Thursday, January 14, 2010
Helping Haitians
Posted By Josh Loftin on January 14, 2010, 2:07 PM
Helping Haitians can be as easy as a text, plus other ways to do something.---
The devastation in Haiti after a 7.0 earthquake rocked the island nation is gut-wrenching in the same way that the earthquake in Kashmir, Pakistan, in 2005, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, or Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Also, like those disasters, the earthquake can make a person feel helpless. But helpless is not something people have to be.
For Utahns, there are a few simple ways to help. My advice is to stick to the proven organizations for any financial donations, because they know what they are doing and, ideally, will not simply be stealing your money.
The obvious organization is the Red Cross. The local chapter at www.utahredcross.org has a link on their front page to donate to the relief efforts. You can also text "Haiti" to 90999 and automatically donate $10, charged on your next cell phone bill.
At City Weekly, we take plenty of shots at the LDS Church. However, one area where they deserve a lot of credit is their humanitarian efforts. For this disaster, they have already partnered with Islamic Relief USA (a common partner for them in these types of things) and already have two planes carrying $1 million worth of survival necessities ready to fly.
To donate to the LDS Church's relief efforts, go here. To donate to Islamic Relief USA, go here.
Another way to help on the local front: Reach out to any Haitian friends you may have. Comfort them if needed, and also offer to help them find anyone they may know down there. The Red Cross has a website for finding people, and there are also many news reports about the impact Twitter and Facebook is having to finding people. More than likely, they have already been trying desperately to find people they know, but another pair of searching Web eyes certainly would not hurt.
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