In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, this community has stepped up with unbelievable generosity, love and compassion. The expressions of concern, the sharing of vital information, and the wonderful fundraising efforts shown here provide one of the finest moments for this community in the 5+ years I've been here. You have all made me feel very proud and humble to be a part of this magnificent community.
In the days following the earthquake we have generated one of the most extensive lists of aid organizations on the web, one widely used both inside this community and outside it. We have raised almost $60,000 for temporary shelter for homeless Haitians. We have prayed and hoped and called and networked to help the victims. And we have given and given until it hurts.
Now, however, donation links have been posted here and elsewhere, and information on where to give is no longer hard to find. The main purpose of these diaries needs to change. I believe this community is ready to continue helping Haiti, and would like to open the conversation of how best to do that. Read below the fold if you'd like to join the conversation.
So far since the earthquake we have seen these efforts: TexMexand Septima have raised over sixty thousand dollars for ShelterBox, which has provided a place for more than six hundred Haitians to live while their country waits to be rebuilt. See below for TexMex' latest diary. cosmic debris, Norbrook, betson08, , swampus, ALifeLessFrightening, Norbrook (again) and Jimdotz have continued and expanded the small list of suggested recipients of your donations I was pleased to start on the day of the earthquake, with the input of many of you. mindoca has given us excellent liveblog diaries answering our questions about Haiti and relief efforts. And many many of you have given us your expertise, your best wishes, your prayers and of course your money, over and over and over. All of you who have participated are my brothers and sisters.
If you wish to find worthy recipients for your generosity, the last diary in this series by Jimdotz lists the very many suggestions this community has produced how you can help the Haitians. Please visit that diary and browse the links. Another very useful resource is the Charity Navigator Haiti donation page. Charity Navigator analyzes various aid organizations, discusses what they do, reports on what percentage of donations goes to aid, and gives an overall rating. It is the premier rating service for donors looking to maximize their contribution effectiveness, but it misses many of the smaller organizations. Both these lists are invaluable resources for people looking to help the Haitians, and each has their uses. The list we have generated here has been linked to and used widely outside this community, as I've been told by a dozen folks who've emailed me. It must be maintained for future use.
The question I'd like to ask in today's diary is this: What can we as a community do to maintain our aid efforts in the longer term? The diaries in this series have been generously recommended by all of you, but we must find another way to maintain the list of aid recipients we have generated. I ask for your ideas on how to do that so it remains easily accessible to all of us and to those outside this community who wish to link to it. Please give us your ideas in the comments below.
As for maintaining the aid effort within this community, I've heard two excellent ideas:
- mindoca suggested that we adopt one aid organization as a community and focus the site's efforts on our chosen charity. We have done this before, as in the case of the Pretty Bird Woman House, and have done a lot of good in the world.
- FishOutofWater has a similar idea: that we form groups to work on aid for particular organizations, and spread our efforts across several needs. Medical aid, water, food, shelter, economic development are all areas where help will be needed, both short- and long-term.
Today I'd like to solicit more ideas and poll you to start to determine what the best approach might be. I will place header comments to try to direct the conversation to some degree, so please try to follow the suggestions when responding to those comments. I'm looking for responses to the ideas posted above, for nominations for organizations you feel we should look at to sponsor, and for other ideas about how to sustain our community effort for Haiti. Feel free to include other comments below those, below the Tip Jar.
Thank you all for everything you've done for the people of Haiti, and for all you will do. Despite the arguments and disagreements we love to pursue, this is the best group of people I've ever been associated with. It is a privilege to be one of you.
ACTION STEPS:
If you haven't already donated to the marvelous challenge grant from swampus' friend Cliff Landis please consider doing so. Mr. Landis has donated $10,000 to Partners in Health, the outstanding medical aid program. He's still got almost $2000 to go at the time this diary is written. Kossack edumgr has a similar $1000 challenge grant, also for Partners in Health. Both are an excellent way to double your donation dollars for a very worthy cause.
Please read and recommend TexMex' latest Shelter Box diary, and give more if you can. We've housed over 600 Haitians through contributions to this smart shelter program from this site, and we're still going strong.