By now, most of us have seen the heartbreaking scenes of destruction, suffering and death coming from Haiti, following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck there at 4:53pm local time, January 12th, approximately 10 miles from Port-au-Prince. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people are feared dead, as the capital city has been devastated.
To do our small part in helping to raise money for this cause, we’ll be performing at a benefit show here in New York City, along with a handful of other musicians, and we’ll post details on that as they’re finalized in the next day or two.
When disasters of this magnitude occur, sometimes amidst the media coverage and discussion, it can be less clear to know where to go to help or to donate the much-needed money for relief and eventual recovery. So with thanks to our friends at Air Traffic Control for putting this together, here is a concise shortlist of organizations that are already in place to help, and that you can help, by donating whatever you can….
IMMEDIATE SUPPORT
Established disaster recovery organizations and national governments have been mobilized. Click on the names of any of the following organizations which are also raising funds for relief efforts:
Oxfam
Doctors Without Borders
LONG-TERM SUPPORT
Crucial recovery and rebuilding efforts are always under-funded in comparison to immediate relief efforts. Here are three organizations that have distributed staff in the country now and more importantly, have a long-standing, grassroots presence in Haiti and are well positioned to aid in the long-term recovery effort:
Partners in Health
Fonkoze
The Lambi Fund of Haiti
DONATE BY TEXT-MESSAGE
Making things even easier, you can also make a set-amount donation via text-message (U.S. Only). The amount of the donation will be added to your cell phone bill:
Text the word “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross.
LASTLY…
A good wrap-up of the relief efforts currently under way, here.
Thank you,
the wrens