The Earth moved, and Haiti is in shambles...just horrific.

[Mitchell]

This is one of the most heartbreaking tradegies in the history of the world.

For some reason, the text option on my cell phone didn't work, so I made a donation to Haiti through Bill Clinton's website. All one had to do on there was to check an amount desired, and designate which cause they wanted it to go to.

It occurs to me that if each adult in this world were to donate even $5 a person, what kind of a difference that can make. I confess to not having watched all the news coverage, because it was too saddening, but I have, of course, watched some of it. After seeing that, I knew I just had to help in some way.

Mitch

 

[kis123]

I respect your position, Rob. wasn't trying to turn the discussion towards politics, and I guess my father misheard/misinterpreted the commentary. you're in the right correcting me. thanks again.

Your father didn't mishear/misinterpret anything but out of respect to Rob's thread, I'll refer you to this:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20100115/pl_politico/31539

I have a corresponding thread in P & R I just started. Other than that, my complete sympathies go out to the people in Haiti and as soon as I can scrape up a couple of bucks, I'm going to donate and continue to do so until things get better over there.

 

[Babbles]

Very useful/informative thread -- texting HAITI to 90999 (American Red Cross)
has become especially useful, 10.00 is sent as Rob mentions,
charged to your phone bill. After you're asked to confirm...

Credit card companies, however, are apparently making out like bandits too,
so you might want to avoid them... as always... 🙄

 

[ZenTickling]

It's amazing how people are banding together and helping the effort just by sending a single text message. It's inspiring.

 

[TklDuo-Ann]

Credit card companies, however, are apparently making out like bandits too,
so you might want to avoid them... as always... 🙄

Yeah. Once they were challenged, some of them dropped the fees. But still... 🙄

Western Union has promised to waive fees, once their on site offices reopen, so that any money folks can spare can go to loved ones down there.

A week later and they're still pulling people out alive. It's amazing!

On the flip side...? There's still a lot to be ironed out with logistics. There's only so much that can be done given the destruction. But, even some of what should be possible isn't because of inappropriate prioritizing.

We'd better pay attention and learn from this for the next disaster!

 

[SoundSiren]

A 6.1 aftershock hit Haiti just a half hour ago. Link to an article about it below. This is the strongest aftershock since the quake. 🙁 If you haven't donated yet people, give what you can. The quote from this article below shows just how much these people are in need. I gave $10. That's about all I can afford. Anything helps. We are people of the world not just of our own backyards. 🙂 So give what you can please!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/cb_haiti_earthquake

"We need so much. Food, clothes, we need everything. I don't know whose responsibility it is, but they need to give us something soon," said Sophia Eltime, a 29-year-old mother of two who has been living under a bedsheet with seven members of her extended family.

The World Food Program said more than 250,000 ready-to-eat food rations had been distributed in Haiti by Tuesday, reaching only a fraction of the 3 million people thought to be in desperate need.

The WFP said it needs to deliver 100 million ready-to-eat rations in the next 30 days, but it only had 16 million meals in the pipeline.

Well I just returned home from a day at the nearest Military Base where I and several friends spent all day putting together care packages and helping get responders off to help those affected in the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

As I volunteer often with the Red Cross, but I am unable to travel there as much as I want to due to my medical restrictions, I am doing what I can to help those that need so much in a time where they have lost everything. And this was not a small area. A city of 2 million, losses of 100,000 people or more. An area that was the poorest in the Western Hemisphere in the first place.

I left this morning at 4am and just now got back home. A lot of pain I am personally in but its nothing compared to what those in Haiti have to deal with. Its times like this that remind me no matter the pain or problems I have it pales in comparison with troubles in other places in the world. Right now in Haiti, in Port-au-Prince around a million or more people languish without basic necessities, medical care, and the things we all take for granted everyday. The children of course are suffering the worse, especially the youngest which don't understand what is going on but are dealing with the terror.

Dozens of aftershocks still have people sleeping in the streets, and in a country without building codes perhaps is safer than being indoors but still is a tragedy.

I hope anyone that reads this, that can.....give. Be it 1 dollar, 5 dollars or more, give. Myself I have canceled my upcoming Valentines Day cookout I do with military families and the toy give away for the children and have taken all the funds I would have used and donated it all to the American Red Cross to help in Haiti. I also called several of my donors and asked them not to contribute to my funds to just give.

There are a lot of great charities that you can give to:
http://www.redcross.org/
http://www.unicef.org/
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf
And there are ways to use you cell phone to text a donation:
Text--Haiti to 90999, this will give a $10 donation to the American Red Cross
Text--Yele to 501501, this will give a $5 donation to musician Wyclef Jean's Yele foundation.
Text--Haiti to 25383, this will give a $5 donation to the Internal Rescue Committee.
All these texts will appear for the amounts on your cell phone bill.

Lastly, I am surprised this is the first thread on the subject...and I hope it wont be the last.

Rob

 

[Chloe_Vlad]

Thanks to all who donated. My husband is in the navy and is there assisting with the disaster relief. Every little bit helps.