Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 5-Contacting U.S. Department of State

From the U.S. State Department :

To Ask For or Provide Information About U.S. Citizens in Haiti
Email the Task Force at Haiti-Earthquake@State.Gov
OR
From the U.S. or Canada, call 888-407-4747.
Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 202-501-4444.

For U.S. Citizens in Haiti Seeking Assistance or Reporting Their Status/Whereabouts
Call the Embassy's Consular Task Force at 509-2229-8942, 509-2229-8089, 509-2229-8322, or 509-2229-8672.
OR
Email the Embassy at ACSPaP@state.gov

For All Nationalities and Locations
Use the Person Finder below to find and share information about missing persons in Haiti.

Regarding inquiries about American Citizens to Haiti-Earthquake@State.Gov, (setup due to the high volume of calls) include the following information:

• The full name, date of birth and passport information (if known) of the persons in Haiti you are trying to contact.
• Their contact information in Haiti; telephone numbers, email address, hotel name or address (if known)
• Your name and contact information, and your relationship to the person in Haiti (parent, spouse, friend etc.)
• Any special or emergency circumstances.

Person Finder Tool by Google
Copy & paste the HTML code into your webpage to post this Person Finder tool on your website.

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

Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 3-Cause & Effect

A 7.0 earthquake is disastrous anywhere in the world. In Haiti, this disaster is further exacerbated by total lack of economic (banking system, inflation), government (government and non-government agencies), health (hospitals, rescue), communications (telephone/internet, etc.) & civil infrastructures (roads, bridges, public works) due to decades of negligence, abuse, and misuse by Haitian government, big business, and lack of education among the people.

Every time we begin to recover from natural disasters such as Hurricane Jeanne in September 16-17, 2004 which killed over 5,000 in NW Haiti, back-to-back hurricanes in 2008, etc., another tragedy seems to follow on the heels of the last. Furthermore, each successive government reinvents the wheel based on the cult of personality by top leaders, and improvements or initiatives by the previous administration such as hospital building, road re-construction, aid programs, etc. are often not followed up on by the incoming administration.

On top of this, consider an astronomical 80% unemployment rate (just think of how bad it is in the U.S. with10% unemployment!), the government and private sector are completely unable or unwilling to provide new employment for the population contributing to a cycle of poverty impacted by the fact that average citizens must often choose between having food and sending their children to public school which is not free. Even getting simple aid tools like earth movers to dig out people from the rubble of collapsed homes is unreasonably challenging as such things aren't readily available-if at all.

All of the above help explain why we Haitians are successful when placed in environments like the United States where opportunity to succeed is plentiful. Many of us come to the US fleeing political persecution, economic dis-opportunity, and educational disparities back home. There is no such thing as Social Security, government welfare, free clinics, Disability payments, homeless shelters, job training programs, college scholarships, etc. So if we don't care for our own, we know that no one else will. Again, it's not that Haitians are incapable of succeeding, it's that we have no OPPORTUNITY at home, something many take for granted here in the U.S. (unless our families already have or own some form of capital).

Within a few years of emigrating to the US and abroad, many hard-working Haitians have saved enough money to buy houses and real estate, and Haitians annually send more money from the US back to Haiti to help with family education, housing, etc than to any other country outside the US, a perfect example of remittance economy. We are incentivized to succeed because there is no alternative.

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 2-Where In the World is Ruth Hodges?

As I mentioned in my previous Haiti Earthquake blog post, "Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 1", my adoptive Mother Ruth E. Hodges, may be missing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in the aftermath of worst disaster in 200 years. "Ma" as I've called her since my adoption in 1989, is 82-years-old, has been a missionary to Haiti since 1969, and is responsible for having fundraised and overseen the building of several hundred church buildings, schools & orphanages in these 40-odd years. She is known as "Mother Hodges" by the Tampa Bay community.

Ma travelled to Haiti, leaving Tampa International Airport on an 11:00am American Airlines flight. Friends on the ground in Haiti confirm that she arrived in Port-au-Prince at 3:40pm and expected to be picked up by a pastor, long-time family friend and host for her 50-something missions trip by 5:30pm. The earthquake hit Port-au-Prince at 4:53pm. Based on past experience it takes approximately 1.5 hours on a good day to get through customs where officials search luggage thoroughly, inspect and stamp passports & gather visitor itineraries, and then travellers pick up their luggage at the baggage carousel. So we assume she was still in the airport terminal at the time of the earthquake. Unfortunately, our Pastor friend hasn't spoken with anyone via cell phone in the States since Monday, and we don't know if he was able to get to the airport or if he did, if he was able to transport Ma to his house in a more northern city which is out of the earthquake zone. Travel through Port-au-Prince would have been extremely difficult with debris from collapsed houses and buildings forming roadblocks and casualties in the streets. We don't believe she is still in the airport, however, because many American travellers were stranded at the airport waiting for transportation, and it seems Ma would have approached anyone who had a cell phone to call friends or family in the States.

While watching commentary on CNN, I saw the information on the newscrawl referring to the U.S. State Department 888-407-4747 phone number for those searching for American citizens in Haiti. It took me until Wednesday afternoon to finally get through the phone number as I kept getting kicked off the line between 30 seconds and 1 minute, 45 seconds. I gave the clerk on the other end all the most recent information I had on Ma, and they promised to forward the information to US employees in Haiti and relief workers who would contact me by phone once they located Ma. It's now Thursday morning, and we still haven't heard anything yet which is understandable considering there are over 40,000 Americans living in Haiti.

Ma, despite her advanced age has survived hurricanes, coups, motorcycle accidents, obstinate horses, food poisoning, Dengue Fever (which doesn't kill you but makes you wish you were dead), death threats from witch doctors & more in Haiti. She is a fighter and survivor, and has survived in difficult circumstances that would discourage-if not kill-most people. We believe God will keep her safe.

To read more articles about "Mother Hodges" access the following links:

• Mother's way By JEFF KLINKENBERG, Published May 13, 2007
• 2002 "My Favorite Older Person" Winning Essays-Fifth Place General Education Winner: Hillsborough County
• Tampa/Hillsborough County Human Rights Council, Annual Human Rights Award Recipients

Haiti and the 2010 Earthquake: Part 1

On Tuesday, January 12, my home country of Haiti experienced the worst natural disaster and Haiti's worst earthquake in 200 years! The quake registered 7.0 on the Richter scale and was centered 10 miles West of the capital city of Port-au-Prince (a port city named for Christopher Columbus). The tragedy is of personal import to me for several reasons. Not only was I born in Northern Haiti, but my adoptive Mother, Ruth Hodges, an American missionary to Haiti since 1969 was making her 50-something trip to the island that same day, and arrived at the Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport a few minutes prior to the quake.

For a bit of perspective on what a 7.0 earthquake is like, consider the following description by Professor Chris Connors of Washington and Lee University:

...the magnitude 7.0 earthquake would cause extreme motion.

"We're talking things flying off the shelves, popping into the air, significant ground motions coming up and down right underneath you," says Connors.

Connors says the fault line is similar to the San Andreas fault.

He says the reason this quake was so damaging was because it wasn't very deep; it didn't have as far to travel before reaching the surface.

The first source of information I accessed on the earthquake came via an e-mail sent from the Haitian Lawyer's Leadership Network (HLLN), a human rights watch list created by Ezili Dantò, Haitian playwright, performance poet, political and social commentator, author and human rights attorney. From her Tuesday, 1/12/10 6:26pm post follows:

General Hospital in Port-au-Prince is down,
Palace is damaged
No one knows how many dead or injured
The aftershock is revebarating [5.9 and 5.5]
People can only see dust,

Obama is sending in military troops.

Phone lines that are working are: Haiti-tel and Voila. Digicel tower is down.

Tsunami warning still in efffect [for nearby Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic & Haiti]. A terrible situation!

This blogger will update my Facebook & Twitter pages as I receive more information from international news outlets and friends on the ground in Haiti. May God help us all.

Unfriendly Neighbors & Other Tales of Woe

Pictures: Hands of Friendship and the Chinese symbol for friendship.
This week my wife, some friends and associates, and I were discussing a topic that is especially dear to me--unfriendly neighbors and people in the otherwise beautiful neighborhood of North Lakeland, Florida.

My wife, our three children, and I settled in Lakeland last year in a gorgeous condo community upon returning from our honeymoon. We chose the area for several reasons. First, North Lakeland was geographically half-way between her job in Polk County and my job in Tampa, Florida. Second, it is easy to get from our house to the Interstate for travel to Orlando or Tampa in about 30 minutes. Third, the real estate property values are favorable in our part of town and we were able to purchase a newly built unit for about $10,000-30,000 less than any comparable house in any part of Tampa. Finally, schools in the area are "A" schools, there is a low crime rate, and we feel our part of town is a safe and peaceful place to raise our family. All those factors together made settling in Lakeland a desirable choice.

One trend we have noticed in the past year, is that no matter where we go in Lakeland, people seem so unfriendly. Sometimes it just makes you wonder! Often we will shop at the Super WalMart, Publix, local mall, or will participate in an activity in the area. I have noticed time and time again that I am one of the few people who speaks to anyone else in public. I can't count the number of times that I have been wheeling my cart down the store aisle, passed someone just a few feet or inches away, made eye contact, smiled and said "Hello", and been rebuffed by a glare or a stare as if to say, "Please, you don't know me like that." It's not just White's who do it. It's my Black folk as well, which is a surprise because the places I've been, Blacks at least recognize each other with a head nod or a "What's up Brother." I just don't know any more.

What's worse that being ignored by total strangers is that we know very few of our neighbors. In the nearly year and a half we have lived hear, not one neighbor has come over to welcome us to the neigbhorhood even when it was obvious that we had just moved in. The only person who bothered to send a welcome basket was our real estate agent. One neighbor came over one day, but it was just to inform us that she's on the Homeowner's Asssociation and we'd better get our act together or else! Sometimes I will drive or jog around my complex and unless I speak or wave first, the neighbors will just look at me like either they're afraid to say something because I'm young and Black or because they're not sure that I belong in their neighborhood. But then again, these are the same people who stole my Obama yard signs in the dead of night during Election 2008.

As a Christian, I've been taught that we should be friendly to show the love of God in a dark world. As an outgoing person, I have no problem with speaking to others, and in many places I've traveled, attended college, and lived, I've found that total strangers somehow find me interesting enough to walk up to me and begin random conversations. So I know that I don't exhibit a "Don't talk to me," air or an arrogant or condescending attitude. Even when I lived in "the hood" during my youth, I never really encountered unfriendly people even among those society considers outcasts. All I'm saying is, if I take my time to say "Hello" to someone, isn't it only polite and thoughtful if the greet me in like manner? Is that really too much to ask?

Selected Blog Topic: How to Post YouTube Videos to Facebook

This week a colleague of mine asked me, "Kéto, how can I post YouTube videos to my Facebook page the way you do?" Since I enjoy sharing any technical advice I have with friends, I figured I would blog this as my "Selected Blog Topic" for the week. There are 3 ways to post your YouTube videos on Facebook.

1) Easy Way: Grab (Select & copy) the video URL (direct link) from the browser address bar or the "URL" bar to the right of the video.
Paste URL into the comment bar on your Facebook page, and the comment will automatically format itself w/image & description.
Select "Share"

OR

2) Below the video, Select "Share" --> Select "Facebook"--> A popup will appear. Enter a message if you like. --> Click "Share" at bottom of popup. You're done!

OR

3) If you have your own YouTube channel (as I have-- www.youtube.com/ketonh), you can upload a video by navigating to the "My Account --> My Video's page (http://www.youtube.com/my_videos)"

Select "New" button at top left (http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_upload)--> Select "Video Upload"--> Now you'll see "Autoshare Options" below the "Press "Upload Video" to select and upload a video file." area. Facebook, Twitter & Google Reader are listed. Selecting those links and entering your account info for those services will allow Youtube to automatically upload notification of your new videos to those services everytime you upload a new video.

That's it, you're done!

USF MBA Students Create Marketing Plan for Local Non-Profit

Reprinted from TBAH E-Newsletter, 7-17-09

On July 7, 2009 five students in Masters of Business Administration program at the University of South Florida presented a comprehensive marketing plan that will improve its communication in the Tampa community.

Kymia, Maria, Mark, Keisha, & Jeff under the instruction of Dr. Barbara Lafferty, who stated “I developed the course to be of service to the community and specifically to be of service to local non-profit organizations. I realize how difficult it is for many NPOs to get professional guidance on their marketing and promotions due to budgetary or other constraints. This class is a wonderful opportunity for our Masters students to work with clients and to learn the nuances of developing a promotions plan to help the organization achieve their objectives. I feel it is definitely a win-win for everyone.”

In spirit of community service, behind the recent community service initiatives passed by the President of the United States these from the University of South Florida have led by example.

The purpose of this project, as stated by students was, “Realizing that non-profit organizations rarely have the means of developing a good, thorough marketing plan to help them successfully raise the awareness and funds necessary for the development of their organization and execution of their programs (as well as attracting participants), the purpose of the project was to develop an integrated marketing communication plan for a local non-profit organization in order to assist them in reaching exactly these kinds of objectives.“

These Colleges of Business students were asked why did they select the Tampa Bay Academy of Hope? Their answer was, “that the Tampa Bay Academy of Hope was selected by our team because Kymia had learned a lot about the organization through her co-worker and friend, Rania Abdulla who is currently a mentor and volunteer with TBAH and has worked with the organization since 1999. We liked the idea of working with an organization that focused on disadvantaged youth. We looked at the website, and we could tell that there was a lot to be developed and discovered with TBAH.”

“As students we gained the opportunity to learn more about the operations of TBAH and the importance of marketing in the world of business, whether it is a for-profit or non-profit organization. We are also happy to have had the opportunity to provide marketing information to such a wonderful organization. We are glad that Tampa Bay has an organization like TBAH to help mold and give support to future professionals of the Bay area.”

In conclusion the students stated: “We hope that our (203 page) marketing plan will have an immediate impact on the whole organization. We hope to have provided realistic and attainable marketing and promotion options that can be brought to fruition by the current TBAH staff and volunteers at the start of TBAH’s 2009 – 2010 fiscal year. Each of the proposed components can be implemented in mass or can be independently executed.”

Watch Video: Tamyla's Dream

Baby Diary: The Name Revealed! (7-06-09)

Shirre & Kéto are happy to share our baby boy's name with our wonderful friends & family! We chose a name to reflect our cultural heritages. "Mason" comes from French and means a "stone worker" and is someone who builds lasting structures. "Salim" is Swahili for "Peace". There are several different forms of "Salim" among a number of the world's linguistic traditions.

Shirre is currently 22 weeks along and short on breath sometimes but happy that the baby is healthy & doing well. We recorded our first Baby Diary on May 18, 2009 to share with our many friends and family around the world. This is our 2nd video recorded on July 6, 2009. To life & to Mason Salim!

Baby Diary: It's A Boy (5-18-09)

Shirre & Kéto are proud to announce that we are having a baby boy! On Monday, Shirre went to a specialist who confirmed that she is 16 weeks pregnant and ran sonograms which indicate the gender of the baby. We are so excited! We recently celebrated our 1-year wedding anniversary, and are happy that we will have our first baby together, though we have 3 wonderful children by marriage. Because we have so many friends and family around the world, and for our own records we decided to create an electronic Baby Diary which we will record every few weeks to keep everyone informed of the latest baby news. To life! Watch the video below for my wife Shirre & my very first Baby Diary!

Kéto's Tampa Bay Job Search Guide

As some of you may know, yours truly was laid off from my law firm on March 1, 2009, joining millions of fellow Americans and thousands of Tampa Bay area professionals directly affected by the economic downturn. Thankfully, I re-entered the workforce on April 27, 2009 after 7 weeks of participating in a grueling & often disappointing job search, application & interview process with multiple businesses and technical recruiters in Tampa Bay. During this time, I attended job fairs, visited employment centers, trolled LinkedIn for networking contacts & spoke with many fellow Tampa Bay professionals who also have suffered layoffs, particularly in automotive sales, banking & finance, IT, and other sectors. We compared notes among each other as well as with those associates who are already employed, and identified several sources of jobs, employment organizations, and job boards which offer promising job leads locally. Below, I took the time to summarize the findings & highlight some of the best sources of job opportunities. I look forward to your feedback, and let me know if I left out any important sources:

http://tampabay.jobing.com (Angela Rosario, Community Relations Manager lives locally in Tampa Bay). Jobing is a worthwhile site because it's a job site focusing on Tampa Bay job seekers with jobs IN Tampa Bay, unlike CareerBuilder or Monster which start nationally and drill down locally. Seekers simply upload their resume once, perform a job search based on preferences, location (city/county), salary, job function, etc., and voila, a comprehensive list is generated with all the information you need to know regarding matching positions. Positions include GEICO, Hilton @Home reservations (PT evening work from home), credit unions, banks, etc. In Their Own Words: Jobing.com is the nation's largest, locally-focused provider of employment media, founded by an HR professional for HR professionals. Jobing.com is a unique online community that provides the forum, resources, and technology to connect employers, job seekers, and community organizations. [The site features] expert blogs, workshops, community partnerships, Career Expo job fairs, JobingVideo, Jobing.com CareerCenter, and Go Jobing magazine.

http://www.usajobs.gov has some very competitive government job offerings. The site offers over 46,855 U.S. Government job opportunities worldwide including jobs available due to Pres. Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The salaries alone for some of these positions should pique the interest of qualified candidates. Some jobs may require willingness to move to Washington, D.C. or other federal locales; others are closer to Tampa Bay. (Obviously state, city & county jobs in Florida are out of the question at this point as Florida government is seriously out of money).

http://careers.bankofamerica.com Bank of America is hiring throughout Tampa Bay. Obviously BoA recently acquired Merrill Lynch and will lay off 30,000+ over the next 3 years, so seekers will want to be careful what departments you apply to, but there are quite a few part time (PT) Teller jobs as well as full time (FTE) professional positions.

http://careers.suntrust.com A number of Tampa Bay positions require sales background, but for someone who has sales experience, portfolio management, insurance license, etc. SunTrust may be a good opportunity.

http://www.indeed.com Indeed.com is a search engine for jobs, allowing job seekers to find jobs posted on thousands of company career sites and job boards.

University of South Florida USF publicly lists job descriptions at http://usfweb2.usf.edu/HR/Employment/CareerOpportunities.html.
Career Services for USF alums: http://www.coba.usf.edu/services/career/Alumni/index.htm.
If you are on the USF College of Business Administration (COBA) or MBA listserv, you will receive a weekly list of networking events and job opportunities in the Tampa Bay area. Subscribe at http://www.coba.usf.edu/services/career/Students/listserv.htm.
Also view networking resources at: http://www.coba.usf.edu/services/career/Students/networking.htm.

http://www22.verizon.com/Jobs This is the Verizon Career site which includes IT jobs. In Their Own Words: Looking for a rewarding career that motivates and challenges you every day? Look no further. Explore our Verizon businesses to find your dream job.

http://www.workinretail.com WorkInRetail is yet another job board which may be helpful to seekers interested in expanding their opportunities. Jobs include retail positions in Automotive, Department Stores, Electronics, Food & Beverage, General Merchandise, Grocery & Drug Stores, Home & Office, Hotel & Hospitality, Retail Banking, Sporting Goods & Fitness, and more. In Their Own Words: WorkInRetail.com is the nation’s best retail job board specializing in retail corporate, management and hourly jobs. Whether you are an experienced store manager, a Vice President of Merchandising or just starting a retail career, find your next opportunity at WorkInRetail.com

http://www.careerbuilder.com CareerBuilder is a more user friendly job site than Monster.com. The site offers positions in Contract & Freelance, College & Internships, Customer Service, Diversity Opportunities, Executive, Health Care, IT, Human Resources, Part Time, Retail, Sales & Marketing, and more. In Their Own Words: As the U.S.'s largest online job site, CareerBuilder.com puts over 1 million jobs in front of poised job seekers wherever they are - at home or at work - in print and on the Internet. More than 23 million unique visitors come to the site every month to check out the opportunities in every industry, field and job type.

http://careers.jpmorganchase.com/career/careerhome Chase is hiring. Logon the website, and navigate to careers in the Tampa market. Keep in mind, JPMC recently acquired the failed Washington Mutual Bank and is from time to time subject to mass layoffs. In Their Own Words: JPMorgan Chase has a presence in more than 50 locations worldwide and offers an exciting variety of career opportunities globally. Apply for jobs, explore different career paths, create job search agents for email notifications of available positions and learn more about all of our lines of business, as you consider joining our exceptional team.

LinkedIn.com Never underestimate the importance of building & maintaining your own professional network using LinkedIn. It may shorten the time it takes to find a job, as yours truly discovered. (Most professional positions are gained through personal and professional networking). Members only connect with the people they want to connect with, and each connection in turn is connected to "N" number of business contacts. Starting is as easy as uploading a resume and completing your profile through a series of activities and steps. Search your own contacts or those of others to find out who your fellow college alumni are, who works at company XYZ, etc. Feel free to email your LinkedIn friends for introductions to professionals in their networks that you may not yet know, and also ask your connections for networking tips. You may be pleasantly surprised at how many associates offer to assist you in your job search.

Recruiting & HR Firms Recruiting firms can be especially helpful for finding jobs in a number of professional industries (IT, healthcare, business, management, sales, communications, etc.) A few recruiting firms operating in Tampa Bay are IT Resources, KForce, Criterion Executive Staffing, Veredus, etc.

http://www.workforcetampa.com Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance is the leading workforce development organization in the Tampa Bay region. In Their Own Words: TBWA offers services to businesses to help connect them to job candidates and other value-added workforce development services. Whether you’re a professional, re-entering the workforce, a military veteran or looking to enhance skills for better earning power, TBWA can assist in preparing and referring you to leading employers. Are you entering the workforce for the first time? If so, let us help inspire the confidence you need to reach your goals. Logon the Career Candidate Services tab to upload your resume & perform your job search. TBWFA is also linked with Employ Florida Marketplace, and is a great resource for those performing a job search while participating in Unemployment Benefits.

https://www.employflorida.com Employ Florida links all of Florida's state and local workforce services and resources. The partners are Workforce Florida, the state policy and oversight board, and the Agency for Workforce Innovation, the state agency which administers workforce funds. At the local level, there are 24 regional workforce boards that administer more than 80 "one-stop centers." The Employ Florida toll free number is 1-866-FLA-2345.

http://www.cdcoftampa.org Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa Inc. (CDC of Tampa, Inc). The CDC recently opened the Chloe Coney Urban Enterprise Center (next to Bank of America | 1907 E. Hillsborough Avenue | Tampa, FL 33610 | Fax: (813) 231-4680), a one-stop center which provides resume services, job training (1,500 clients yearly), work-force re-entry for those who have had past run-ins with the law, assistance to first-time home owners, community revitalization, career computer lab, etc. Youth programs are housed at the Audrey L. Spotford Youth & Family Center in East Tampa. The organization, for whom yours truly formerly provided business planning & development services, primarily serves residents of East Tampa, although anyone who walks through the doors is welcome.

DISCLAIMER: This Tampa Bay Job Search Guide is not an attempt to provide a comprehensive listing of ALL Tampa Bay job search resources. These are simply the major job search resources that have been brought to our attention. We hope this information is of assistance to our readers or friends who are also in the job market. Please keep in mind during your job search that often, some of the best and most rewarding opportunities are with companies and businesses that you may have never heard of but which may have a long-term presence in Tampa Bay due to their roots.

Dating Tips for Men OR How Not to Be a Playa & Make a Fool of Yourself (Part 2)

In April I wrote a Facebook note focusing on the Rules of Engagement between Men & Women on the Dating Scene. I received so much positive feedback that I wrote several more pieces, and now present the fourth piece: "Dating Tips for Men OR How Not to Be a Playa & Make a Fool of Yourself (Part 2)". Previous notes are: "Dating Tips for Men OR How Not to Be a Playa & Make a Fool of Yourself" which explored the 7 most common mis-steps that men make every day on the dating scene; "7 Tips to Winning the Man of Your Dreams OR How Not to Be THAT Woman Guys Talk About (Part 1)" which discussed preventable mistakes that women make in dating & the third post in this series, "7 Tips to Winning the Man of Your Dreams OR How Not to Be THAT Woman Guys Talk About (Part 2)". Thanks so much to my wife, Shirre as well as other friends who gave me constructive feedback. Please enjoy and do feel free to comment! All I can promise you (both men and women) is that you thought you knew everything about men, but you will find out what you don't know by reading this post. Some of what you don't know will blow your mind when you realize how simple the rules are!

Rule #1: Make a mental or written list of the characteristics that a woman must possess in order for you to enter a relationship with her: college education, career, loves children, God-fearing & moral, good manager of finances, physical appearance, loyal/faithful, good cook, mental chemistry, etc. Just as I told the ladies, these characteristics are your standards. Before committing to a relationship you should find out if the woman possesses the most desirable of these characteristics, and whether she is willing to work on the other lower-priority characteristics. You really don't have to verbally ask a woman these questions. She will tell you by her actions, and hints will slip out in her conversation because women are very good at telling you all about themselves whether they know it or not.

Because I don't mind using myself as an example, I will talk about the characteristics that attracted me to my wife. When we met and started dating, I assumed it would be a short-term relationship as I was not accustomed to or interested in relationships that lasted more than a few months. I was a "convenience" or "serial dater". Eventually, after casually dating her for a few weeks, I began analyzing in my mind the kind of woman that Shirre was. Even though she was popular in our circle, and well-liked, I noticed that she didn't run after other men who were always complimenting her & offering her gifts in exchange for a relationship as did many of the women I knew. This showed me that Shirre had a level head and did not let her good looks or popularity go to her head. Furthermore, I met her children and found out by watching their behavior that she was indeed a good mother who loved her children. Her consciousness about spiritual topics informed me of her love for God, which was very important to me. I understood that Shirre was a professional, and that everything she had was a result of her going out for her self, taking matters into her own hands, carefully saving & managing her finances, and demonstrating her independence and hard work. She was open to having a man, but didn't need a man to make her who she already was. Also, we had such great mental chemistry that often we knew what the other was thinking or going to say or when something was wrong without even seeing the other person. It was as if we had known each other in a past life.

When I considered these and several other characteristics, I realized they all matched up with my standards for what a wife should be, and we discussed whether we were on the same page regarding our future. We were, and now we are married as a result. I wasn't looking for a wife at that time, and certainly I had met plenty of beautiful women in Tampa Bay, in my travels to 30 other states, and in my home country of Haiti , but I knew that here she was standing before me--the woman of my dreams & the woman I loved--and I would be crazy to let her go without at least expressing my feelings for her.

Rule #2: This is possibly the most important rule that you will ever encounter, and following it will save you a lot of heartache and prevent you from making bad decisions which we as men may regret for the rest of our lives: If a relationship is meant to be for the long-term, it will last; if it is only meant for the short-term, let her go! Thank God for the times that you had together and MOVE ON! In many cases, both the man and woman may start out on exactly the same level in the relationship. As time goes on, both may move in opposite directions or one will mature in the relationship and the other will not, thus dooming said relationship.

In my younger days, when I was falling in love just about every other day, I realized this fact, and understood that there was no point in continuously chasing someone who was not where I was in the relationship. Many people do this unfortunately to save face; just so they can say, "Yeah, I've got somebody," because everyone else around them has a special someone. But it's not worth it! Some people come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime! This saying is just as true regarding friendships and associations as it is about romances. Also, if you have to constantly text, call, email, IM, etc. the other person, then let's be real, they really aren't interested. Someone who is interested in starting or continuing a relationship will make their interest obvious by maintaining contact with you.

Rule #3: This rule is closely related to Rule #2: You cannot make someone love you who doesn't. You can buy a woman all the drinks, cars, clothing & expensive jewelry in the world. You can pay her rent, pay for her college, and do other things which show her that you love her and want to be with her. BUT if she doesn't feel the same way about you, you are just wasting your time and money and casting your pearls before swine. As soon as someone comes along who has more intelligence, better looks, or possesses something more than you, she will be gone. This is a "fair-weather girlfriend" sometimes referred to as a "gold-digger".

Rule #4: Female beauty and shapeliness will not last forever. If you want to know what a woman will look like 10 years or more from now, look at her mother, grandmother, and other older females in her family. Someday she will look like them. If they have aged gracefully, then likely she will age gracefully as well--if she takes care of herself. If many of them have put on quite a few pounds and look like they could stand a makeover, then it is possible that one day she will look like that too. At the same time, your relationship should be based on love because not every minute of your relationship is going to be spent "partaking of the cookie". That is a young man's unrealistic dream.

Rule #5: DO go on blind dates every now and then. Your friends and family know the kind of person you are, and will generally try to find someone that is going to make you happy. However, you should never go on a blind date arranged by your Mother. She has an interest in picking someone similar to her that SHE wants you to be with, and this is not be in your best interests as an independent man. Mom may be thinking "safe & homely" while you're thinking "wild & adventurous."

Rule #6: Get all the important things out of your way first, or at least have them in progress, and then pursue long-term relationships. Because of our environment during our formative years and other obstacles that we face throughout our lives, some of us may not have our "ducks in a row" at the same time as others. In my case, even though I was from a low-income, single-parent home, my Mom taught be to be the best in everything I was involved in & I was extremely competitive and driven to succeed. As a result, I made the decision very early that I would not parent children out of wedlock or get married until after I had become the first person in my family to graduate from college, earn a graduate degree, start my career & hopefully acquire some real estate. I understood how much time and devotion completing an academic course and starting a career would take up of my life, and I wanted to make sure I had the tools to provide for whoever I would become involved with. Thank God, due to family support & perseverance on my part, I was able to accomplish at least 3 of those goals prior to marriage, and I am now able to focus my time and efforts completely on my marriage and family. The point is that all of us males may not be all that we want to be right now, but we should certainly have made the effort to be on that path that leads us to our dreams. Our women and families look up to us and often will not become any more successful than we are.

Rule #7: Women have back-burner friends too! (Remember Rule #8 in my previous post in which I discussed "just in case" friendships?) The idea applies to women as well! There are women in your life who secretly have you pegged as a "back-burner friend". They may have several options among male friends that they have dated or would like to date if given the opportunity or if circumstances were different. There is always one man in the mix that is superior to the other guys because that man meets more of the standards of the woman in question. But here's how it plays out in the woman's head: back-burner friends may have some quality the woman doesn't like, but if the best option falls through, she could see herself settling for whoever is left (sort of a process of elimination, i.e., "I'd love to have the upwardly mobile Doctor friend, but if he's way to busy or unfaithful, I could settle for the DJ friend who always shows me a good time"). One of the options may be the woman's best male friend (very, very tricky territory), but either the man or woman may choose not to ruin the relationship so they remain friends. Some women will also date openly but hold out for the long term for a guy that they can never have. This may be an unattainable potential mate whom they may have met or an idealistic mental image of the man they could have if they put all the characteristics they desire to "create the perfect mate". The unattainable man could be married, recently divorced, etc., and the woman may have supported him by providing moral, social, or financial support or befriended him in the past.

Rule #7+1: Educated, progressive men--particularly those in the Black & Latino cultures--are a commodity! It is we who are highly desired and sought after not just by Black & Latino women, but by those of other cultures as well. With this in mind, we should take ourselves a little more seriously, and become involved with those who appreciate who we are instead of worrying about those women in our immediate circles who have ridiculously high, unattainable standards for us. Note, I'm not bashing high standards; I'm bashing ridiculous, unattainable standards. There are many women who claim that there are no good men. This is simply not true. What is meant is that there are not enough men who fit their standards of what a successful, desirable man ought to be. A brother who drives a Mercedes & makes six figures is no more valuable or important than a brother working at Office Depot who works hard to support his family.

Understanding this rule means that you may have to date outside your culture, race, religion or economic status to find that special someone that is meant just for you!! That is perfectly ok, regardless of whether you get stared down while out in public with your loved one! (Trust me, I've had this experience from people who didn't know me from Adam). People who don't accept the personal choices you make which make you happy are not really interested in your happiness anyway. This is the 2000's and you as a man must "do you" because we only have one life to live!

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Cross-posted on Facebook on May 13, 2:50am.

Foreign Spam is Delicious!

For the last few months, I've been the recipient of an amazing amount of spam (also known as unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE)) to my Yahoo! email. The majority of this spam appears to come from foreign countries in Africa, the Middle East, and even a few who purport to be from parts of Great Britain. Naturally, the spam letters could be from anywhere, though I would like to think that American spammers are creative enough to come up with this particular type of spam. It used to be that I would receive just a handful of these a year, now for some reason, I'm receiving a few weekly. Just for the fun of it, I decided to do a little basic research on spam.

• A synonym for spam is unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE).
• Another synonym, "UCE" refers specifically to unsolicited commercial e-mail, or spam purporting to sell a product to the reader.
• The daily volume of spam reached over 100 billion emails per day as of April 2008.
• 80% of all spam is sent by less than 200 spammers.
• Botnets, networks of virus-infected computers, are used to send about 80% of spam.
• E-mail addresses utilized by spammers are collected from chatrooms, websites, newsgroups, and viruses which harvest users' address books, and are sold to other spammers. So it's extremely important to control where you use your email address online.
• Spam averages 94% of all e-mail sent. I believe it because my friends continuously send me stupid forwardings even though I ask them time and time again not to. If you only have a few dozen people you email then it may not be a big deal, but when like me you have hundreds of email partners, it gets to be a bit much.
  
• Researchers say responding to opt-out requests is unwise, as this confirms to the spammer that yours is an active e-mail account.

In any case, the majority of my spam letters are referred to as advance-fee fraud which is a confidence trick in which the target is persuaded to advance sums of money in the hope of realizing a significantly larger gain. Other names for this spam are 419 fraud, Nigerian letters, Russian/Ukrainian letters, etc. It's just disturbing because all of the letters start out pretty much the same way: "My dear friend, my name is so-and-so. I have come into the inheritance of $50,000,000.00 in my home country of tree-palms. Because of laws in this country I cannot claim my inheritance without your benevolence. Would you please send me your bank account number? I will deposit the entire sum in your bank, and then for your help after it is safely in your account, you may keep $??,000,000.00 as a gift of thanks for me. I am forever in your care. bla bla bla." This time, instead of just talking about my spam offerings, I figured I would share a real spam letter with you guys.

From: Ali Ibrahim ,
Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2009 4:09:51 AM
Subject: From: Dr. Ali Ibrahim

From: Dr. Ali Ibrahim
Dear Friend,

I have a proposal for you, this however is not mandatory nor will I in any mannercompel you to honour the content against your will. I am Dr. Ali Ibrahim, I work with a bank (one of the leading banks in Africa). Here in this bank exists a dormant account for the past 8 years which belongs to an American national who is now late, Mr. John Cuthbertson, who died on

Alaska Airlines on Alaska Airline Flight 261 in January 31, 2000.

When I discovered that there had been no deposits or withdrawals from this account for this long period, I decided to carry out a system investigation and discovered that none of the family members nor relations of the late person is aware of this account. Now I want an account overseas where the bank will transfer this fund.

Thereafter, I will destroy all related documents to this account. It is a careful network and for the past eleven months I have worked out everything to ensure a hitch-free operation. The amount plus all the accumulated interest is US$15,500,000.00 (Fifteen million, Five hundred thousand US Dollars only).

Now my questions are: -
1. Can you handle this project?
2. Can I give you this trust?
3. What will be your commission if you can facilitate the movement of this fund to your account?

Consider these and get back to me as soon as possible with your full names, private telephone and fax numbers, corresponding postal address, etc. Finally, it is my humble request that the information as contained herein be accorded with every confidentiality and the necessary secrecy it deserves I expect your urgent response to this request, via my private email

Respectfully yours,
Yours Sincerely,
Dr. Ali Ibrahim