Please consider texting a small donation to Haitian earthquake relief efforts!

The devastation in Haiti from yesterday's earthquake (and the continuing detriment from aftershocks over the coming days and weeks) is likely to be the worst global disaster in years...maybe in decades.

In the face of massive destruction like this, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless to help, but in the early stages of a natural disaster, there is one--and only one--thing we can do as outsiders: donate some cold, hard cash to the relief efforts.

There is a list at this link of many non-profit organizations with infrastructure in Haiti, any of whom will be able to put your money to use where it's most needed, but there are also two more immediate (and more modern ways) to make a small donation:

1. Text "Yele" to 501501 and a $5 donation to Wyclef Jean's Haitian relief organization will be automatically added to your next cellular bill, or

2. Text "Haiti" to 90999 and your mobile provider will zap a $10 donation to the American Red Cross for its post-quake disaster efforts (added to your next monthly statement).

Even in these tight financial times, most of us can scrape together five, ten, or fifteen dollars to send to the disaster zone. Even if you personally can't, though, you can still take initiative and get creative: organize a bake sale, car wash, sporting event, rummage sale, concert, walk-a-thon, raffle or other fundraiser in your community to pull together a few bucks. If you get a solid group of people donating items and promoting your event, you can collectively make a big difference!

If you're one of the millions of Americans with family in Haiti, and you can't reach your loved ones, the U.S. State Department has set up a hotline to assist your search at 1-888-407-4747. They are scrambling to gather information on the ground (where communications systems are practically nil), and to accommodate callers, but they warn that because of high volume, many callers may receive a recording on their first attempts.