HAITI hit by 7.0 earthquake - what can we do?

Pitu: I went to Haiti on a relief effort when I was a freshman in high school. Thank you for this - I am also searching for any way to help and will let you all know what I find. This is just devastating.

I find that it's best to give, give to a more efficient organization. Oxfam America is such an organization, The others OK but you get more going to the relief than to other costs. And you can opt out of them selling your addresses

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/

Another good list of links from the Times:

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/haiti-disaster-relief-how-to-contribute/

Doctors Without Borders is another organization already on the ground in Haiti. Port au Prince has been virtually destroyed and there are possibly hundreds of thousands dead. Help if you can.

Just passing this info along for my friends at The Pieces Boutique on Park Place and Vanderbilt.


PRESS RELEASE
Jan 2010

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Latisha Daring
Pieces Boutique
[email protected]
HAITI RELIEF @ PIECES

The Country of Haiti has undergone tremendous tragedy and desperately needs our support, prayers and donations. Starting today you can drop off clothing, canned goods or monetary donations for Yele Haiti. If these world tragedies teach us anything it is to care for one another.



Yele Haiti Organization

Changing thousands of lives in this desperately poor but optimistic nation.
Yéle Haiti uses music, sports and the media to reinforce projects that are making a difference in education, health, environment and community development.

"The objective of Yéle Haiti is to restore pride and a reason to hope, and for the whole country to regain the deep spirit and strength that is part of our heritage."
- Wyclef Jean

The Hati airport is inoperable, not because the runway is destroyed, but because the actual airport towers that run the system crumbled to the ground :shock:

IheartBKNY wrote: In aid of Haiti….We are helping The Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce Inc. (CACCI) by collecting bottled waters, emergency medical supplies and non perishable foods. Flatbush Caton Market 814 Flatbush Avenue and Super Wings NY 1218 Union St.(Off Nostrand) to serve as drop off points. PLEASE LEND A HAND !

I'm sure your heart is in the right place but please just give money. The costs of transporting these types of goods is too high.

A good article on choosing a charity - a lot of it is common sense, but I still found it helpful.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1004

Subject: Erik Parker "The Parker Report" Amazing young Jour

Check The Parker Report out!

A great young journalist is reporting live from Haiti with heart wrenching images that will shake you to make sure you get up and take action to help!!!

http://twitpic.com/photos/theparkerreport

FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER to follow his journey and click the link for Haiti through his eyes.

Subject: MLK Day of Service (Sewing for Haiti)

Through word of mouth and the media, I am learned all the ways I can donate money and supplies to the relief aid. But, I was curious if I could do more…

Well, in BedStuy on Monday Jan 18th fittingly Martin Luther King Day, Sue Rock Originals Design Studio is hosting a volunteer event where you can learn to sew wrap skirts for women and children in Haiti who no longer have anything. It’s something small I know, but every bit helps…


Details:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/communityservice/gpcdl9


SUE ROCK CREATES FOR HAITIAN SURVIVORS

WE ARE CALLING FOR ALL THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN DIRECT SUPPORT FOR HAITIAN SURVIVORS TO COME:


MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY

MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2010
11:00AM - 6:00PM



SUE ROCK ORIGINALS DESIGN STUDIO

1069 BERGEN STREET
Between Nostrand and Rogers Avenues
Brooklyn, New York, 11216


VOLUNTEERS WILL LEARN TO SEW TO CREATE WRAP SKIRTS FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN DEVASTATED BY THE EARTHQUAKE.
COME AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

VOLUNTEERS WHO CAN SEW, CUT, FOLD FABRIC, PACK BOXES AND ENJOY WORKING TOGETHER SHOULD COME TO OUR STUDIO!

A little about the studio-- Sue Rock Originals Everyone is a domestic violence service organization which provides handcrafted clothing and accessories to women who have left violent situations. For over five years we have worked in the Domestic Violence community providing clothing and accessories to residences throughout New York City.


I myself don’t know how to use a sewing machine, but I can use a scissor, and can definitely pack boxes so don’t let inexperience keep you from volunteering…

great info! thanks everyone! umm..hate to snark on this thread, but really, sewing a fkn skirt? are you kidding me?!! it's costly to bring clothes there, and park slope has plenty of already made clothing to send. there will be donation drives at your local stores this week.
thanks for your research union st. and pitu!!

i get the argument about donating money rather than objects, but i'm curious to know whether there even is a supply of clothing (for instance) available to buy in haiti at present. if not, then clothing needs to come from somewhere.

sewing skillz PSA: skirts have the advantage of being the easiest kind of clothing to sew, not that actual sewing is the most time-consuming part of making a garment. i'm sure there will be people who can sew a straight seam (or be taught in 10 minutes).

Thank you to Voodoo, Union Street and everyone else.

Voodoo is right about Charity Navigator. It's an easy way to find out how much of any charitable donation actually goes to the cause and how much is spent on fund raising and administrative expenses. After I read about people dying while waiting for medical attention I donated $200 to Doctors Without Borders. That is a lot of money for me to be able to pull out of a tight budget--more than I have in my bank account and so I had to use a credit card instead of doing a money transfer to Doctors Without Borders.

Oxfam is another group with a low expense ratio.

I hope that everyone will contribute something, and fast. Time is really of the essence in Haiti.

As soon as I can drag my 12-year-old out of bed, she'll be making a donation, too. A lot? No. Still, I know that she will feel good about herself for having helped. Getting one's children involved in the rescue effort has a silver lining--albeit, one that that no one would relish--it teaches personal empowerment and reinforces the conviction that no one is left unhurt when our world sustains such a magnitude of human loss.

VoodooNYC wrote: A good article on choosing a charity - a lot of it is common sense, but I still found it helpful.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1004

or,
http://www2.guidestar.org/rxg/give-to-charity/haitian-relief-efforts.aspx

My earlier post was based on organizational first hand information. Preparations are being made to send goods down. I'm sure the Logistics are being worked out by the decision makers.