How to Help Haiti: Aid Resources on the Web
Here is a list of resources I've found that Chicagoans and anyone else can use to figure out the best way for them to offer indirect and, in some cases, direct aid to people affected by the disaster.
This content originally appeared on my former Chicagosphere online-media blog, hosted on the Chicago Tribune's ChicagoNow network.
(Updated 7:27 p.m.) Several fellow Twitterers have been asking today how they can help the victims of yesterday's devastating earthquake in Haiti that leveled the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Here is a list of resources I've found that Chicagoans and anyone else can use to figure out the best way for them to offer indirect and, in some cases, direct aid to people affected by the disaster...
- The Center for International Disaster Information Haiti Earthquake Humanitarian Emergency page, a main coordination page for American aid;
- The American Red Cross Haiti Earthquake info page, also accepting immediate $10 donations via text message;
- UNICEF USA has an online donation site to aid Haitian children affected by the quake;
- Mercy Corps, seeking donations;
- CARE, seeking donations;
- OperationUSA, seeking donations;
- Catholic Relief Services, seeking donations;
- National Nurses United, which is seeking nurse volunteer to potentially travel to Haiti; and
- The Salvation Army, which is seeking donations (although as a gay American, I list this anti-gay organization with strong reservations.)
The U.S. State Department has also set up a toll-free number for Americans to check on U.S. citizens living in the disaster zone, and the White House blog includes aid resource information as well.
Finally, the best, most timely updates about happenings in Haiti right now seem to be coming from the BBC. Check this regularly updated BBC News live web feed for the latest news from Haiti and Port-au-Prince.
