Haiti Earthquake Relief: 9 Ways To Help Now

HAITI EARTHQUAKE RELIEF: 9 WAYS TO HELP NOW

By Samuel Axon

Mashable

January 13, 2010

Want to help the people of Haiti who lost homes, friends and family members in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake yesterday? Well, there are several places online where you can easily and quickly donate without even leaving your desk.

Be careful, though. Some callous people have set up fake charities soliciting donations that won’t really help anyone. The U.S. Better Business Bureau runs a site where U.S. donors can verify that a nonprofit is legit before donating:

http://www.bbb.org/us/charity/

Donate on the Web

You have a lot of options on the web; here’s our list of trusted organizations. All of them will accept credit card donations through online forms.

The American Jewish World Service has set up the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund to respond to the crisis by supporting a network of organizations it works with.

AmeriCares has pledged $5 million to Haitian quake relief, and is soliciting donations to a general emergency disaster relief fund to help it accomplish that.

CARE is sending relief workers into the city of Port-au-Prince and needs funds to support its efforts. Suggested donations range from $50 to $1,000, but you can name your own amount if you prefer.

Catholic Relief Services has an office in Haiti, and luckily it’s still standing even though one of its neighbors collapsed. The organization is accepting donations of any amount.

Direct Relief International has committed up to $1 million in aid through two on-the-ground partners, and is sending containers of medical material aid.

Oxfam has 200 people on the ground to deal with the crisis, and began its efforts by trying to get clean water to victims of the quake. One of its staffers recorded a podcast describing the situation. You can donate on the American or UK site, depending on where you’re located.

Yele Haiti is sponsored by prominent Haitian-born musician Wyclef Jean. You can donate through its website or via text message as described in the next segment.

Donate With a Text Message

Musician Wyclef Jean has used Twitter to rally web users to contribute to his grassroots Yele Haiti earthquake fund. He’s urged his followers to text “Yele” to the number 501501. If you send the text, the organization will receive $5. The amount will be added to your next cell phone bill. Consider retweeting Wyclef’s updates and get some of your Twitter followers to donate, too.

There’s another texting option spreading through Twitter. You can text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 via the Red Cross. Thanks to ABC News for pointing these out.

Do you have any other ideas about how to help the people of Haiti? Let us and your fellow readers know in the comments.

posted @ Friday, January 15, 2010 6:06 AM by David

Haiti Earthquake Relief: 9 Ways To Help Now

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