Six ways you can help in Haiti.

We are all saddened to hear of the tragedy in Haiti today. While we still don't know the full extent of the damage, we can be confident that an already fierce, daily struggle to survive has taken a disastrous turn for many Haitians. 

Like most of you, I wanted to immediately know how I could help. So, I checked in with a few of my friends, people who, not coincidentally, I happen to admire most, and here is what I pulled together. In no particular order: 

1) Text "HAITI" to "90999" to donate $10 to the Red Cross -- Our friends at the US State Department, including Katie Stanton (@kateatstate), very quickly put together this number to channel relief contributions directly to first responders who will be on the ground there. I love that our government does things like this. (Update: I am told this only works in the US)

2) Text "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5 to Yele Haiti -- My good friend Wyclef Jean (@wyclef) created this foundation to permanently improve the lives of the most impoverished in his home country of Haiti. Over the years, the stories I have heard from Wyclef remind me of how hard the living is there. I am humbled by Wyclef's commitment to the region and the impact Yele Haiti has there every day. Check out more on Yele Haiti. 

3) Donate to Partners in Health (click here) -- PIH (@pih_org) is already on the ground in Haiti and mobilizing their relief efforts. If you have heard of Paul Farmer, this is the organization he co-founded. Working to provide health care and education to the poorest of Haiti, PIH is the real deal. 

4) Donate to Architecture for Humanity (click here) -- Cameron Sinclair (@casinclair) and his non-profit Architecture for Humanity (@archforhumanity) can be found at virtually every developing world disaster site on the planet. These guys are a collection of design and housing geniuses who work tirelessly to provide shelter for the most deserving. 

5) Donate to charity:water (click here) -- If you know me, you know how passionate I am about charity:water (@charitywater) and it's work to bring clean water to the 1 billion people on the planet who don't have it. Recently, the organization's founder, my friend and inspiration Scott Harrison (@scottharrison), traveled to Haiti to commence operations in that country and already thousands of Haitians have clean water to drink. As if the situation wasn't already bad enough, the need for clean water only intensifies in the aftermath of earthquakes. Every dollar of your support to these guys goes fully and immediately to work in the field. (Update: charity:water wrote a post encouraging you to also help their partners in Haiti.)

6) Learn more about Haiti -- So often we send token amounts of charity to far-flung developing world destinations. Yet, rarely do we have a sense of what life is like there. Thus, one of the ways I believe you can also respond to a tragedy like this is to commit to learning about Haiti, it's culture and wonder, as well as its daunting hardships. To that end, I recommend reading Paul Farmer's book Mountains Beyond Mountains to get a taste of the hard work underway. Also, be sure to watch Ghosts of Cité Soleil. Produced by Wyclef, and starring him as well, this documentary terrifyingly depicts the heavily armed gang leaders in Haiti's poorest neighborhoods. Meantime, try following the Twitter accounts of the folks mentioned above. Each of us can learn something from them.

7) Update -- A lot of thoughtful folks have left links below to other organizations who can channel your help to those who need it most. Please check out those groups and feel free to discuss them here.

Thanks to all of you for taking action. We owe it to Haiti, and to each other,

Chris 

Comments

[helphaiti]

a seventh way: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/haiti

[Fonkoze]

http://www.fonkoze.org, Haiti's largest microfinance organization, is also donating money to help with the earthquake relief effort.

[Monsicha Hoonsuwan]

You are very quick to find all these information. Thank you so much. Anything to do for people outside the U.S.?

[Patrick Jimenz]

THe eighth way to help Haiti, I am having a fundrasier in NYC, where I want the Haitian community to come out and provide food, water, the necessity or anything they believe that would help Haiti. I believe in what Wycelf states we as Haitian People must help ourself before we can ask others for help.

[Patrick Jimenz]

Its Patrick Jimenez again, please if you would like in the efforts in Haiti please email me at patrick9313@yahoo.com. I am looking to have a fundraiser in Haiti and I need your help

[Beth Kennedy]

A college friend started HELP and sent this missive:
"Dear Friends - Many of you have been asking about how HELP is faring. Thus far we have been unable to reach anyone from HELP in Haiti. We will keep you posted. If anyone on this list has word from HELP staff, students or alumni please send a...text to 401-439-3076.

Many have also asked where they can send donations. HELP staff and students are undoubtedly suffering from this event and we can certainly put your donation to good use to provide immediate relief to them and their families. I am traveling to Haiti on Friday.
www.haitianeducation.org

For more general relief efforts my friend Matt Marek heads the American Red Cross in Haiti who can be counted on to do all they can.
www.redcross.org

Please continue to keep HELP and Haiti in your thoughts and prayers.

Conor"

[Emily Ngo]

Patrick, I tried your e-mail address but it was bounced back. Would love more info.

[Corrie Caputo Commisso]

And another: http://www.shelterbox.org . Teams are already on their way to Haiti with tents and survival kits.

[Suebob]

And yet another: Direct Relief International already has supplies on the way: http://www.directrelief.org/EmergencyResponse/2010/EarthquakeHaiti.aspx

[Elizabeth Bailey]

You can also donate through World Vision (www.worldvision.org). They already have staff members there working on getting food, clean water, blankets, tents, etc. distributed to the people.

[Ed Hawco]

Please add a note to your first item ("Text "HAITI" to "90999" to donate $10 to the Red Cross ") that it ONLY WORKS IN THE U.S. Canadians are reporting (via Twitter) that the Canadian Red Cross has confirmed this does NOT WORK IN CANADA. Thanks!

[mk flotten]

mercy corps is one of the most incredible organizations and they have teams already responding to the crisis. Over the last five years, they've allocated more than 89% of their resources directly to programs. America's premier charity evaluator gives Mercy Corps four stars in organizational efficiency.
http://www.mercycorps.org/

[@SpidermonkeyCO]

World Vision and Convoy of Hope are two great organizations that will meet the needs of the Haitian people.

[Ed Hawco]

Canadians can donate to Red Cross via PayPaq (no, that's not a PayPal scam knockoff). Red Cross Canada's donation page is here:

http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=000043&tid=016

[Christina Page]

Doctors Without Borders is a fantastic non-profit organization which provides emergency medical care in more than 60 countries to assist people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe.

You can go to their website to learn about how they are responding to the catastrophe in Haiti and to make a donation.

http://doctorswithoutborders.org/

[twitter.com/ahm]

Great list, I recommend Partners in Health-- they have solid credentials

[Jessica]

I work for a nonprofit that is hosting an auction on April 9, all proceeds will go to disaster relief for Haiti!

ncgrange.blogspot.com

ncgrange.com

[PensieveRobin]

Oh, Chris...I had NO idea when I linked to this list you had over a million Twitter followers...WHO ARE YOU, ANYWAY? :)

I had the same idea in mind for a post when I stumbled across yours...amazing how this digital world can prompt us to quick action for the benefit of others.

Guess I'll need to click around to find out more about who I linked to....

A million followers...guess you're related to Ashton ;) :).

[Mary]

Does anyone know of an organization that takes paypal? I don't like throwing out my credit card # on the internet any more than I have to, and I don't have text enabled on my cell phone.

[carol]

Does anyone know how much the cell carriers keep of the donation?

[Michael]

Catholic Relief Services www.crs.org has been in Haiti for over 50 years. It is responding to the emergency and will still be there doing the hard work of rebuilding for years to come.

[racher]

The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is a great place to sent aid. 100% of your donation goes to the work on the ground and they are usually some of the first to arrive after a disaster and are some of the longest to stay in recovery work (usually for years).

[Jen]

Unicef has a secure page set up.
https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?df_id=6680&6680.donation=form1

[Hannah]

Yet another place to donate, especially if you're interested in a smaller org with a strong, long-term connection to the people of Port-au-Prince.
Partners in Development, Inc. is a community-based development org that has worked in Port-au-Prince since 1990. We run the following programs in Haiti: medical clinic/services, microcredit loans for small businesses, child sponsorships, adult literacy programs, home building, and clean water and sanitation. Our staff is on the ground and we are going to need a lot of help in order to assist in the aftermath of this disaster. We are seeking donations towards our emergency relief fund for victims of the earthquake.
For more info, or to donate, follow this link:
http://pidonline.org/Haitian_Earthquake.html

I can vouch for this org - not a scam. Thank you for caring about this!!

[Alicia Garza]

Thank you so much for providing this list.