SEND US YOUR TAMPONS!!
 

GOOD, NOW THAT I HAVE EVERYONE'S ATTENTION,

Just want to ask if anyone would like to help with the HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF EFFORT. We are headed there and don't want to arrive empty handed. So, if you have any

• bottles of rubbing alcohol
• peroxide
• tampons
• sanitary napkins
• toilet paper
• bandages
• ace bandages
• panties
• t-shirts
• diapers
• cases of BOTTLED WATER
• or anything else you can think of that you know you wouldn't be able to live without.

OR PLEASE TEXT YELE TO 501501. $5 will be added to your cell phone bill.

Yele is Wyclef Jean's organization. He is Haitian and has serviced Haiti since 2005 through this organization. http://www.yele.org/

I still do not recommend people text Yele. I recommend donating through the Red Cross or Doctors without Borders. This isn't a slight to Yele so much as it is about the logistics of the text donation process. Ultimately all that matters is that the money gets to Haiti and it doesn't have to occur through Yele.

On another note, Michael Baisden said to send items but to NOT send clothes because these items are unable to be stored or whatever is the case. So we have the Red Cross asking people NOT to send supplies at all and other groups asking people TO send supplies but NOT to send clothes.

I recommend people just donate money. Donate through REPUTABLE donation agencies. Let the "experts" figure out the rest. Certainly DO NOT plan on making a trip to Haiti (which some people are trying to do) unless you are being invited and housed by an organization like the Red Cross. They are trained to deal with such crises whereas the average citizen IS NOT. You will do nothing but get in the way and request things (i.e. lodging because you aren't familiar with Haiti and expect a Ramada hotel) that the "experts" have already worked out for the people they have flown in to help.

OTW, where'd you get that info from? the yele website is now a bare bones thing and they took down their regular website.

;)

In spite of his negative six figure assets (WTF!) I might have been inclined to donate if his website showed some growth since 2007, an annual report for 2008, or just some proof that they have the organizational infrastructure to do what he says they do.

I am a Development Director professionally, and it's only now that I FULLY understand the importance of the capacity of an organization. I can only (in good conscience) donate to an organization that already does what it says it can do -- not organizations who say they can but haven't proven it already.

Mad love to Wyclef though.

Is non-parishable food okay?
 

Are canned goods and/or nonparishable food items okay? I'm hearing requests for those items on CNN. (?)

I hope u have a safe trip. PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL!!

Oh snap.

I was trying to be nice about Yele while discouraging people to donate through Yele.

thanks! lol @ your incestuous relationship :p

Thanks for this. It made for some very interesting reading.

aaaand that's why ppl should lurk before posting.

With the Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross, is there any way to make certain that you money is going to Haiti, or does it just go into a common fund for all of their efforts?

I looked at the red cross website and couldn't tell.

On the donation link, only the first donation category listed Haiti. It took me like 30 minutes yesterday to notice that.

I ended up not donating because I don't feel comfortable having to assume the money is going to Haiti.

ETA: I'm not too keen to texting for donations regardless of the source, but I'm more trusting of Red Cross getting their money from my service provider than Yele.

That has always been my concern when I want to make donations to specific causes. I want to make sure it goes where I intend; as much as it is possible to get such assurances.

This is where I donated: http://www.americares.org/

http://www.americares.org/newsroom/n...aiti-2010.html

Try this link: http://american.redcross.org/site/Pa...O_BigRedButton

All of the money might go into the International Response pot anyway though and they'll possibly just use as much as needed or as much as they have pledged.

just realized to what she was responding - ROTFL

I lost it laughing because this was under a thread called "going through rush a second time." The 2 titles together for just some reason set me off.

The 90999 thing adds it to your phone bill.

I work for a non-profit in an area with a high population of Haitians. This morning (well yesterday now) I went to a Haitian Task Force town meeting where the task force was trying to work out a plan to get donations to Haiti. Several of the people leading the meeting were in touch with various agencies within Haiti.

To echo what many people are saying here, the agencies and orgs in Haiti that were directly in contact with the folks present at the meeting said do not send supplies. Relief workers literally have to carry things into the more devastated areas.

It's money that is most needed to send people there for clean-up, medical aid and food/water drops. Also, I heard that there are some health organizations that have partnerned with airlines to fly nurses and doctors there for free.

ETA: http://urbanlegends.about.com/b/2010...r-facebook.htm So, that last part was probably part of the hoax that local people have bought into. How horrible!

THIS. some people are just callous. Granted, people should always verify info but still...

It's kind of similar to the FBI warning people to "be vigilant" when receiving donation requests . . . like, how on Earth would UPS actually do this? If you just addressed something "TO: Haiti FROM: My loving heart!" would it get there? It's amazing how many people care and how many people truly want to do good and spread the word, but common sense just gets tossed aside . . . it would almost be impossible for a commercial carrier to "donate" flights to nurses, for example, because how the poop would they find enough nurses in one hub to justify the flight? Et cetera . . .

The fact that you can donate via cellphone is amazing, and a true marvel of the modern digital age. The rest? Kind of stunning.

Me either, so I ended up going through a telethon on Channel 3 in Philadelphia. Is the RC doing a telethon or specific event about Haiti in your area?

Hey Jeni, I know what you posted here, but have you heard anything about the relief efforts being in "desperate need of supplies?" I know a girl in NY that claims the Haitian Consulate is telling people they want supplies over money, because they are so desperate.

I haven't personally heard that. My understanding is that it's such a mess that even the airport is crowded with planes because there isn't enough fuel to fly them back out.

What I'm hearing from everyone is to donate money to established organizations that have a clear action plan. However, I am aware that some organizations are accepting things like medical supplies.

Of course, there are organizations that ARE taking donations of all kinds, but there's the matter of actually getting the items out of the United States.

Ahh I see. Yeah, she's a teacher and her school was supposedly designated by the Haitian Consulate as a drop off site. But when I mentioned that supplies might not be the best thing to send, she went off and said she should know b/c the Haitian Consulate told them that they were in desperate need of supplies.

Just kinda struck me as a contradiction of everything i've heard.

I actually end up going with an organization in my city that has pre-existing operations on the ground in Haiti.

The only telethons that I have heard about are the national ones, so far.

A woman with the last name of "Jean" (Wyclef's wife, perhaps?) was on TJMS this morning. When they asked about Yele being questioned, she began to cry. She said he put in 1million of his own money to get it started. She also said that he was trying to help back when no one else cared. Welp, mainstream media didn't care but there were always service organizations trying to help Haiti.

I understand why she and others think this is the wrong time to try to discredit his organization. At the same time, what better time is there than after tragedy strikes and people are searching for (sometimes mindlessly) places to donate?

I saw Wyclef's statement the other night, and it seems plausible to me that he put his own money into the organization to get it started. Not only has the mainstream media not been particularly concerned with the goings on in Haiti, but most Americans have not either--until now. I can see how his organization might have struggled to find financial support.

I agree though, now is an appropriate time to scrutinize all of these organizations, particularly the untested ones, to make sure that they are doing the work and using the funds as they said they would. Hopefully, even if Yele's money has been funny in the past, this added scrutiny will make sure that the millions that he has received in donations certainly ends up in the right place.

^^ yeah, i understand why she feels that way, but ppl are really scrutinizing everyone now to ensure that their hard earned dollars are put to the best of use.

soo...what about the Clinton Bush Haiti fund? LOL @ Bush fidgeting in the vid. while I was watching it all i could think about was Kanye...ha! Bush looked like he was scared Kanye would run out and start talking.

rant ahead/

There's so much disproportionate poverty going on in America and Haiti isn't even the poorest country in the world. So, as much as I want people to be socially conscious, I don't think it is collectively our "duty" to be concerned over every struggle for every group of people. Those who are willing to serve always have been serving and always will be serving. Who's to say what group of people receives "our" concern at any given time?

Sorry for the rant, but everywhere (literally, EVERYWHERE) I turn there are solicitations for donation and service regarding this. America gets blasted SO MUCH but that doesn't stop the America "haters" (hate that word) and commentors from knowing EXACTLY where to turn when they need something. Hmph.

Dubya looks so cute lol

like a lil child awwwww

I definitely agree with this.

People (on facebook mainly) have been offended and downright angry with me and other folks who question Yele Haiti. I don't know Yele from the man in the moon, so of course I will question it. Nicely, of course.

Get out of my head!

Yep, I've had a few such discussions myself. I meant to tell you last night how right on you were.

I was going to suggest the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, also
:)

I don't think that anyone is saying this is a duty (though, I haven't been watching t. v. too much). But this is a time of extraordinary crisis and I think that people feel a great deal of compassion for the Haitians. If this moment also provides an opportunity for folks to learn things that they otherwise would not know about this nation, or perhaps a catalyst for more involvement on the international or local level, all the better.

@The bolded, I agree. I think that most of the people who feel compelled to take action in this cause are people that are probably working in their communities all the time. I would imagine that people that are generally indifferent to the need that they see in front of them every day would not be particularly moved by need several times removed from their immediate sphere.

To the rest: I don't guess the contemporary media (particularly most of those folks on any 24 hour news channels) has frequently been lauded for its ability to acknowledge either nuance or complexity. Do like I do; don't watch it.

<----news related rant free since 2008. :)

Everywhere includes but is not limited to the media. My rant wasn't news related.

I watch the news everyday and have been doing so since childhood. That's not going to stop.

Wyclef responds to claims against Yele.

o. k. :)

ETA: I hadn't seen this one. I wonder if he has a publicist?

I often forget that we have to use smileys to denote lightheartedness on message boards. That sucks because I hate it when people smile when they talk about unsmiley topics in real life. LOL.