I said this already in a tweet yesterday, but if you haven’t already, please send money (EVERY bit counts) to Haiti. All you have to do is text HAITI to 90999 on your cell phone to donate $10 to the American Red Cross, and the donation will be added to your phone bill. To give more, you can visit any number of charities. I’m not sure if it works to text multiple times (I did, but not sure they went through), so if you want to give more than $10, it’s probably best to visit the American Red Cross website..
Living on a fault near the Bay Area in San Francisco, I worry about “The Big One” every day, especially now that I have a new baby. I have my disaster bins and water jugs out back (I won’t list what’s in the bins. It’s a LONG list.), but I worry that I won’t be able to get to the baby, and my toddler, quickly enough to get them out of harm’s way. We have our bookcases anchored to the walls, and there’s nothing hanging over their cribs, but there’s nothing to stop windows from smashing, furniture from moving, or the entire house from collapsing if a really big one hits. What happened in Haiti is my worst fear—people trapped beneath rubble screaming for hours and then screaming no more, bodies everywhere, no medical supplies, no hospitals. It’s horrible. We all pulled out our credit cards for the Hurricane Katrina victims (and hopefully the tsunami victims), but now it’s time to help people who aren’t in our own back yard. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and now the country is in ruins and the government is virtually defunct. Send money. Even if it’s just $10. Do it now!