Some of the best ways to donate to the Haiti Relief

Like everyone on the planet I am deeply saddened by the devastation from the earthquake in Haiti. Today I read from someone helping in Haiti, "I don't think that a word has been invented for what is happening in Haiti," he said. "It is total disaster."

To put things in a Utahn's perspective:

Haiti
10,714 square miles
10,033,000 population

Utah
84,889 square miles
2,736,424 total Utah population (2008 estimate)

Add these Northern Utah counties together and Haiti would fit inside.

Box Elder County, Utah
6,714 sq mi

Cache County, Utah
1,173 sq mi

Utah County, Utah
2,141 sq mi

Salt Lake County, Utah
808 sq mi

Total: 10,836 sq. miles

Can you imagine all of those 10 million people living on that tiny portion of the island? No wonder there's so many dead and poverty was so high.

So if you feel so inclined here are some reputable organizations taking donations to aid the people of Haiti. I'm sure there are many others and this list is probably just a small one.

American Red Cross website (link), by calling 1-800-REDCROSS or text the word “HAITI” to 90999, which will automatically bill a $10 donation to your mobile phone account.

So far this text-message and social network campaign via Twitter and Facebook has raised $8 million for the Red Cross' relief efforts in Haiti

Doctors Without Borders: link
Remember Doctors Without Borders lost all three of their free clinics there in the earthquake. :(

Oxfam America: link

Yéle Haiti: link

Healing Hands for Haiti: The organization is filing last-minute paperwork to enable them to legally solicit contributions in Utah. Credit card donations at a secure PayPal link accessible at http://www.healinghandsforhaiti.org/ Or you can send a check or money order to: Healing Hands for Haiti International Foundation, c/o The Treasurer at Healing Hands for Haiti International Foundation Inc., P.O. Box 521800, Salt Lake City, Utah 84152-1800

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Accepting donations at http://give.lds.org/emergencyresponse. The church has already dispatched aid to Haiti from their Humanitarian center in the Dominican Republic by truck. This included hygiene kits, newborn kits, tents, water, food. . . The truck arrived in Haiti on Thursday.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is also sending a team of doctors and medical supplies to Haiti immediately to help care for those injured by the devastating earthquake. The doctors will set up a temporary medical center in a Church meetinghouse in Port-au-Prince. The meetinghouse is largely undamaged by the quake.

Two planes, each loaded with 80,000 pounds of supplies donated by the Church, are expected to leave for Haiti on Saturday and Sunday. The supplies on the planes include 15,000 personal filtration bottles, which can each filter and purify 400 gallons of water. Also included in the shipments are food, blankets, hygiene kits, tarps, tents and other necessities. The first flight will leave from Denver on Saturday, January 16th, and the second will leave from Miami that day or the following day.

Some of the Church’s meetinghouses in Port-Au-Prince are also being used as temporary shelters for displaced persons.

You are also welcome to make and deliver more hygiene or newborn kits to the Humanitarian Center in SLC.

http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,3471-1-3262-1,00.html

http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,3472-1-3261-1,00.html

Catholic Community Services: The Salt Lake City charity is urging donors to contact Catholic Relief Services in Washington, D.C. (http://www.crs.org/.

International Aid Serving Kids: This Orem-based nonprofit has scheduled its fifth humanitarian health trip to Haiti in February. IASK says 100 percent of donations and contributions will go directly to families in the form of food, medications, vitamins, clothes and school supplies. See http://www.iask4kids.org/donation.html or mail checks to International Aid Serving Kids at 1135 N. 650 East, Orem, UT, 84097. Email idort@comcast.net to become a volunteer or member of IASK, a 503 © 3.