(AP)

Please remember to watch Greta Van Susteren’s On the Record tonight at 10pm ET on the Fox News Channel for a special on Haiti and the great work Samaritan’s Purse is doing to help there.

February 19, 2009, Juneau, Alaska – Following up on several trips to Western Alaska by multi-agency state personnel, Governor Sarah Palin and Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell will travel with Franklin Graham, President and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, to the communities of Marshall and Russian Mission on Friday. Samaritan’s Purse is a nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid across the world. Working with private sector and nonprofit resources, an estimated 10,000 pounds of food will be distributed to more than 200 Alaska families in need.

For several weeks the administration has been working with residents on the Lower Yukon in an attempt to identify their eligibility for various aid programs for communities and individuals. Five state departments and the governor’s rural affairs advisor, John Moller, are involved in the immediate relief effort, and are currently visiting communities across the region. Faith-based, non-profit groups, such as Samaritan’s Purse, have partnered with state agencies and have been instrumental in providing assistance to Western Alaska in recent weeks. The Department of Public Safety has utilized its aircraft to deliver food collected from around the state by faith-based and other nonprofit organizations. The Department of Public Safety is working with the Department of Education and Early Development personnel in implementing a plan to provide bulk foods to area residents.

Additionally, state benefit specialists from the Department of Health and Social Services visited Emmonak recently and enrolled individuals in several existing public assistance programs. The Department of Fish and Game has expanded the moose-hunting season for residents, and is also reviewing concerns with the commercial king salmon fishery that many Lower Yukon River residents depend on for a substantial portion of their income.

The governor’s trip to Western Alaska, coupled with work on the economic stimulus certification requirements and budget amendments, will prevent her from attending the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, D.C., this weekend.

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