by Bambi Weavil
Our hearts are broken watching the footage from the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of them and their families, as well as the relief workers from all over the world who are trying to make a difference. We can all make a difference by donating whatever we can to help in the relief effort. Here are 10 non-profits I urge you to support. No donation amount is too small.
(A photoessay with images from Jan. 12 – Jan. 13 of the disaster in Haiti. – American Red Cross)
Here is a list of non-profits you can donate to:
- Donate To V-Day’s Haiti Rescue Fund: “V-Day is initiating a Haiti Rescue Fund immediately to be ready with funds for the V-Day Haiti Sorority Safe House in Port Au Prince, that provides shelter to women survivors of violence and their children, as well as psychological, legal and medical support.
We urge you to support this effort, we cannot forget the women and girls of Haiti who already suffer some of the worst poverty in the world and the most violent conditions for women.
To donate by check, please mail to:
V-Day, Haiti
303 Park Ave South, Suite # 1184
New York, NY 10010-3657
Please make checks out to “V-Day” and write “Haiti” in the memo line.“
- 
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization working in more than 60 countries to assist people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe.
Update 1/14/10: MSF has already treated more than 1,000 people on the ground in Haiti following Tuesday’s earthquake, but the needs are huge. An inflatable hospital with operating theatres is expected to arrive in the next 24 hours. Donate to help Doctors Without Borders in Haiti!
- Oxfam- Learn about Oxfam’s response to the Haiti earthquake.
“Oxfam has over three decades of experience in Haiti, and we have rushed in teams from around the region to respond to the situation where our assistance is most needed. We are providing clean water, shelter and sanitation and helping people recover – your donation will go immediately to the most critical needs in Haiti, and we will ensure that every penny is used wisely.“ Donate to help Oxfam America to meet the most critical needs in Haiti.
- Yele Haiti – Yele Haiti is a movement led byWyclef Jean that is helping to bring hope back to Haiti. Projects are designed to make a difference in the fields of education, health, environment and community development. 100% of your donation will go to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund!
- The following organizations are accepting SMS donations in the US only:
- SMS text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts
- SMS text “YELE” to 501501 to Donate $5 to Yele Haiti’s Earthquake Relief efforts
- American Red Cross - Update 1/14/10: American Red Cross Releases $10 Million to Help Haiti.
“Your gift to the American Red Cross will support emergency relief and recovery efforts to help those people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. Assistance provided by the American Red Cross may include sending relief supplies, mobilizing relief workers and providing financial resources and recovery.”
- PSI - PSI is mobilizing support for the millions of Haitians affected by the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12. Donations will help PSI and its partners provide life-saving products to clean and sanitize local water supplies along with general humanitarian relief for earthquake victims as they transition from basic survival to recovery. To support these efforts, donate here.
- CHF - “CHF will distribute food aid, water and shelter in the immediate aftermath, and then we will focus on the needs of the people as they transition from basic survival to recovery. This includes some of CHF’s areas of greatest expertise such as building ‘transitional shelters’; temporary homes that meet international standards where a family can live during the recovery period; helping to generate livelihoods, by employing people in the clean up of their community; and aiding reconstruction efforts by creating earthquake resistant buildings.” To read more, and to donate, visit CHF.
- MADRE - “You may be wondering whether MADRE is actually able to transport emergency relief given Haiti’s decimated infrastructure. We have determined that our partner organization in Haiti, Zanmi Lasante, is able to bring humanitarian aid overland into the country. Teams of healthcare workers from the project have established a functioning supply chain through the Dominican Republic and are currently delivering medical aid to those most in need in Haiti. Zanmi Lasante has more than 120 doctors and nearly 500 nurses and nursing assistants coordinating emergency medical relief efforts. They are setting up mobile field hospitals in Port-au-Prince, where staff can triage patients, provide emergency care and send those who need surgery or more complex treatment to our partner’s functioning hospitals and surgical facilities outside the destroyed city.” Learn more about MADRE’s efforts and donate to MADRE.
- Operation USA Prepares Emergency Aid in Response to Earthquakes in Haiti – donate at opusa.org!
- Sodopreca (Spanish) – This is the only Dominican animal group going to Haiti specifically to rescue animals. Thank you to SuperVegan for the lead!
L ‘Union Fait la Force- Thank you for all that you do!
(Out Impact has an gay online radio station!: Out Impact Radio - click here to listen)
