By now, you’ve seen a lot of requests via email, Twitter, and mainstream media for helping Haiti after a devastating earthquake.
Here’s my personal appeal, and it’s very logical; pack your lunch tomorrow. Fridays are popular day for lunching out with co-workers and friends. And, from my experience, it’s hard to eat out at a restaurant for less than $10.
Here’s a thought: pack a lunch to work today, Friday January 15, and then donate the $10 you saved to help the Haiti quake victims. Please do your part and pitch in your lunch money. I know I am. If you can’t do it today, do it sometime in the next week. Look for other areas where you can make a small sacrifice: skipping Starbucks for a few days for example.
The small sacrifice you make can be turned into help in a country that desperately needs it.
Donating is really easy, here are some safe, secure ways to donate, courtesy of Lifehacker.com:
- The American Red Cross is one of the most widely known organizations working in Haiti. They accept online donations, help volunteers arrange to give time or other support, and can accept $10 donations, charged to your cellphone bill, by texting HAITI to 90999.
- UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders, two other groups showing up frequently in calls for help, have set up sites for their Haiti efforts.
- Haitian-born musician Wyclef Jean has harnessed Twitter to gather support for his Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund, which also offers $5 text message donations.
- The Daily Beast, a news and opinion blog and aggregator, does a good turn by compiling this list of non-governmental organizations helping in Haiti, with some context on each organization and where your money goes.
- Caroline McCarthy’s helpful CNET explainer points to lists compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle, NPR News, and CBS News.
