehouse, then you can go ahead and affix the address label forms for Haiti on the boxes since you will be doing labels with our U.S. warehouse address for the pallets/groups.
If you are mailing separate individual boxes to us (such as by UPS or FedEx), DO NOT AFFIX THE ADDRESS LABEL FORMS WITH THE ADDRESS OF YOUR RECIPIENT IN HAITI YET. Your boxes must have labels addressed to our warehouse here in the U.S. in order to get to us initially. YOU SHOULD MARK THE BOX NUMBER ON EACH BOX with a thick permanent marker (such as #3 of 52) so our sea coordinator can then affix your corresponding label forms once he has received the shipment at the warehouse. FILL OUT all the labels and place them in the envelope as described below. Make copies of your shipment form. If sending separate groups of items for different recipients (or the same recipient), use separate shipment forms & mark item groupings w/different colored pens.
* PUT THE FOLLOWING THINGS IN A LARGE ENVELOPE AND ATTACH IT SECURELY WITH TAPE TO THE OUTSIDE OF BOX #1 OF YOUR SHIPMENT IF MAILING YOUR SHIPMENT TO WAREHOUSE:
(1) A CHECK FOR YOUR SHIPMENT made out to: Parish Twinning Program Sea Container
Remember to add $50 to your total cost (beyond your cubic volume cost) for each large, heavy, or cumbersome item.
(2) OUR SHIPMENT FORM (manifest) listing the categories of goods being shipped, total number of boxes for each type of item, a grand total of the number of boxes of all types, and total cost based on its approximate cubic volume. (The coordinator will measure to check your estimate and may adjust your figure accordingly.)
(3) Shipping Cost Worksheet (4) THE BOX LABELS for all of your boxes made by copying our Label Form -- already filled out for each box in your shipment with the receiving parish's pastor, address & DIOCESE in Haiti
IF MAILING YOUR SHIPMENT, SEND IT TO THIS ADDRESS (Business name & address changed 2 years ago):
(LABEL EACH BOX WITH THIS ADDRESS -- NOT THE ADDRESS OF YOUR TWIN PARISH IN HAITI)
Parish Twinning Program Sea Container
c/o Louisville Ladder Group
700 Swan Drive
Smyrna, TN 37167 U.S.A.
- Warehouse phone--if you must list one when mailing shipment to us: (615) 220-7200 You can put ìAttn: Pat Rehovskyî
How the Sea Container Shipment Works
You either collect or purchase or order the goods and ship or personally deliver them to the warehouse by the deadline.
We receive, consolidate, and do paperwork for your shipments at the warehouse, putting groups on pallets.
On "load day," we load 40-foot trailers (the "sea containers") with all the donated items (no pallets) and padlock them.
The container(s) is hauled by land (by 18-wheeler truck) to a port city such as Miami FL, Charleston SC, Elizabeth NJ.
The container(s) is carried by ship for 4 to 5 days to the main dock at Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The container(s) is held by Customs personnel for several months until the paperwork is completed & fees are paid.
Our Haiti coordinators notify the recipients with the amount of goods and type; later, the unloading date and location.
On the unloading day for a particular container, the seal is broken by Customs and the goods are released to recipients.
Collecting & Purchasing Items
Contact your twin parish in Haiti first to find out which items they need before you do any collection drives or bulletin notices. Send specific items: donít collect a lot of large generic items like old furniture or too many clothes.
ƒ Goods should be useful and shouldn't take up excessive space, since your shipment cost will be figured from the cubic volume of your shipment (not the weight). The weight is a factor only if you are mailing items to warehouse.
If purchasing, use superstores to cut down on your costs. Buy in bulk. You can also place an order for items from these local stores (paying them in person in your hometown) and have one of their stores ship or deliver them (in boxes) to our warehouse on weekdays during the proper time frame. Remember that you must send payment, labels, and a shipment form separately to our coordinator--so you will have to estimate the cubic footage. Alert our coordinator.
How Much Can I Send? Send as much as you want, provided that you can pay the expenses as figured from the Shipping Cost Worksheet. You can send separate groups of items for different recipients (or the same recipient) in one larger shipment, but use separate shipment forms (manifests) for each grouping.
If your parish is far from Port-au-Prince: Keep your shipment a reasonable size, since some people will have to go to a lot of trouble to pick up the goods in Port-au-Prince. If you do send things, though, ship enough items to make it worth the effort for the recipient to come get it. Send things they really need.
What Can I Send? You can send virtually anything except chemicals, highly flammable items, and crates that are too massive in size (see below). Send latex paint rather than oil-based: most oil-based/enamel paints cannot be sent due to flammability. No propane, lamp oil, gasoline, kerosene, or chlorine tablets. No items for resale.
How Large Can Items Be? No specific size restrictions--we have shipped generators, refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers, solar panels, sets of car tires, medical equipment. Large items may have to be broken down in Haiti. We do NOT have a forklift there--the container is unloaded by men with dollies. Please separate large items into different boxes.
Weight: There is no strict weight limit, but items have to be liftable. Keep boxes under 40 pounds, if possible. We know larger items may weigh more than that. The weight of your shipment doesn't increase your cost (unless you ship it to our gathering point/warehouse; then, you will be paying more to ship it to us). If you send a large or heavy item, please send us an additional $50 (beyond the cubic volume cost) to help us with added difficulties here (and in Haiti).
The larger the item, the more expensive it will be for you to include, due to the fact that your cost is determined by your shipment's cubic volume. We do accept crates, but be reasonable with their size/weight, since they may have to be dismantled to be unloaded. You cannot send anything that absolutely requires a forklift to be moved.
We do NOT accept automobiles. We can send motorcycles if you include the certificate of title in your paperwork (certificate must be signed over by the listed owner to the recipient of the motorcycle in Haiti). We also need the original receipt (or bill of sale) for the purchase of it (even if it's ìusedî). The keys must be given to us. Increase what you pay us due to added Customs costs. For bicycles, please crate/box them--pack firmly. Take pedals off if possible & group pedals together. For car tires for your twin parish's vehicle, get the exact size--width (mm), height (mm), rim radius (inches) such as "LT265-60-R15." Chain & padlock them together (at the warehouse if not sooner) and give us the padlock keys.
Medical & School Supplies: You can send unexpired, over-the-counter non-prescription medicines. School/office supplies can be heavy and costly to mail, so you may want to order them to be delivered from a store to our warehouse.
- For medical supplies and equipment, we recommend:
MAP Int'l (800) 225-8550 or (912) 265-6010 E-Mail: map@map.org Web site: www.map.org Fax: (912) 265-6170
Blessings Intíl (918) 250-8101 Web site: www.blessing.org (do not type "blessings" plural) Fax: (918) 250-1281
International Aid (800) 968-7490 or (616) 846-7490 Web site: www.internationalaid.org Fax: (616) 846-3842
Note: Make sure you donít order medicines with an expiration date which comes within 6 months after our delivery deadline--it will take months for your supplies sent on the sea container to clear Customs. You can contact pharmaceutical companies, local hospitals & physicians to request donated items. To obtain prescription medicines, you will need a doctorís signature for your order.
- For school & office supplies, we recommend: Office Depot 1-888-463-3268 Web site: www.officedepot.com
OfficeMax 1-800-788-8080 Web site: www.officemax.com / Staples 1-800-333-3330 Web site: www.staples.com
Note: If your sister parish does not have its own school, don't send too many school supplies. Some parish offices do need supplies.
What Else Do I Need To Do? Write your Haitian twin parish ASAP, alerting them that items are being shipped to them--the number of boxes, contents, the relative size of the shipment, and whether they will need a large truck to get their things. Tell them that our coordinators in Haiti will be contacting them with directions, etc. When Customs sets a date for unsealing/unloading, our coordinators notify the priests as best they can--given the limited ability to communicate quickly in Haiti. Tell your twin parish pastor that he needs to come to Port-au-Prince on the exact day he's told to come, since we don't have a good way to store the goods--they need to be picked up on the day they're unloaded.
SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS - ALSO SEE SHIPMENT FORM
(A) Packing: SEPARATE DIFFERENT TYPES OF THINGS INTO DIFFERENT BOXES.
If you have extra space in a particular box, fill it in with firm padding or cardboard/bubble wrap/newspaper wads.
ÿ USE STURDY BOXES AND TAPE THEM WELL (similar-size boxes are best). Pack breakables with extra padding. For help w/packing or boxes, see yellow pages under Packaging/Packing/Crating/Freight/Cargo/Containers.
(B) Filling Out Our Attached Shipment Form: List types of items by category on a single line and the total number of boxes of that type of item. Total everything at the bottom. To complete the form, figure your cost. Keep an extra copy.
(C) Figuring Out What You Owe: Use Shipping Cost Worksheet to estimate cubic footage & cost. Give us a copy. WE DO NOT DO BILLING. You must include a check/money order for the TOTAL AMOUNT UP FRONT. Thanks!
* CHECKS: Make your check for the cost of your shipment out to: Parish Twinning Program Sea Container
(D) Labels: Please use our attached Label Form to create labels for all your boxes and items.
It usually takes AT LEAST THREE MONTHS from the date the container leaves our warehouse for it to be released by Customs personnel in Haiti and unloaded. Please be patient with the process.
Consignee: We are our own consignee--the sea container shipment goes to the Parish Twinning Program in Port-au-Prince. We are considered an "ONG" in Haiti (their term for an NGO/Non-Governmental Organization), and we consequently have a "franchise" with the right to ship humanitarian goods into the country.
No Liability: You should be aware that we cannot take financial responsibility for any of the goods which you ship. We do not have insurance protecting the goods against theft, damage, or loss. Due to the size and charitable nature of the shipment and the cost of insurance, we do not take that responsibility. In the past, some items have been lost or stolen.
PTPA is a non-governmental charitable 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization. (615) 298-3002. Parishprogram@aol.com