Haiti needs our help now. Haitians lack the basic necessities of food, water, and shelter. The injured lack access to medical care because of the widespread devastation that obliterated the hospitals.
If you’d like to help, now is the time. I can’t think of a better reason to teach our children about charity and helping others when kids just like them have lost absolutely everything.
Donate to reputable organizations that are sending immediate relief and check to see if your employer can match your gift through a matching gift program that will help double your donation.Here are just a few of the many charitable organizations that have a presence in Haiti:
The American Red Cross– The Red Cross has already released $10 million dollars to help Haiti. Priority needs in Haiti are food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. As soon as airports begin accepting relief shipments, tarps, hygiene items and cooking sets for approximately 5,000 families will come from the Red Cross warehouse in Panama.
Yéle Haiti– Haitian born singer Wyclef Jean’s grassroots charity organization. Text Yéle to 501501 which will donate $5 to the Yéle Haiti Earthquake Fund. For more about Wyclef and Yéle Haiti, read this article on CNN or go straight to the Yéle site to see a video of Wyclef urging support for his homeland.
Save the Children– As it has done in recent disasters in Haiti, Save the Children is preparing to provide immediate lifesaving assistance, such as food, water, shelter and child-friendly spaces. It has verified the safety of all but 16 staff members in its main office. Save the Children has been working in Haiti since 1985 and have provided emergency relief and assistance to Haitian children and families following various recent disasters, including hurricanes and floods.
Doctors Without Borders– A donation to Doctors Without Borders supports emergency medical care for the men, women, and children affected by the earthquake in Haiti and will help save lives.
Mercy Corps deployed an experienced emergency team to rush critical supplies and other urgent assistance to survivors in Haiti. Through the Mercy Corps Blog, the team is sharing first hand accounts of their work, thoughts, and ideas as they face the devastation.
Looking for more places to donate? NBC Nightly News has compiled a fantastic list of charitable organizations that are providing aid to Haiti. Access the full list here.
There are tons of donation ideas running around the Twittersphere right now. Some are urging everyone to donate a dollar while others are donating a quarter for every follower.
Whether you donate through your cell phone, for each follower you have, raise money via a Twitter party like the Clever Girls Collective, hold a bake sale like @PamelaH, collect loose change like the students at my school are doing on behalf of Save the Children, or have access to a large jet to rescue an entire plane full of children (hat tip @KimMoldofsky) thank you. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Sadly enough, some are using this disaster to create fraudulent charities. Donate directly to the organizations themselves and don’t believe what you read on Twitter! I was punked by the American Airlines Tweet that they were sending doctors and nurses on free flights to Haiti and retweeted it to my network without checking my facts. CNN reports that “The airline is offering its frequent-flier program members mileage incentives for contributing to the Red Cross. Starting Thursday, members can earn a one-time bonus of 250 miles for a minimum donation of $50 or 500 miles for a donation of $100 or more through February 28, according to American’s Web site.” For the entire story from CNN, click here.
Growing up in Northern California, I’ve lived through some quakes including the infamous 6.9 quake of 1989. Coming home to no power and a few broken items is nothing compared to what the Haitians are facing.
So again, thanks for reading and helping through your donation!
Absolutely no compensation was received for this post or sharing any of the charitable links or organizations.
©2012
[…] traditional burial rituals, and tent cities extending beyond the camera lens. Heartwrenching photos compelled many to help and aid poured in from nonprofits, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other […]