Relief and Development Organizations

- Partners in Health, Boston-based non-profit that has worked in Haiti for 23 years and has set up a field hospital there to treat the wounded. PIH is seeking donations and other support.

- Oxfam America, which is based in Boston, has created an emergency relief fund. Oxfam has a staff of more than 200 people in Haiti, the Boston headquarters notes, and 15 disaster specialists who are already at work organizing relief.

- Grassroots International is a Boston-based development group that has worked in Haiti for 20 years, and has set up a Haiti emergency relief fund.

-The United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, is responding to the disaster with an initial $500,000 donation and support in the field. UNICEF has worked in Haiti since the 1940s.
Information about donations is available at the US Fund for UNICEF and the Boston office is reachable at 617.266.7534.

- A group called Partners in Development, based in Ipswich, Mass., has a medical clinic in Port-au-Prince and is organizing to send a medical team there. Phone: 978-471-9922.

- Catholic Charities is also at work organizing relief, raising funds, and accepting donations.

- Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley said today that he has authorized a second collection in the parishes of the Archdiocese of Boston. Parishes may choose either this coming weekend, Jan. 16 and 17, or the weekend of Jan. 30 and 31 to take the collection. Funds collected will be sent to Catholic Relief Services to assist in relief efforts in Haiti.

- The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, a human rights group based in Cambridge, has launched an earthquake relief fund.

- AmeriCares, a disaster response organization based in Stamford, Ct., has high ratings for its efficient use of donor resources. It has set up an emergency earthquake fund, pledging $5 million for victims.

- Doctors Without Borders is a highly regarded humanitarian service that responds quickly to disasters around the Globe. MSF, as it it known by its French acronym, already had medical teams on the ground in Haiti and they are treating hundreds of victims.

- The Wayland-based organization, Bread of Compassion, says it had long planned a medical mission to Haiti on March 1, and now is stepping up preparations and seeking contributions for the trip by 20 medical professionals to bring more medical supplies on the journey.

Local Haitian organizations

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino joined members of the Haitian community at a planning session Wednesday night at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End, including State Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry. The mayor set up a team to open a resource center for local families seeking information and assistance, establish a relief fund to help support local families with relatives in Haiti., and offer search and rescue resources to Haitian officials, including both equipment and personnel.
The Boston center will operate out of SEIU Local 1199, at 150 Mount Vernon Street in Dorchester, as of Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m, at least through the weekend. There will be translators. The hotline is 617-284-1199.

The Association of Haitian Women in Boston works to empower low-income women in Haiti.

The St. Boniface Foundation, based in Randolph, runs a hospital in Fond des Blancs, about 70 miles west of Port au Prince.

Also in Fond des Blancs, Haiti Projects Inc, run by Sarah Hackett, a nurse from Gloucester, offers family planning and other services in these remote mountains.

Local Media

- Jean Filias hosts a Haitian radio program on Radio Energy (1620AM) out of Dorchester.

- The Boston Haitian Reporter has an impressive live blog on developments in Haiti and updates on available resources.

- The Boston Haitian Reporter also has a list of Haitian community resources and organizations.

Governmental Organizations

The city of Boston on Thursday at 9 a.m. will open an emergency response center at the headquarters of SEIU Local 1999 on for 150 Mount Vernon St. in Dorchester for those who are trying to contact relatives in Haiti. The center will have phone lines, computers with Internet access, translators, and grief counselors, said Dot Joyce, a spokeswoman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

- Haitian Consulate in Boston: Marie Andrine, Consul Général

Tel: 617-266-3660, Fax: 617-266-4060

- Haitian Embassy in Washington, hotline: 202-332-4090.

- The US State Department hotline in Washington for information about relatives in Haiti is 1-888-407-4747.

- Sen. Paul G. Kirk’s Boston office says it will try to connect people with relatives in Haiti. Call 617-565-3170.

National Resources

The Center for International Disaster Information has created a website with links to organizations that are accepting donations and other resources related to the earthquake.
The CIDI, funded by the US Agency for International Development, has guidelines on how to contribute appropriately to disaster relief. The key point is that the best contribution is money, not clothes and food, because money can be directed more quickly and efficiently to meet the needs of victims.

The United Nations World Food Program is quickly mobilizing aid resources for victims, and is accepting donations.

Action Against Hunger has hundreds of staff members in Haiti and has deployed emergency teams to assist victims.

The Episcopal Church is collecting donations and organizing relief, through its relief agency Episcopal Relief and Development.

The Salvation Army has worked in Haiti since 1950 and is organizing immediate assistance. Here’s an update on its relief efforts.

The State Department Operations Center has set up the following number for Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747.

Red Cross: Simply text “HAITI” to “90999″ and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

Reuters Haiti help page

Haitian Education & Leadership Program

International Committee of the Red Cross

Direct Relief International is a non-profit based in California that has a range of health partners in Haiti and has pledged a $1 million emergency donation.

Mobile Giving

A number of organizations are accepting donations through mobile phone text messaging. Here’s an update from the Mobile Giving Foundation, which works with a number of non-profits.

What: The quickest way to provide monetary relief to those affected by the recent earthquake in Haiti is mobile giving. By texting a keyword to a designated short code via a mobile phone, a micro-donation of $5 or $10 can be made to aid the millions of people affected by this tragedy. 100 percent of your donation goes to the recipient charity, and the donation appears as a charge on your carrier bill. Standard rates may apply.

Who: There are several organization that are responding to this urgent need with mobile‑giving efforts, including the following:

Text the word “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5
On behalf of the Yéle Foundation, the leading contributor to rebuilding Haiti founded by Wyclef Jean

Text the word “Haiti” to 85944 to donate $5
On behalf of the Rescue Union Mission and MedCorp International

Text the word “Haiti” to 25383 to donate $5
On behalf of the Internal Rescue Committee

Text the word “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10
On behalf of the Red Cross in the US

Text the word “Haiti” to 45678 (In Canada Only)
On behalf of the Salvation Army in Canada