Help for Haiti

With the horrible tragedy in Haiti this week, it seems like everyone is looking to help the victims and their families.  Many of us are looking to give money, but with so many charities collecting, it may be difficult to decide which to give to.

This article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel gives some good tips on what to look for when giving money to a charity.  Some of their suggestions include:

• Do not respond to unsolicited e-mails.
• Give to charities that have an established presence in Haiti.
• Before sending a text message for a charity, make sure you have the correct number and that it is a reputable group.  Two groups that are reputable are the American Red Cross ($10, text "HAITI" to 90999) and musician Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti charity ($5, text "YELE" to 501501).
  
• If you wish to give something other than money, like clothes or food, make sure that the charity collecting the items is able to transport them to Haiti.  However, giving money is the quickest means of help for the victims.
• Do not give cash.
  

I am planning to send a donation to the JDC, the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. They are collecting funds to aid relief efforts for the victims of the earthquake on a non-sectarian basis. Donations are being accepted at this website: www.uscj.org/donate/relief. Another excellent charity to support is the Red Cross.

I encourage all of you who have blogs to write an entry today about how your readers can help the earthquake victims and inspire them to encourage others to help as well.

Besides my planned contribution of $18 (a number symbolizing "life" in Judaism), I will donate an extra $.25 for each person who leaves a link today (1/15/10) to their Help for Haiti blog entry, or $.05 for each person who leaves a comment to this post today (1/15/10).  Thank you for helping increase my donation!

***UPDATE*** I have decided to continue Help for Haiti until 1/17/10.  Please continue to leave your links and comments!

Thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom for her leadership in the Help for Haiti drive.  Check out her website to find more bloggers participating today!