& Get $10!
On January 12th 2010 a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the island nation of Haiti. There has been an estimated 52 aftershocks' measuring 4.5 and above with the strongest to hit on January 20th with a magnitude of 5.9. There are hundreds of thousands have lost everything and hundreds of thousands dead. This is a time where we need to come together and donate whatever we can to aid in the relief efforts.
Donating to Charities
There are a multitude of charities that you can donate money to like Partners in Health that Colin talked about in his last blog. The following is a few charities with a history of aiding in the time of crisis. To find more please take a look at the Charity Navigator who have compiled a list of reputable charities and a description of how they're helping in Haiti. Also the Huffington Post has a great list of organizations to donate to.
Food For the Poor is one of the largest international humanitarian organizations in the world. They are currently accepting money along with canned food donations to send to Haiti.
Doctors Without Borders is an international medical humanitarian organization. Teams of medical personnel volunteer their skills and time to provide urgent medical care to victims of disaster and war. They have inflatable hospitals in Haiti now where they are in need of medical supplies to care for those injured.
The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization with a long history of providing emergency relief during disasters in the United States and abroad. They are sending food, hygienic goods and blood for the injured among many other needed items.
CARE has sent team members to Port-au-Prince where they will be distributing food, water, hygiene kits, water purification packets and more. The organization is working along with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, Canada's Joint Task Force Haiti and the World Food Program to ensure they reach as many victims' they can quickly as possible.
Donating Shoes & Clothing
I know there are some of you out there who would like to donate money but are very low on funds. Money for supplies is very much needed for this disaster. If possible, try selling used goods to make a monetary donation. Maybe get some people in your neighborhood involved to make it a big yard sale! If that's not possible try donating new and gently used clothing so someone in Haiti can have clothes again.
Soles 4 Souls is a reputable Nashville Tennessee based charity that donates footwear to people in need. $50 buys 20 pairs of shoes and $200 can buy 200 pairs of sandals. They have several drop locations throughout the United States and can help you start your own footwear drive.
Foot Solutions is working along with Soles4Souls to provide footwear to people in Haiti. They are currently accepting donations of gently worn shoes at any of their 240 worldwide locations. Please look at their website or call 1-888-FIT-FOOT to find the nearest participating location.
Fashion Delivers is a New York based charitable foundation that works with along with retail fashion vendors to deliver apparel to those whom need it. They are currently asking for an assortment of basic lightweight apparel for men, women and children of all sizes along with shoes, blankets etc.
Donate by Text Message
Like any donations be sure to do your research before giving any money. Charities register with donations processors whom work with cell phone providers to add the donation to the person's cell phone bill. With that said, please take a look at these options for your text message donations.
- To donate to The Clinton Foundation text "Haiti" to 20222 to give $10.
- To donate to The Internal Rescue Committee text "Haiti" to 25383 to give $5.
- To donate to Yele text "YELE" to 501501 to give $5.
- To donate to Save the Children text "SAVE" to give $10.
- To donate to The UN World Food Programme text "FRIENDS" to 90999 to give $5.
Xipwire is also allowing people to donate up to $500 to a multitude of charities by texting "Haiti" to 56624.