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Ross DiGiorgio and his helpers loaded up a truck with supplies to go to the impoverished nation of Haiti on Jan. 2.

“What we’re trying to do now is to put things in the truck that will help the people, typically clothing and school supplies,” said DiGiorgio, who is owner/broker of Ross Realtors on Cemetery Road in Hilliard. “We’re also trying to take with us some things that can create some small jobs.”

Among those things are wheelbarrows.

“In Haiti, if you just had a wheelbarrow, something as simple as that, you could work in the marketplace,” DiGiorgio said. “As people buy 50-pound bags of rice or beans, they need those carried away. So these guys put them in the wheelbarrows and they’ll haul those things. The thing is, there are wheelbarrows in Haiti, but they cost about $130. Typically, no one has $130, and the bank’s not going to lend anybody $130. Therefore, they’re unemployed.

“Unemployment is high in Haiti. We’re trying to take some things like that working through the local church there, and making sure these get in the right hands as well.”

DiGiorgio said he and his family have been involved in relief efforts in Haiti for several years now by sending truckloads of supplies a couple of times a year.

After it was loaded up, Michelle Kennedy, realtor/office manager for Ross Realtors, drove a full truck of supplies last week from DiGiorgio’s Dublin garage to West Palm Beach, Fla., a trip of over 1,100 miles and 18 hours.

“I am in awe every day as I watch Ross and his family work diligently in their free time to find solutions for the desperate and hurting people of Haiti,” Kennedy said.

DiGiorgio said the vehicle and supplies will be put on a ship bound for Saint-Marc, Haiti. The journey by ship will only take a couple of days, but it will take another month for the shipment to get out of the port because nothing is computerized, he said. DiGiorgio will travel to Haiti in February to pay the import tax, get the truck out of the port depot and unload the supplies.

Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, was further devastated by an earthquake in 2010 that killed thousands and left more than 1 million people homeless.

“The earthquake only made things worse,” DiGiorgio said. “They’re still living in tents. There’s just no employment there. That’s the hardest thing. If we could just get employment, that would be great. We can’t change that nation. We’re only starting with some families, and then they can help É other people.”

DiGiorgio said he has recently established a nonprofit organization for those who want to donate to help Haiti. For more information, call Ross Realtors at (614) 771-6100.