Easy Ways to Assist HAITi
On January 12 at 5:00 pm Eastern time, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, 10 miles south of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Initial reports suggest widespread damage and casualties are feared to be over one hundred thousand people. Red Cross estimates that 3 million people, one third of Haiti's population, have been affected by the earthquake. Extensive search and rescue efforts are underway but, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there is very little access to many parts of Haiti because of debris and closed roads. Many government buildings in Port-au-Prince have been damaged or destroyed, including the National Palace and the U.N. Peacekeeper compound.
How You Can Help
The scale of destruction in Haiti is catastrophic. Should you like to make a donation we encourage you to directly donate to relief organizations by clicking on any of the blue links below:
- American Red Cross
- Medecins Sans Frontieres
- Rotary International
- Salvation Army
- Save the Children
- World Food Programme of the United Nations
- International Medical Corps
- GlobalGiving
- More organizations can be found at NetworkforGood
- The Disaster Center provides a comprehensive list of international disaster relief agencies
Anyone with a US cell phone can donate $10 to the Red Cross by texting "Haiti" to 90999. This is a State Department Program which has reported raising 3 million.
Related Resources
The White House is the federal website with a great deal of information regarding the response efforts by our government
Relief Web is the global hub for time-critical humanitarian information on Complex Emergencies and Natural Disasters
Entrepreneurs Foundation (EF) Disaster Response Resource Guide
This toolkit is intended to guide corporations of any size in establishing a Disaster Response plan that reflects the values of that corporation and is aligned with the strengths of the business. Included is a disaster response flow chart, evaluation scorecard, and response checklist. You'll also find the results of a 2008 Silicon Valley disaster study sponsored by Symantec and Synopsys.
U.S. Chamber's BCLC lists company donations to recent disasters and provides a disaster alert map.
The Council on Foundations is another way to receive information on how you can help Haiti. You can visit their disaster grantmaking website at http://www.cof. org/disasterresponse for current information.