Ameristar Casinos Inc. and the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation will contribute  $50,000 to aid Haiti quake victims.

The donation will be made to the University of Miami’s Global Institute, which mobilized a medical team into the disaster-stricken country within 24 hours after the Jan. 12 earthquake.

 “This is on behalf of our team members,” said Ameristar Vicksburg Public Relations Manager Bess Averett. “Team members have asked what they can do to help.”

Averett said the Vicksburg casino has also been in touch with local aid organizations, and all say financial donation to national organizations is the best way to help.

The Global Institute, which was co-founded by Dr. Barth Green, co-founder and chairman of the university’s Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, has sent more than 100 doctors and nurses to support the medical relief efforts with more joining daily. Medical teams are working to treat a range of injuries.

Ameristar operates eight casino resorts in seven markets, including Vicksburg. The foundation, also a principal owner of the company, is named for Ameristar’s founder, who was a quadriplegic for 24 years before his death in 2006. It’s main focus is to fund research, rehabilitation and quality-of-life programs for people with spinal cord injuries.

“This donation by the Neilsen Foundation to aid injured victims of the Haiti earthquake is clearly in line with my father’s wishes for his foundation, and I am confident it will make a positive difference in the quality of the lives of those affected,” said Ray H. Neilsen, co-trustee of the foundation and board chairman of Ameristar.

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Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchan@vicksburgpost.com