Numerous organizations are mobilizing to lend a hand in the devastating aftermath of Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti.
The U.S. Dept of State’s Web site suggests texting 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts. As of Friday morning, Americans have “texted” more than $8 million for Haiti relief.
Click here to learn a couple of simple, safe ways to donate to the cause, or contact one of the following well-established charities that are collecting donations for relief efforts.
Authorities caution people to beware of online scammers
A number of “text to donate” services have been set up for people to make donations directly from their cell phones. But consumer advocates are warning that, as more are created, some may be phonies.
Two that are trustworthy are:
– Texting HAITI to 90999: The U.S. Department of State’s Web site suggests texting “HAITI” to “90999″ to donate $10 to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts. The $10 will be charged to your cell phone bill. Or you can go online to organizations like the Red Cross and Mercy Corps to contribute to the disaster relief efforts.
– Texting YELE to 501501: On Twitter, musician Wyclef Jean, a native of Haiti, notes, “Haiti needs your help text YELE to 501501 and 5 dollars will go toward earthquake relief.” Yele Haiti is a grassroots movement Jean has set up to inspire change in Haiti through programs in education, sports, the arts and environment.
According to the Internet Storm Center, both of these “text to” options are legitimate services: “Both short codes in use right now, 501501 and 90999, are tracing back to registered twitter accounts and I consider them authentic at this point,” says the Center’s Johannes B. Ullrich — however, some charity watchdogs have raised doubts about the ability of Jean’s foundation to respond quickly to such an immediate and massive crisis, as well as about some of the foundation’s accounting practices.
Other text-to-donate services may arise, and not all of them will be trustworthy.
