How technology can be EASILY used to help Haiti

How technology can be EASILY used to help Haiti

January 13th, 2010 // 3:33 pm @ Terrance Gaines

(AP Photo/Matt Marek/American Red Cross)

…and I didn’t have to pull out my wallet, add a ship to/bill to address, locate my CCV number on the back of my credit card, or deal with some college kid manning a phone bank sweating me to subscribe to a newsletter/magzine.

I simply sent a txt message, verified that I wanted to donate, and BOOM! I was done. That’s how I initially decided to contribute aid in the wake of the recent 7.0 earthquake that shook Haiti to it’s core on Tuesday. But since I knew I could more, and since this is a tech-oriented site, Brotha Tech is gonna show you how to use technology to help this and other causes…EASILY (for the lazy or for those who claim they don’t have enough time)

The Lowdown:

Getting the Info

I am not gonna assume that most people are as “plugged in” as I am (or can hear, see, or read) So I am just gonna throw up some links to get you folks informed on what happened earlier this week.

Wikipedia entry about Haiti – General Information

Haiti Earthquake of 2010 – New York Times

7.0 quake hits Haiti; ‘Serious loss of life’ expected – CNN

Hell, I’ll even throw up a general google search using ‘haiti earthquake’ as the subject and let you see all the web traffic.

Spreading The Word

To be honest, it’s simply AMAZING how fast news spreads via social networking sites like Twitter or the blogosphere. I heard about the quake Tuesday night, but it wasn’t until the next day that I was floored with the amount of information being spread by EVERYBODY on these sites. Made me feel good that there are everyday folks out there actually contributing to the humanity of our society via social networking instead of spreading rumors about Lady Gaga’s private parts.

Who doesn’t frequent Twitter? Who’s not on Facebook? If you do frequent social networking sites, then I shouldn’t have to tell you how you can spread the word about the recent Haiti news (The “Retweet” button works just fine on the upper right corner of this post or you can share this entry by clicking the (you guessed it) ‘SHARE’ buttom at the bottom).

Contributing to the cause

Mrs. Tech and I always have a little ‘back and forth’ going on when it’s time to get a gift for someone.

Mrs. Tech: “What are we going to get them?”
Me: “I dunno, what do they like? What do they need?”
Mrs. Tech: “I don’t know, but we need to get them something, their “[insert event/celebration where we feel like idiots if we are the only ones who show up without something here] is coming up in a couple of days”
Me: “Well why don’t we give them cash/gift card so we won’t have to worry about it?”
Mrs. Tech (talking with the breath of just about EVERY other woman out there): “Cash/gifts cards are soooo impersonal! Giving them is saying “I don’t care about you enough to put some thought into getting something nice, so here! Take this, and leave me alone until next year.”
Me (with the Fellas behind me): I guarantee you if you went up to somebody, smacked them in the face with wad full of cash and said “Happy Stinking Birthday!” I bet money they would shed a tear, scramble to pick up the money, and invite us back next year!”

…but I love my wife, so I am gonna direct you to sites like Help Haiti Now, Red Cross, & Doctors Without Borders where you can donate you time and talent.

SINCE THIS IS MY SITE (and not my wife’s, I am gonna spend most of my energy to show you how donate your tithes (I had to put in the last “T”)

Actually, the above sites all have campaigns going to where you can also donate finacially.

If you are like me who is always looking for a quicker way to donate, look to none other than technology to answer the call.

My main man (I really don’t know him, I only know OF him) and Haiti native Wyclef Jean is leading a Haiti relief campaign on yele.org where you can pledge money AND donate via text message using you cell phone. To find out more about YELE, click the banner in this post. I will also use the banner as a sticky at the top of this site for easy access.

Text “YELE” (without the quotations mom!) to the number 501501 to pledge $5 dollars to the cause. The monies will be added onto your cell phone bill. (important: carefully follow the txt instructions on how to donate just $5 OR to donate more)

Red Cross also has a text messaging campaign. You can also text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross relief efforts for Haiti. The amount will be added to your cell phone credit card bill…same rules apply, follow instructions on how to give more.

Right now, the focus is on Haiti. The country is not the most developed to say the least (I wonder why *thinking aloud*) so the country and it’s people need ALL the help it can get. Hopefully in some small way, I have made it easier.

I am positive that the success of this campaign will show that using technology to learn, spread the word, and contribute will encourage future campaigns whether it be for good causes or when disaster strikes, to folow suit and utilize ALL avenues to bring about dialogue, enlightenment and change.

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Category : Computer/Networking Tech &Mobile Tech &Random Tech