The U.S. government is providing a few dedicated Internet sites for businesses, organizations or individuals wanting to donate resources or assistance to Haiti, following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. Up to 3 million people may be affected and more than 50,000 people are feared dead.
The U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, is the lead government agency with the responsibility and authority to respond to disasters outside of the United States and its territories. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, is in a support role to USAID. Its Web site is: www.usaid.gov.
The Center for International Disaster Information, CIDI, operating under a grant from USAID, has a site for people to coordinate their support to Haiti: www.cidi.org/incident/haiti-10a/.
According to USAID, monetary donations are the most effective form of assistance because they allow humanitarian organizations to purchase the exact type and quantity of items needed by those affected.
For people interested in sending immediate monetary donations, using their cell phones, simply text "HAITI" to "90999" and $10 will be donated automatically to the American Red Cross. The $10 will be charged to your cell phone bill.
Other ways to donate financial contributions include going online to the Red Cross at: www.redcross.org, and to Mercy Corps: www.mercycorps.org.
People seeking to restore contact with family members can use the ARC link: www.icrc.org/familylinks.
Additional information is also available on the FEMA Web site, www.fema.gov.