In the wake of a great deal of bad news, nonprofit organizations and supporters are mobilizing on FirstGiving to raise money online for Haiti relief efforts.

HOW TO HELP

Raise money online: create a fundraising page for a registered nonprofit organization working to meet the needs of Haitians.

• Doctors Without Borders 01/14/10: Doctors Without Borders has over 800 staff on the ground in Port-au-Prince.  Teams are setting up tented first-aid centers and have treated over 1,000 people.  Two surgical teams departed today from the U.S. to provide additional support.
• International Rescue Committee 01/14/10: IRC specialists are veteran first-responders who set up immediate and effective emergency programs around the world during violent conflicts and natural disasters. The IRC is also supporting members of the Haitian American community, which is in the process of organizing a major response. Many of them are refugees who were resettled by the IRC.
• Living Water International 01/15/10: Earthquakes destroy water systems. Pipelines break, electrical distribution systems fail, and hand-dug wells–already questionable water sources–are rendered useless or become contaminated with cholera, typhoid, and other waterborne diseases. In response to the Haiti earthquake, Living Water International is setting a goal to repair 500 incapacitated handpumps in Haiti during 2010, which will serve at least 250,000 people.

• MercyCorps 01/13/10: MercyCorps is deploying an emergency response team to Haiti.
• Partners in Health 01/15/10:  is working in Haiti to provide medical care to those in need. Medical director, Dr. Joia Mukherjee, and senior physician, Dr. David Walton flew to Haiti via the Dominican Republic and are working to coordinate the relief efforts among the team.
• Samaritan’s Purse 01/15/10: The first Samaritan’s Purse cargo plane arrived in Haiti Wednesday with emergency relief supplies for victims of the massive earthquake that rocked the country on Tuesday. The initial shipment included shelter material, hygiene kits, and water purification kits, as well as members of our disaster response team.
• Save the Children 01/13/10: Save the Children is assisting children and families affected by the devastating earthquakes of Tuesday, January 12. With offices in Port-au-Prince, Save the Children is sending teams out by motorbike in Port-au-Prince and is flying in additional staff to help support the emergency response.
• World Vision 01/14/10: World Vision will send out 18 metric tons of relief supplies today for immediate distribution to quake survivors. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Port-au-Prince remains dire, and additional donations are urgently needed.

See what other people are doing, and make a donation:

• Wesley “Today at Lunch Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell issued a challenge to everyone in the room to reach out and help the people of Haiti.  To that end, please help by “sponsoring” me in this weekend’s Aramco Houston Half Marathon.”
• Danielle: “I know that we all watch the news and listen to the radio on our way to work, and the thought of helping these people has hopefully crossed everyone’s mind. Now is your opportunity to make good on those thoughts.”
• Students at Fletcher School: “The first 72 hours of response to a disaster like this are critical. While many of us would be willing to drop everything and fly to Haiti tomorrow, relief agencies are in need of cash, and quickly.   This where the Fletcher community can make a big impact.  Over the next 72 hours we would like to raise $1000.”
• Rafael: “The WFP is asking the international community for urgent help to assist Haiti, a country where 1.8 million people were already food insecure before the earthquake.”
• Beth: “Now is a great time to support the work of MercyCorps as they provide disaster relief to Haitians near Port-au-Prince and throughout the country.  If you’ve already donated to this cause, kudos and thank you!  And if you’ve been meaning to but haven’t yet; I invite you to take this opportunity to give.”

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***If your organization is involved in Haiti Disaster relief efforts, we want to publicize what you are doing. For more information about guest blogging and ways to share your stories on FirstGiving, please email us at:  haitirelief@firstgiving.com.