Help for Haiti

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In times like these, when our country has its own problems (as do our states, our neighborhoods, and our households), it can be easy to focus on those and tune out of what we are seeing on the news. However, the situation in Haiti just can't be ignored, nor should it be.

On the news, I watched as a father mourned his wife and three of his four children who died in the earthquake. He worried that his eldest daughter had suffered the same fate as he searched for her. He wondered aloud why, if his missing daughter was indeed no longer alive, God had taken his family and left him alone to suffer. I couldn't help but put myself in his shoes for a horrible, sad moment; I couldn't even imagine how hopeless and heartbroken he must feel.

Less than an hour later I received an email from Crystal at Money Saving Mom, organizing an effort to raise money for those affected by the earthquake in Haiti. I took this as a sign! Her idea to raise money by encouraging people to share publicly how they are helping was a great one, and one I definitely wanted to be a part of. However, my knee-jerk reaction was: how on earth were we going to be able to do this? With me being laid off, us having a small baby, and our modest income barely covering our expenses, it didn't seem possible. Such a small donation as we would be able to swing seemed pointless.

But then I thought about it again. Even if we could only give a dollar, ONE DOLLAR, how would that not help? If everyone in our state of Massachusetts gave up their morning paper or coffee for just ONE DAY and instead donated that dollar to relief efforts, that would add up to 6 MILLION DOLLARS. How would 6 million dollars not help?!? It was not my donation but my thinking that was flawed... I have been guilty of not donating to a cause for fear my donation would be measly and embarrassing, when all that time I could have been giving my dollar to worthwhile causes. That dollar would then team up with other dollars and before you know it, we've bought a winter coat or a meal for someone who would have otherwise gone without. As Crystal pointed out, a bucket of water is made up of lots of tiny drops!

So here is our tiny drop for Haiti: from now until Jan. 21, 2010, for every comment or link to a blog post about how you have helped Haiti in this crisis, we will donate $.25 to the American Red Cross' efforts there. We fully realize this is not a huge amount, but it is what we can afford at the moment, and the idea is that all those quarters will add up to not only a meaningful donation but also a sense of community, where we can all see how our efforts are working together to help the victims of the earthquake.

If you cannot donate money at this time, never fear! You can take up a collection of medicine, food, or clothing if you feel comfortable with that, or even just pass the link to this post along to people you know so that they might be able to help. Help has no boundaries or limits -- or minimums -- and anything you can do will be combined with other efforts to assist those who very desperately need it at this time.

Please note: there are a lot of scams running out there... if you need ideas of organizations that are legit and will offer direct assistance to Haiti, here are some:

The American Red Cross

Oxfam International

The Salvation Army

So once more, if you are so inclined:

1) Write a blog post about how you have helped the earthquake victims in Haiti and link it up below (please link directly to your Haiti post) OR

2) Leave a comment letting us know how you helped the earthquake victims in Haiti

and for each comment or blog post added now until Jan. 21, 2010, we will donate $.25 to the Red Cross. And if you are leaving a blog link, please make every effort to stop by and leave your link on other bloggers' sites... the more links the better! Pass it on!!

Comments

[Brittan]

We donated through Crisis Response International (CRI). They sent a team down yesterday to assist with search and rescue. Thanks for doing this!

[leanna]

im helping by leaving comments on all the different blogs that i can. i know thats not a lot - its the least i can do

[Lorinda]

I now have hope for Haiti! Utilizing the social networking media for such a worthy cause as this is amazing and I am grateful to have a way to help in the small way that I can. Thank you for such a wonderful idea and a way to make a difference in this world.

[Lydia]

We know a couple that has lived down there for a number of years and works with the Haitians helping them physically and spiritually. We gave them a donation so that they could help directly in whatever way they can.

[Katie]

http://www.just1dollar4haiti.org/ is the website specifically for earthquake relief for the nonprofit Haiti Cheri Havest Life Ministries (www.haiticheri.org). They are an mission organization that partners with Haitian people to improve their quality of life (education, food, medical, etc). Any money donated now goes to earthquake relief. You can check out the website for a link to up-to-date info and correspondence from Haitian friends about the earthquake and effects, and you can make tax-deductible contributions securely online. You are right that every little bit helps- most Haitian people live on less per day than we can scrape out of the ashtray for a Coke in the drive-thru. Having done mission work in Haiti, I have seen first-hand the desolation of everyday life forthe Haitian people. This epic disaster is truly heartbreaking, and the long-term consequences are beyond what I can even fathom. Thanks for posting, and thanks for your generosity.

[Resa]

Thank You for doing this. I have donated to Yele, a great organization. It's so nice to see everyone coming togheter. My heart goes out to Haiti and all the people around the world that have been affected by this quake.

[jennie]

We donated to the US fund for UNICEF and also to a local (Kentucky)-based charity called Ten Kids whose goal is to provide a safe home, education, etc. to Ten Kids http://www.tenkids.org/. I like the idea of giving to an organization meeting general needs of the people of Haiti and to one meeting the needs of specific children. We are so blessed--I can't imagine the losses of the Haitian people.

[Kathie]

Thank you for doing this - every little bit will help! And it looks like there will be lots of "little bits" all over the internet the next several days.
My family donated the American Red Cross on Wednesday.

[mandy]

I'm praying for the victims and their families!

[Renee]

I texted my donation to the American Red Cross. This is a great idea. Now I am going to work my way down the list of bloggers. Thanks for doing this. This may seem small, but I have a feeling once we all visit all the blogs, it's going to be big.

[ElizabethJ]

We're making a donation to LDS Humanitarian services.

[Denise@TogetherWeSave]

This is awesome!!

[Bridget]

I donated to humanesociety.org; they happened to have a team in the Dominican Republic at the time which they want to send to Haiti.

[Ellen]

We're giving to Compassion International. I've also heard good things about Cure, so we'll be looking into that. Thanks for doing this!

[Jenn @ Beautiful Calling]

Our family is sending up prayers to the One who can do the most!!
Our church also took and sent contributions in and we bough tickets on Hope for Haiti.
My heart breaks especially for the little ones affected. We truly are blessed and I am thankful that we are able to bless others in return!

[Jessica]

I’m doing all the link-clickin I can, and we will be donating, too. Thanks for what you are doing to help–every little bit helps!

[judy]

We're donating to Samaritan's Purse over on our blog!!!

[Maggie]

Thank you for doing this. My husband and I donated through Samaritan's Purse. And now I'm clicking to comment on every site I can...every little bit helps!

[Tiffany S.]

Due to our financial situation, I am commenting on as many sites as possible to raise donations for the relief effort. Bless you for not only helping but providing a way for everyone to help too!

[terri]

We have donated through World Vision & today my teenage son texted me and asked me to pull 1/3 of his savings so we could sent it to Haiti

[Rachel]

Phew- my fingers are on fire from
commenting, posting and linking up!~ :)

God Bless Your Efforts!

[Amanda]

Today, I posted a note on Facebook about donating just by texting HAITI to 90999. Read more about it here and PLEASE help those in need: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/01/14/financial/f145718S28.DTL&type=business

[Erin]

We are tight this month on our budget but we donated $10 to the American Red Cross for specifically the Haiti rescue and recovery effort. What a wonderful thing you are doing by networking and willngness to match the rest of us donating! Thank you!

[The Saved Quarter]

I donated $10 to The Red Cross and am linking to as many blogs as I can find that are offering $$ for links!

[Bobbi]

I donated through text message to Red Cross and am leaving comments on every blog offering money! Keep up the good work and Thank You for doing this!!