The Shorthorn - Help for Haiti, send a text, save a life

HOME

OPINION

Opinion

Help for Haiti, send a text, save a life

Written by The Shorthorn editorial board

Thursday, 21 January 2010 08:41 PM

Our neighbors are hurting. They need help and, as fellow humans, we need to give it to them.

Ten days have passed since a 7.0 earthquake decimated the Haitian Capitol, Port-au-Prince. Officials are estimating that up to 200,000 people have already died and 250,000 are injured, but the story doesn’t end there.

It is estimated that 1.5 million people are now homeless and 3 million are in need of food. According to a The Associated Press article, Haitians are dying in hospitals from lack of adequate supplies.

Donate directly to the American Red Cross

Not everyone can help physically, but funds can move mountains. Several avenues are available to make donations, but it can sometimes be difficult to find out how to donate and which charities are trustworthy.

Text messaging has made donating to this crisis much simpler. Texting the word “Haiti” to 90999 automatically donates $10 to the American Red Cross for relief efforts. As of Tuesday, $24 million had been donated through the program.

The African Student Organization is selling Haiti Relief Ribbons at the University Center mall and Central Library mall until 2 p.m. today. The ribbons are $1 and all proceeds will be sent to the American Red Cross.

Bungie, the company behind the video game franchise Halo, has pledged all profits from online purchases of their products to the American Red Cross to assist Haiti. Bungie states on their Web site that the donations will not apply to third party products because they make little profit from it.
Bungie has also designed a special shirt called, “Be a Hero” for the relief effort.

It’s vital to consider where money you give is going. Online frauds have been reported. Some charities do not earmark all of the funds, or they are just looking to profit from this disaster. Web sites like www.charitynavigator.org or www.networkforgood.org provide links to reputable charities.

People are dying. Now is the most important time to stand up and help. And it’s not hard to do. Give up a $5 coffee for two days and send a text message.

Get water instead of an energy drink and buy a ribbon. Buy a Halo shirt. If most university students gave $1, more than $25,000 would be donated.

How is that for making a difference?

- The Shorthorn editorial board consists of Editor in Chief Mark Bauer, Scene editor Jason Boyd, News editor Dustin L. Dangli, Design editor Marissa Hall and Opinion editor Ali Amir Mustansir
Views: 551 | E-mail

Be first to comment this article