Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 4-Relief Efforts (A Guide)

A positive storyline arising from the 2010 Haiti Earthquake is the incredible outpouring of love, charity, and goodwill that citizens of the United States have demonstrated towards victims of Haiti's tragedy. Americans are among the world's most altruistic citizens, and commit more foreign aid than all but a few other countries. Factors may include the United States boasting among the world's highest per capita income, our attraction to the story of the underdog, or that images of immeasurable suffering being endured by the Western Hemisphere's poorest country truly touched our hearts in ways that no other tragedy in recent memory has. I cannot remember seeing so many charity drives, phone calls, emails and volunteer efforts by Jane & John Doe's, and coordinated corporate charitable efforts since 9-11!

Because of the sheer number of charitable efforts underway, this blogger has undertaken to identify legitimate local (Tampa Bay) and national/international relief efforts by organizations recognized as legitimate in which we can be confident of entrusting our donations of time and money.

WARNINGS:

Cash is what's needed and is the most efficient donation method. However, I would strongly advise that you make sure you know an organization is legitimate before you donate your
money. Also, SPECIFY to them WHERE you want your monies to go, ask exactly how much of your donation will be used, and HOW your donation will be used. If you are sent pictures of the disaster from unknown source do not open as they could contain viruses. Legitimate charities that are recognized and have the networks in place to actually transmit your donations include those organizations mentioned below in "TAMPA BAY RELIEF EFFORTS", "NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL RELIEF EFFORTS", and "MORE RELIEF WEBSITES".

After 9-11 appeals, Americans donated over $1.3 billion including over $353 million for the families of about 400 police officers, firefighters, and other uniformed personnel. However, there was skepticism over how much of the 9-11 donations went to victims families. Just because you donate with good intentions doesn't mean your donation will be distributed where you think it will. Some people are well-meaning, but if they don't have the relationships in place or the organizational skills to distribute large amounts of money or supplies your donations will just end up being mis-allocated, unaccounted for, or lost in administration. Please don't just pull out your credit card & enter your personal info into a web form without doing your homework first, because it's easy to setup phishing sites that look like a trusted charity webpage. When donating funds, SPECIFY to the charity exactly HOW you want funds allocated for relief efforts.

TO TRAVEL/VOLUNTEER IN HAITI:

According to this blogger's conversation with American Airlines International Desk, Toussaint L'Ouverture Intnat'l Airport is not reopening until January 25. Only military & government aid flights are currently allowed in to Port-au-Prince. American Airlines, the primary U.S. carrier to Haiti cannot even reach their own agents in Haiti (Phone: 509-229-6000). Some travellers are planning on flying to the Dominican Republic, then driving over the border into Haiti, but some parts of the border may still be closed, so perform your due diligence first.

The Center for International Disaster Information has posted the following important guidelines on offering volunteer services in Haiti. Please consult their website for the full statement on in-person volunteer requirements.

Volunteers without prior disaster relief experience are generally not selected for relief assignments. Candidates with the greatest chance of being selected have fluency in the language of the disaster-stricken area, prior disaster relief experience, and expertise in technical fields such as medicine, communications logistics, water/sanitation engineering. In many cases, these professionals are already available in-country. Most agencies will require at least ten years of experience, as well as several years of experience working overseas. It is not unusual to request that volunteers make a commitment to spend at least three months working on a particular disaster.

The American Red Cross also states, "We are not accepting volunteers to travel to Haiti. If you would like to volunteer for the American Red Cross, please contact your local chapter."

TAMPA BAY RELIEF EFFORTS:

Tampa Gospel Kingdom (A 501(c)(3) organization so your contributions are tax deductible). Contact: Rev. Francoeur Fenelon, Founder, 813-770-5080, fenelonuniversity@yahoo.com. Many of Rev. Fenelon's parishioners are from Leogane, a city nearby Port-au-Prince which has also experienced extensive earthquake damage with some parishioners reporting family member deaths. This blogger has volunteered with this organization for some years, and Reverend Fenelon has an extensive distribution network for funds through his churches and contacts in Haiti.

Haitian Association Foundation of Tampa Bay, Inc. HAF is the Tampa Bay organization representing Tampa Bay professionals and the interests of the Haitian community at large. Yours truly is a member. HAF is coordinating efforts with Haitian-American Alliance, Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce of Tampa Bay (CACCTB), and other organizations to conduct relief drives throughout Tampa Bay. Contact HAF for drop-off locations throughout Tampa Bay.

USF Joins Humanitarian Relief Efforts for Haiti Students, faculty, and staff at my alma mater, University of South Florida such as USF Club Creole are coordinating relief efforts among several organizations on campus while also collaborating with community organizations.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL RELIEF EFFORTS:

American Red Cross ARC Pledges Initial $1 Million to Haiti Relief. Donors may send a $10 Donation by Texting ‘Haiti’ to 90999 through an effort backed by the U.S. State Department. You can also make a donation by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish) or click on the Donate Now button.

YELE Text YELE to 501501 and donate $5 to support Haiti! Proceeds benefit Wyclef Jean's Yéle foundation. Thus far Yéle donors have raised over $2 million for Haiti relief.

T-Mobile customers can make free international calls to Haiti retroactive from January 12 through January 31st, 2010.

UPS is NOT offering free shipping for anything under 50 lbs going to Haiti. That is an Internet hoax. However, The UPS Foundation is giving $1 million (USD) in cash and in-kind aid to help the people of Haiti.

American Airlines is NOT offering free flights to Haiti. This is another Internet hoax. However, AA will allow travellers to make a donation to the American Red Cross and earn AAdvantage® bonus miles through February 28, 2010. Logon http://american.redcross.org/americanairlines-pub for details and restrictions.

Direct Relief International has already sent nearly $420,000 worth of medicine and essential to the St. Damien Children's Hospital in Port-au-Prince. You can donate at directrelief.org.

UNICEF You can donate as little as $10 through by logging on unicefusa.org/haitiquake or calling 800-4UNICEF.

Mercy Corps lets you donate by phone (888-256-1900), mail, or online. Mail checks to Haiti Earthquake Fund, Dept. NR, PO Box 2669, Portland, Oregon 97208-2669.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Due to reports of fraudulent activity, MDF is asking all donors to please be wary of third-party solicitations for Haiti relief. To ensure that your donation goes directly to Doctors Without Borders, please use the secure website or toll-free phone number, 1-888-392-0392.

Oxfam is on the ground in Haiti with 200 people preparing to support rescue efforts and respond with safe water, sanitation services, and shelter material. Help now by donating to their Haiti Earthquake Response Fund.

Microsoft made an initial commitment of $1.25 million for Haiti relief efforts, and asked its employees to support relief organizations working in Haiti. The Bing homepage includes a Haiti disaster-relief link.

Salesforce.com has set up a special donation page on its website, for funneling Haiti-earmarked funds to the Red Cross and World Vision.

Apple has also placed a "Haiti Earthquake Relief Donate Here" button on iTunes.

MORE RELIEF WEBSITES:

Listings of relief sites excerpted from How You Can Help Haiti Earthquake Victims, Essence Magazine, January 14, 2010 and Haiti Earthquake: How to Help, Jan 13, 2010

Action Against Hunger American Jewish World Service
Americares
Beyond Borders
CARE
CarmaFoundation
Catholic Relief Services
Childcare Worldwide
Compassion International
Church World Service
Feed My Starving Children
Food for the Poor
Friends of WFP
Haiti Children
Haiti Marycare
Haitian Health Foundation
Hope for Haiti
International Medical Corps
International Relief Teams
International Rescue Committee
Medical Teams International
Meds and Food for Kids
Mennonite Central Committee
One.org
Operation Blessing
Operation USA
Partners in Health
Rural Haiti Project
The Lambi Fund of Haiti
The Salvation Army
Samaritan's Purse
Save the Children
World Concern
World Relief
World Vision

Updated Sunday, January 17, 2010 [Updated WARNINGS section; Added section: TO TRAVEL/VOLUNTEER IN HAITI]

Refer to previous posts in this series by accessing the links below:
Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 1
Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 2-Where In the World is Ruth Hodges?
Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 3-Cause & Effect