Our hearts go out to the millions of citizens and hundreds of IBOs and IBOAI Members of Haiti affected by the recent 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Anyone who has watched the news knows this is a huge calamity, and people from around the world are trying to provide help, including the people and companies from the U.S. and Canada. The crumbled infrastructure has made it difficult to plan material aid. However, those who regularly provide comfort to those devastated by natural disasters like this are saying the one thing everyone can do is donate money that can be used immediately to purchase desperately needed medicine, water, food, and other supplies in Haiti.
How You Can Help Now
Amway Global has offered to match donations made on its website at www.amwayglobal.com, committing $100,000 to be divided between American Red Cross and SOS Children’s Village. They invite those who want to help ease the suffering of those affected by this disaster to donate $10 to SKU 101900 or $25 to SKU 101901. Update: In Canada, donate $10 to SKU 110698 or $25 to SKU 110699, also a matched donation.
The company issued a press release this morning announcing their support and relief efforts:
“We are fully committed to offering assistance quickly and meaningfully,” said Jim Hunking, Managing Director of Amway operations in the Caribbean. “Our IBOs and employees have always responded generously in the past, and we look forward to their support again. Our hearts go out to the victims, and we will be there to help Haiti recover from this tragedy and put the country back together.”
Other Ways You Can Help
The American Red Cross is accepting donations from the general public for immediate relief in Haiti. From your cell phone, text the word HAITI to 90999 and a $10 donation will be added to your account. You may also make a donation by calling 1-800-REDCROSS (1-800-257-7575 in Spanish), and you may also donate at www.redcross.org.
The Canadian Red Cross is accepting donations for Haiti at 1-800-418-1111, by going online, or by visiting any Red Cross office.
Other organizations that are already on the ground in Haiti are also accepting donations. Here are news pages with links of groups with which you may already be familiar.
Be careful of solicitations for help. Scam artists are very active in time of great need. Here is an ABC News posting about what to look out for.
When recovery and rescue efforts clear up the infrastructure and companies and individuals begin to provide more material comfort to the people of Haiti, there may be more that we can do.
How to Search for Loved Ones Visiting Haiti
More than 45,000 Americans were thought to be in Haiti when the earthquake hit, many of them difficult to contact because of the crumbled infrastructure. If you are trying to account for the whereabouts of someone visiting Haiti, here are numbers you can call.
- U.S. State Department: 1-888-407-4747
- Canadian Dept. of Foreign Affairs and International Trade: 1-800-387-3124
