Cedar Rapids Disaster Specialist Teahen Heads to Haiti, with Actor John Travolta By Rick Smith Story Created: Jan 25, 2010 at 4:55 PM CST Story Updated: Jan 25, 2010 at 5:11 PM CST CEDAR RAPIDS - Cedar Rapids’ Peter Teahen — disaster specialist, funeral director and recent candidate for the U.S. Congress — is flying into disaster-hit Haiti this evening with actor John Travolta and a medical contingent in Travolta’s jet. The disaster-relief effort is being sponsored by the Church of Scientology, of which Travolta is a member, Teahen said from a cab Monday afternoon on his way to the Clearwater, Fla., airport. Teahen, who is not a Scientologist, said the church has come to play a bigger and bigger role in disaster relief both internationally and in the United States. Teahen said he first met Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Teahen said his role in Haiti will be to help establish medical clinics across the country as residents of the capital, Port-au-Prince, leave that city, which was heavily hit by the recent earthquake. Teahen was asked if he’d be willing initially to sleep at the airport outside of Port-au-Prince in a tent and sleeping bag. He is willing. He won’t know if he will be staying at the airport or if he will be moving into the countryside, he said. He said he expects to be in Haiti at least a couple of weeks. In the past, Teahen has helped out in disasters in the Darfur region of Sudan and in Sri Lanka after it was struck by a tsunami. He also has worked at disaster scenes in the United States as a disaster specialist with the American Red Cross. http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/82636077.html Disaster specialist Teahen back from Haiti; worries what happens when the initial wave of relief leaves Posted on Feb 03, 2010 by Rick Smith. Disaster specialist Peter Teahen is back home in Cedar Rapids after nine days in earthquake-hit Haiti. The disaster, he reports, is grimmer and sadder than you can imagine. Teahen, a funeral director and president of Teahen Funeral Home in Cedar Rapids, spent his time in Haiti helping reestablish orphanages and working at a hospital. He described the hospital morgue as stacked full of dead bodies. “It was like a scene out of a horror movie,” he says. Teahen says medical teams now have provided initial care to the survivors of the quake, but he says that many of the injured, including many children who have lost limbs, will have long-term recovery needs. Many of those needs, he worries, may go unmet in the impoverished nation once the initial wave of international help leaves. “What’s the long-term future of that country when so many have missing limbs and the country doesn’t have the resources to care for them?” Teahen asks. During his stay in Haiti, Teahen slept on the ground in a tent 300 feet off the runway at the airport in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince. Planes with relief help from across the world were coming and going constantly, he says. He flew to Haiti under the sponsorship of the Church of Scientology, which Teahen says has a commitment to disaster relief in the United States and around the world. Teahen, who is not a member of the church, first met church member and actor John Travolta during disaster work after Hurricane Katrina. Travolta flew Teahen and a group of medical providers and government officials into Haiti last Monday. Teahen flew back to Florida on Tuesday in a giant C-17 cargo plane. Teahen, who has worked at numerous disaster sites in the United States for the American Red Cross, also has spent time in the Darfur region of Sudan and in Sri Lanka after a tsunami hit there. One of his specialties is helping disaster relief workers adjust once they leave a disaster scene and return home. Teahen says he, too, will need to adjust. He says he will sit down now with friends in the mental health field and talk about “the sights, smell, taste, dust and lack of sleep” he experienced in Haiti. “I always sit down with my friends,” he said. “I have for years.”  Serve The City is a coalition of 38 congregations and 10 non-profit ministries who have agreed to bring resources together to serve the city. When we say “city” we mean ‘the city behind your address.’ (The 38 congregations represent 29 different faith traditions; each tradition has their own unique Statement of Faith.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6cgKfvwNFo The Memorial Salute of Flags "Fly The Flag" As you know when your loved one died, the United States Government presented you an American flag. Unfortunately, because of the size of the flags, many are placed in closets, drawers, or even discarded. The Memorial Salute of the Flags, a non-profit organization, collects these flags and flies them on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Veteran's Day. The flags are flown in the downtown area of Cedar Rapids. Each flag identified with the veteran's name and safeguarded by the committee. All Veterans' organizations in Linn County have endorsed this project as a great tribute to their comrades. We encourage donations of the flag so it too can fly proudly, as it was meant to, in a tribute to all veterans. The Memorial Salute of Flags is recognized as the largest flag display of its kind in the United States. Flags may be left at Teahen Funeral Home, 3100 F Avenue NW. We also encourage your tax deductible, voluntary, financial support to defray the expensed of insurance and labor. Contributions may be sent to the Memorial Salute of Flags, c/o 3100 F Avenue NW, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52405. 
 Freedom Fesival In 1984, Peter Teahen, with the support of the Cedar Rapids Metro Veteran's Council, coordinated the first "Celebration of Freedom" fireworks display on July 4th in the heart of downtown Cedar Rapids on May's Island. Over time, interest in the celebration grew and more events were organized to become part of the patriotic festivities. http://www.freedomfestival.com/Freedom-Festival/News/20091006/26/Freedom-Festival-2010-Artwork-Design-Introduced.aspx Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cedar Rapids and East Central Iowa started as a Big Brothers agency back in 1975, adding Big Sisters in the mid-1980's. Throughout our history, our mission has remained steadfast-to help boys and girls achieve their full potential through one-to-one mentoring relationships with carefully screened and caring adults. Big Brothers Big Sisters is the oldest, best known and probably the most sophisticated mentoring program in the United States. http://www.beabigcr.org/index.html  The Harmony Hawks...singing the chords of barbershop harmony in Eastern Iowa for nearly 60 years. The Harmony Hawks specialize in barbershop; a cappella four-part harmony. We have about 60 members, ranging in age from 10 to over 80. It’s a hobby for those who love to sing and share the love of ringing those barbershop chords! http://www.harmonyhawks.org/index.htm  Teahen Funeral Home sponsored the African Children's Choir concert at Edgewood Family Fellowship, on September 23, 2007. The African Children's Choir's singing, dancing and smiles filled the hearts of those who attended. The Choir stayed with host families of Edgewood Family Fellowship and used the church for two days to conduct educational classes for the members of the Choir. Money raised through donations, supports numerous schools that have been established in Uganda and other African countries over the past 23 years, as well as the ongoing Establishment of new schools. Funds also go toward educational scholarships so children can attend schools beyond those operated by Music for Life. The African Children's Choir consists of Choir members selected from countries with the greatest needs including, Uganda, kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Nigeria and Ghana. Most of the children in this Choir have lost one or both parents to poverty and disease. Without Music for Life, they would have had little opportunity to break out of the cycle of poverty and hopelessness that they already know so well.  For more information or to make a donation to the African Children's Choir go to http://www.teahenfuneralhome.com/teahen/www.africanchildrenschoir.com |
