Haiti

[sapphire]

We are all aware of the devastation in Haiti and the appeals for help. These appeals are for both humans and for animals.

There have been appeals from the Red Cross and Wyclef Jean's Yele Foundation and phone numbers that can be used to make donations.

This morning I received a request for donation from United Animal Nations to be
used to benefit animals affected by the Haitian earthquake. United Animal Nations is a know, recognized animal welfare/relief organization.

A number of animal relief/animal welfare groups are or will be requesting
donations to help provide care for the animals in Haiti affected by the
earthquake.

If you receive a request for donations from any relief organization, animal or
human in focus, please investigate that organization's standing on the website
of Charity Navigator: charitynavigator.org before donating.

Several animal related organizations have been soliciting funds including:
United Animal Nations, based in San Francisco, CA: uan.org
International Fund for Animal Welfare, based in Yarmouthport, MA: ifaw.org
World Society for the Protection of Animals, based in Boston, MA: wspa-usa.org
American Humane Association, based in Denver, CO: americanhumane.org
Best Friends Animal Society, based in Kanab, UT: bestfriends.org

All of these organizations state that donations will be funneled into the newly
formed Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) an international group of
professional animal welfare organizations committed to aiding animals in Haiti.

For more information regarding ARCH, please visit the American Humane
Association's press release on the subject at
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases ... pports-ani\
mal-relief-efforts-in-haiti-through-international-coalition-81766177.html

The Humane Society of the United States: humanesociety.org is requesting
donations but has not been able to conduct an assessment of the situation in
Haiti and has not articulated any definite plans to provide relief. See Wayne
Pacele's blog. Mr. Pacele is President and CEO of The HSUS.
http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2010/01/haiti.html


There will be a "Hope for Haiti" telethon on Friday, January 22 from 8 to 10pm
(assumption is EST), hosted by Geogre Cloony and including Wyclef Jean and
Anderson Cooper (reporting from Haiti). Funds raised will go to Oxfam America,
Partners in Health, American Red Cross, Unicef and Yele Haiti Foundation. The
event will be televised on eleven broadcast and cable networks. The specific
natworks have not been announced at this time.

For more information regarding this telethon, watch network listings and refer
to Charity Navigator.

Charity Navigator also has tips regarding sensible giving to established, highly
rated charities. Note that the Charity Navigator website at this time is
recommending charities for human aid and has not assembeld a comprehensive list
of recommended charities for animal aid.

The website for Charity Navigator is: charitynavigator.org

[Kris]

[snip]
There have been appeals from the Red Cross and Wyclef Jean's Yele Foundation and phone numbers that can be used to make donations.
[snip]
If you receive a request for donations from any relief organization, animal or
human in focus, please investigate that organization's standing on the website
of Charity Navigator: charitynavigator.org before donating.
[snip]
There will be a "Hope for Haiti" telethon on Friday, January 22 from 8 to 10pm
(assumption is EST), hosted by Geogre Cloony and including Wyclef Jean and
Anderson Cooper (reporting from Haiti). Funds raised will go to Oxfam America,
Partners in Health, American Red Cross, Unicef and Yele Haiti Foundation. The
event will be televised on eleven broadcast and cable networks. The specific
natworks have not been announced at this time.

For more information regarding this telethon, watch network listings and refer
to Charity Navigator.

Charity Navigator also has tips regarding sensible giving to established, highly
rated charities. Note that the Charity Navigator website at this time is
recommending charities for human aid and has not assembeld a comprehensive list
of recommended charities for animal aid.

The website for Charity Navigator is: charitynavigator.org

Thank you for that information, Sapphire.
I checked out the "WYCLEF JEAN FOUNDATION" and "YELE HAITI " on Charity Navigator, and they are not listed. Guidestar has the following statement:
"WYCLEF JEAN FOUNDATION, INC (D/B/A YELE HAITI FOUNDATION) IS A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION IN THE UNITED STATES THAT WORKS WITH A SISTER ORGANIZATION IN HAITI, TOGETHER KNOWN AS YELE."
(Apologies for the all-caps, but that's the way it is on the site.)
It's probably not possible to get any financials on the Yele organization in Haiti.

So, I would suggest staying with the better know charities like Americares and the American Red Cross (for those in the USA), for human aid.

I'll also give to one of the animal rescue organizations, maybe Best Friends.

Kris

[Since1982]

From being a host help and guide on AOL I learned that most people using CAPS give the same exact excuse for using them. Their eyes are bad and they can't see what they are typing without using caps....um..I always had the same response tho..."Don't you know what you intend to say before you type anything at all?" Which sort of negates their excuse for using caps. Then I'd get cursed at..for being insensitive. I always believed tho, that using caps IS insensitive. Things haven't gotten better though, the younger the posters are, the ruder they seem to be.

Lots of rude young people around these days in all walks of life. Probably has to do with the inability of parents to control their children. Son to father, "Do what I say or I'll tell my teacher in school that you molested me" is a common but absolutely terrible thing to say to the person that is responsible for bringing you into the world but is said quite commonly in today's world.

I do understand that Kris's use of them is just a copy/paste of someone else's misuse of them.

[sapphire]

One of the tips from Charity Navigator is to beware of charities that have recently been formed in the aftermath of a disaster.

Wyclef Jean's Yele Foundation appears to be a newly formed charity, as is ARCH (Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti).

My main message is check out the charity before you donate to it.

From Charity Navigator's website:
"Avoid Newly-Formed Charities and Give To An Established Charity That Has Worked In Haiti - Establishing a new charity is hard enough, but in a crisis, the odds of succeeding are slim to none. Think of it this way: would you entrust all your savings in a financial firm that just opened, doesn't even have stationery, and whose employees have no experience in investing money? Doubtful. Find a charity with a proven track record of success in providing disaster relief and one that has worked in Haiti. Start with the list of charities on the right and if a group you are considering supporting isn’t there, then take the time to thoroughly research it before making a gift. "

The appeals for animal aid are and will be gut wrenching. There are real problems in providing aid to animals in Haiti:
-Priorty is given to human aid
-Logistics for getting aid of any sort into Haiti are difficult
-In general animals are not a priority in Haiti. Animals have a low status.

Before you donate anything to any charity for animal aid in Haiti, make sure that the organization has a definite plan and has clearance to enter the country. In nearly all cases, reputable animal aid organizations will NOT deploy to a disaster area unless they are INVITED to do so. Aid groups that show up uninvited are generally turned away.

I am not recommending that you do not donate and I am not recommending that you do donate. I am recommending that you be very careful with your money and to whom you give it.

[sapphire]

From CNN:
(CNN) -- In the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, George Clooney and other celebrities have signed on for a telethon to aid the devastated island nation.

The Oscar-winning actor will take part in a fundraising program to air commercial-free across several networks, MTV announced.

"Hope for Haiti" will air on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT and 7 p.m. CT on Friday, January 22.

MTV said Clooney will serve as a host in Los Angeles, while musician Wyclef Jean will be in New York, and CNN's Anderson Cooper will appear from Haiti.

The two-hour event will feature as-yet-unnamed musical performances and celebrity appearances, as well as live news reports from CNN.

It's Hollywood's latest philanthropic gesture in reaction to the catastrophic situation in Haiti.

A celebrity lounge at this weekend's Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills has been turned into a Haitian aid fundraiser.

Medecins sans Frontieres says actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have donated $1 million to the group's emergency medical operation as it responds to the disaster.

Full coverage of the earthquake in Haiti

Tuesday's 7.0 earthquake has devastated the poverty-stricken country's infrastructure. Haitian President Rene Preval said Wednesday that he had heard estimates of up to 50,000 dead but that it was too early to know for sure.

Damage has closed the port and limited airport operations in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, and the quake buckled many roads, making it extremely difficult for aid groups to bring in emergency supplies and search for survivors in the rubble.

MTV said all proceeds from the telethon will be split evenly among five relief organizations currently operating in Haiti: Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF and Yele Haiti Foundation.