A Disaster in Haiti and How You Can Help

Most of you have probably heard about the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti yesterday, the strongest earthquake in over 200 years (7.0 in magnitude). Many schools, hospitals, churches, homes and other buildings, including the presidential palace and the Hotel Villa Creole in Port-au-Prince, collapsed and were completely destroyed. Possibly several hundred thousand people were killed (the exact number of casualties is not yet known) and even more are still missing, trapped inside of buildings or beneath the rubble. This disaster just adds to the suffering of an already impoverished nation, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Several of the friends I have made at my university are Haitian and have family members still living in Haiti. Some of them have not been able to contact their parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, grandparents etc. to see if they are alright. It's a very sad and scary situation, and I just wanted to do my part in raising awareness and helping in any way that I can. To learn more about how you can help, please visit the following websites:

American Red Cross 

Yéle Haiti  

Mercy Corps

Doctors Without Borders

CLICK HERE for more ways you can help!

For missing family members, call 1-888-407-4747

Text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross relief efforts

The $10 will be charged to your phone bill, and all proceeds WILL go to the Red Cross, I've done my research and that is the official Red Cross contact number being promoted by the White House's website. Please be wary of other SMS charities you may see in the future, as a lot of them are scams. Also, since most of you do not pay your own phone bills lol, ASK YOUR PARENTS FIRST! :)

**Just bumped the post up to the top!