It's difficult to see the pictures and hear of the stories coming out of Haiti...my thoughts and prayers are with the Haitians. God help them.

Don't forget the animals!

I know that the people are suffering horribly, but so are the animals. American Humane is always there for them:


The world continues to feel the tragic impact from Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti, which caused a horrific loss of life and widespread devastation.

If you’ve asked yourself what you can do as an animal advocate, please consider a donation to our Red Star Animal Emergency Services™ team.

Animal emergency responders do not yet have access to Haiti, as the priority understandably remains on meeting basic human needs. However, livestock vital to Haiti’s recovery, as well as homeless and hurting pets, are in dire need of assistance. Urgent planning is currently under way to help.

In response, American Humane has joined the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH), a group of professional animal welfare organizations working together to achieve the best possible outcome for animals in the region. The coalition is led by the World Society for the Protection of Animals and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Currently, our team members are not on the ground in Haiti, due to restricted access in the country, but we are providing significant funding support to the coalition. The coalition’s plans include saving the goats, chickens and cattle crucial to people’s health and livelihoods, providing food and clean water, and vaccinating companion animals against rabies.

Please give today to help us support this crucial effort and other future disasters!

Visa takes a cut of your generosity

From MoveOn.org

As the tragedy in Haiti unfolds, Americans are generously donating millions of dollars to aid organizations.

But when Americans donate to charity with their credit cards, the credit card companies get rich. In some cases they keep 3% of the donation as a "transaction fee," even though that's far more than it costs them to process the donation.

It's outrageous and wrong—and it needs to stop. 

Can you sign this petition to the CEOs of the major credit card companies demanding that they waive their processing fees for all charitable donations? Clicking here will add your name:

http://pol.moveon.org/nofees/o.pl?id=18596-8519420-nS31b2x&t=3

The petition says: "Credit card companies shouldn't be getting rich off of Americans' generosity. They should waive all fees on charitable contributions from today on."

The credit card companies are trying to get ahead of this story, announcing they will temporarily waive the fees they charge on some Haiti-related charitable contributions for the next 6 weeks. But that's nowhere near enough. Many emergency donations to Haiti will still get hit with hefty bank fees. (To give a sense of how limited the exemption is, Doctors Without Borders isn't on any of the publicly available lists of charities that won't be charged fees.)²

All American credit card companies should announce that they will waive ALL fees on charitable contributions, starting today, and going forward for good. This isn't about helping political organizations like MoveOn, just helping true charitable organizations.  

It's the right thing to do, and honestly, it's the least they could do after the role they played in crashing the entire global economy last year.

But they won't do it unless they know how angry Americans are that they're profiting off of this terrible tragedy. Click here to sign the petition, which we'll deliver to the heads of the major credit card companies:

http://pol.moveon.org/nofees/o.pl?id=18596-8519420-nS31b2x&t=5

Thanks for all you do.

–Daniel, Kat, Peter, Lenore, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "As Wallets Open For Haiti, Credit Card Companies Take A Big Cut," The Huffington Post, January 14, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=86028&id=18596-8519420-nS31b2x&t=6

2. "Some Card Fees Waived for Haiti Aid," The New York Times, January 14, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=86030&id=18596-8519420-nS31b2x&t=7

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 rachlan wrote: 
I hope there is a special place for those who profit frpm the suffering of others.

As the tragedy in Haiti unfolds, Americans are generously donating millions of dollars to aid organizations.

But when they do so with their credit cards, the credit card companies get rich. In most cases they keep 3% of the donation as a "transaction fee," even though that's far more than it costs them to process the donation.

It's outrageous and wrong—and it needs to stop.

Can you sign this petition to the CEOs of the major credit card companies demanding that they waive their processing fees for all charitable donations to Haiti? Clicking here will add your name:

http://pol.moveon.org/nofeesforhaiti/o.pl?id=18594-1296280-drwQcnx&t=3

The petition says: "Credit card companies shouldn't be getting rich off of the disaster in Haiti. They should waive all fees on charitable contributions going to help the people of Haiti."
American Express is trying to get ahead of this story, announcing they will temporarily waive the fees they charge on some Haiti-related charitable contributions for the next 6 weeks. That's a start, but it's not enough.

All American credit card companies should announce that they will waive ALL fees on all charitable contributions going to help Haitians recover from the earthquake.

It's the right thing to do, and honestly, it's the least they could do after the role they played in crashing the entire global economy last year.

But they won't do it unless they know how angry Americans are that they're profiting off of this terrible tragedy. Click here to sign the petition, which we'll deliver to the heads of the major credit card companies:

http://pol.moveon.org/nofeesforhaiti/o.pl?id=18594-1296280-drwQcnx&t=5

Thanks for all you do.

–Daniel, Kat, Peter, Lenore, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "As Wallets Open For Haiti, Credit Card Companies Take A Big Cut," The Huffington Post, January 14, 2010

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

With a reminder about the beauty and value of the culture of Haiti.

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote: 
True. When I made my Red Cross donation yesterday I chose the "where the need is greatest" option.

Just a thought.. the same thing happened after the tsunami:

when donating it might be a good idea not to earmark your funds specifically for Haiti. After the Great Indian Ocean quake, literally billions flowed in for tsunami relief, more than they needed in fact, but the relief agencies were obliged to spend the funds on what the donor had earmarked them for when at the same time there are calamities going on day by day unnoticed that they also urgently need funds for. I hope this doesn't sound callous but personally I trust in the discretion and resources of the relief agencies to spend their funds where they are most needed. Obviously that is currently Haiti, but once that problem is addressed it would be great if they could put any leftover money to the best use possible.

There's going to be a telethon hosted by George Clooney that you can donate to.

Link

http://www.unicef.org/

This worked easily last night.

I threw some money at MSF.  and some of this

Episcopal Relief and Development Haiti Fund

Apple.com set up a link for the red cross so people can donate through their iTunes account. 100% of all money goes to the red cross.
it's easy, and your name doesn't go on a charity's mailing list.

the link in on apple's front page.

 ptooey wrote: 
Absolutely. And the Red Cross and other larger organizations are liquid enough to fund a huge effort right now. What they need is replenishment funds for ongoing operations, and your texting donation does that. But the impulse to give right now so that your money gets there right now... you might want to choose a different method...

Alison's aunt and cousin both work for the United Methodist Church, and have posted this on FB a few times. I thought I would pass it on here.

100% of all gifts to United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Haiti go directly to emergency relief. NO funds are used for advertising, administration etc. Consider a gift to Advance #418325: http://secure.gbgm-umc.org/donations/umcor/donate.cfm?code=418325&id=3018760 and keep the people of Haiti and missing UMCOR staff in your prayers.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote:
 NPR story says the phone texting thing... MAY not get the money to the recipient any more often than once every 3 or 4 months. He assumes they'll want you to pay your bill before they cut the check.

Second time I've seen this brought up here, so I thought I'd toss in my 2 bits.  Even if it takes longer, it's still a donation.  And there's a lot to be said for the instantaneous nature of it.  None of this "I'll call when I get home." stuff.  *bam*  Done.

 romeotuma wrote:
 NPR story says the phone texting thing... MAY not get the money to the recipient any more often than once every 3 or 4 months. He assumes they'll want you to pay your bill before they cut the check.

The devastating earthquake in Haiti has left the country in ruins, and untold numbers dead. People all over the world want to make contributions via text, websites, or hotlines. But there's still confusion about exactly which charities are the most reliable.
 
 
 

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
I saw on the Today Show this morning that our military just took over operations at the airport.  Up until then, it was kind of a free-for-all with pilots having to communicate with one another to land and take off.

Now the problem is trying to get everything out of there because the roads are blocked with debris and abandoned cars.