White House: "Thoughts and Prayers for Haiti"

[Clio the Leo]

Thoughts and Prayers for Haiti

Posted by Jesse Lee on January 12, 2010 at 11:05 PM EST
The President gave the following statement tonight:

"My thoughts and prayers go out to those who have been affected by this earthquake. We are closely monitoring the situation and we stand ready to assist the people of Haiti.”

The White House also put out this background information: The President was informed of the earthquake at 5:52pm. The President asked his staff to make sure that embassy personnel are safe, and to begin preparations in the event that humanitarian assistance is needed. The Department of State, USAID and the United States Southern Command have begun working to coordinate an assessment and any such assistance.

The State Department has a post up as well, with remarks from Secretary Clinton and ways to help:

As Secretary Clinton said earlier, the U.S. government will offer assistance to Haiti and others in the region in the form of civilian and military disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.

For those interesting in helping immediately, 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.

Or you can go online to organizations like the Red Cross and Mercy Corps Mercy Corps to make a contribution to the disaster relief efforts.

We'll provide more details and opportunities to help as we learn more. To stay up-to-date, follow us on state.gov.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/12/thoughts-and-prayers-haiti

[Hello_Kitty]

1. I did the cell phone text. I hope it's legit. eom

[Clio the Leo]

2. It's listed at the State Dept as well ...

http://www.state.gov/

[Hello_Kitty]

3. I'm on unemployment right now so I'm going to trust the President.

And I am so fricking glad that it's THIS President and not the last one!

[old mark]

6. Right- Black, Catholic, speak French- Bush would have let them wait for a miracle.

Like he did in the Gulf Coast.

mark

[Cha]

4. Bless their hearts..they've

suffered too much.

"How to help relief efforts in Haiti"
Posted: Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010

UNICEF is seeking donations to the ongoing emergency relief efforts in Haiti and the Caribbean region through www.unicefusa.org/haitiquake or call 1-800-4UNICEF.

The American Red Cross has pledged $200,000 to assist communities impacted by the earthquake and is prepared to take further action as local responders assess the situation.

Donations can be made at or call 1-800-257-7575

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/141/story/1177126.html?storylink=omni_popular

[AngryAmish]

5. Does this go to the Red Crosses general fund or will it spend it in Haiti?

Red Cross uses these disasters to raise lots of money then spends it on private jets, fancy offices, et al.

[alsame]

7. Cali has a good list of organizations here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7453309&mesg_id=7453309

I stopped donating to the Red Cross after 9/11, when all the stories came out about them using the funds as you mentioned.

[TexasObserver]

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