I have received a few calls and emails from people asking what they can do to help the people of Haiti. The suffering following the massive earthquake is immense. Thousands of victims have died; or are injured; or trapped in debris. It appears that tens of thousands are homeless. The full extent of the disaster will not be known for days; perhaps weeks.
The most important thing that a citizen can do to assist with humanitarian efforts is to donate money to agencies that are responding to the disaster. This is the type of disaster where much of the aid will be provided by voluntary groups who provide critical goods and service to disaster survivors as quickly as possible. I encourage you to donate to the reputable organizations that are providing emergency response to Haiti.
There are many options when considering donations to aid the people of Haiti:
- American Red Cross
- www.redcross.org
- Florida International Volunteer Corps
- www.favaca.org
- Pan American Development Foundation
- www.panamericanrelief.org
- Samaritan’s Purse
- www.samaritanspurse.org
- UN ReliefWeb
- www.reliefweb.int
