Ronald McDonald says TEXT YELE to 501501 To HELP Haiti NOW

Ronald Mc Donald is praying for your donation to Haiti

TEXT YELE to 501501 HELP Haiti

it’s just that simple. you can text YELE to 501501 on your cellphone and $5.00 will be instantly donated to the YELE Fund.

100% of these donations will be going to Haiti. for those who don’t know , YELE is aHaitian Charity which was established by Wyclef Jean in 2005; as a way to personally giveback to his home country. Wyclef who is a Haitian expat is widely accepted as Haiti’s laisse faire ambassador at large for charity.

STATEMENT BY WYCLEF JEAN ON HAITI EARTHQUAKE

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 02:05PM

“Haiti today faced a natural disaster of unprecedented proportion, an earthquake unlike anything the country has ever experienced.

The magnitude 7.0 earthquake – and several very strong aftershocks – struck only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince.

I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse. The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now.

President Obama has already said that the U.S. stands ‘ready to assist’ the Haitian people. The U.S. Military is the only group trained and prepared to offer that assistance immediately. They must do so as soon as possible. The international community must also rise to the occasion and help the Haitian people in every way possible.”

Many people have already reached out to see what they can do right now. We are asking those interested to please do one of two things: Either you can use your cell phone to text “Yele” to 501501, which will automatically donate $5 to the Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund (it will be charged to your cell phone bill), or you can click here to DONATE.

Thank you,
Wyclef

The regular Yele Haiti website will resume in a couple of weeks. In the meantime our focus is on providing real-time information about the situation in Haiti.

This is a Look At the Actual Earthquake as it occurs, frightening indeed

I have personally been in a 5.0 earthquake in Jamaica; 2000 feet up; over a deep bauxite strip mine gorge while riding in a truck; on a suspension bridge; deep in the middle of rural Jamaica.

Honestly speaking, it was one of the scariest moments in my life. I shall never forget it. if you have ever felt the earth move beneath you, then you understand the sheer terror of this event. that little earthquake woke me up my friends. Please think of those who are still reeling in the aftershocks, even as you are reading this. the earthquake left Haiti crippled; It Needs Our Help Now.

Please take a moment and send your $5.00 donation by text message to 501501 -skip lunch today and lend a hand – Be A HERO For Haiti.

~RE

this is the largest earthquake in Haiti’s history. there are literally bodies laying in the street. live people and bodies still trapped in the buildings are of a high priority; even though there is no heavy construction equipment to aid in the rescue attempts. something must be done quickly.

what boggles my mind is why the building and road construction equipment in the neighboring Dominican Republic is not being brought into Haiti ? the two countries share the island of Hispanola and not in a neighborly way. DR has a well documented record of treating Haitians very poorly.

amazingly enough the capital of DR, Santa Domingo suffered little to no damage from the same quake. could it be due to the poor living conditions and poverty in Haiti ? we think so. that is why it is very important that when the efforts to rescue Haiti are made, the repair process must include a whole new standard of building laws and safety conditions. Haiti cannot continue on the path of little to nothing. it has to change with this dramatic catastrophe. the extent of damage to the presidential palace is illustrative of the point that Haiti’s weak facade has finally broken, to reveal it’s depth to the world.

We’ve asked over and over – why has the world continued to ignore Haiti for so long ?

tonite we texted 4 times; and tomorrow we’ll text twice more, as the limit for any phone donation is 6 times. Please won’t you join us and make a lifesaving pledge to help the people of Haiti, in their hour of need. we all remember Hurricane Katrina and the devastation visited on New Orleans, so lets help the people of Haiti with a little kindness.

trust us, it’s easy to donate that Big Mac meal today; to feed a family tomorrow. your heart will thank you for it – 100% Guaranteed.

: people sitting on the street in Port au Prince 01/14/10 awaiting help. most of them lost everything and have nowhere to go.

Wyclef Jean Haiti earthquake: Singer leads charge to help through Yele Haiti charity – and Twitter

Hip Hop artist Wyclef Jean is urging people to donate $5 to his Haitian charity, Yéle Haiti, by texting “YELE” to 501501. (The donation will be automatically charged to your cellphone bill.) His is one of many Haiti earthquake relief efforts underway.

Mr. Jean’s platform of choice seems to be Twitter, where the former Fugees star is urging people to donate $5 to his Haitian charity, Yéle Haiti, by texting “YELE” to 501501. (The donation will be automatically charged to your cellphone bill.)

“I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse,” said Jean in a statement. “We must act now… Haiti needs your prayers and support.”

For more information on how to help, go to Jean’s Yéle Haiti website, which crashed this morning due to the volume of traffic.

The Monitor wrote about Wyclef’s efforts to help Haitians less than year after the rapper started Yele Haiti back in 2005.

In a moving pre-Christmas message on his website, Jean wrote about Haiti and hope:

“At times when I go to Haiti I ask myself what would have happen if I never made it to America? What would I be doing right now? What if I never became Wyclef, and Wyclef was getting on the plane today to come to Haiti to bring me food and Christmas Gifts how would I feel.

When I reflect on such things, it makes me understand that to live for others is the none selfish way to live. At times we are so caught up with ourselves that we forget about those around us. Some say they can’t help the needy because they have no money to give to the poor. I say no one gave me money, in the hut they gave me hope

Mr. Jean’s platform of choice seems to be Twitter, where the former Fugees star is urging people to donate $5 to his Haitian charity, Yéle Haiti, by texting “YELE” to 501501. (The donation will be automatically charged to your cellphone bill.)

“I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse,” said Jean in a statement. “We must act now… Haiti needs your prayers and support.”

Jean said he is on his way to Haiti via the neighboring Dominican Republic and asked people to pray for Haiti and for him.

For more information on how to help, go to Jean’s Yéle Haiti website, which crashed this morning due to the volume of traffic.

Haiti earthquake damage: Will ‘clusters’ make aid efforts better this time?

By Matthew Clark CSM Staff writer / January 13, 2010

The lack of coordination, duplication of effort and mismanagement of resources that often plagues relief efforts will be avoided this time, according to Michael Delaney, director of humanitarian assistance for Oxfam America.

When aid organizations flock to a disaster zone in the wake of a tragedy like the 7.0 earthquake that rocked Haiti last night, relief efforts are often plagued by a lack of coordination, duplication of effort and mismanagement of resources.

But, this time, much of that will be avoided, according to Michael Delaney, director of humanitarian assistance for Oxfam America, which has more than 200 staff members on the ground

“In the past few years, [the United Nations] has tried to organize relief efforts in all the countries we work in. They’ve set up what they call ‘clusters,’” Mr. Delaney told csmonitor.com’s Pat Murphy today. “The idea is to divide up responsibilities, avoid duplication, look for ways to organize efficiently according to standards that uphold people’s dignity.”

What this means is that big aid groups have already been assigned an area of focus in disaster preparation workshops over recent years. In Haiti, Oxfam will be in the water and sanitation cluster. Other groups might belong to a medical, or a shelter, cluster, for example.

Of course, coordination in chaotic situations is still difficult, and not every aid group has been part of the planning.

“It doesn’t always work,” admits Delaney. “Sometimes there are a lot more organizations out there… that don’t even know about this cluster system.”

Update – 01/14/10 4:00pm-et

This afternoon I received several notes from organizations that I am active with asking me to help. this one is from MoveOn :

Dear MoveOn member,The news coming out of Haiti is almost too terrible to imagine.

Three million people have been affected by Tuesday’s earthquake, and the Red Cross estimates as many as 50,000 may be dead. Survivors are digging through the rubble with their hands in a desperate attempt to rescue those who are trapped.

With water and medical supplies in short supply, and the Haitian government paralyzed, international aid efforts in the next few days will be critical to prevent more human suffering.

These three charities, and many others, are providing care. If you can contribute to help fund their emergency efforts, please do.

Doctors Without Borders: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=86019&id=18575-10780759-0QhS3bx&t=1

Oxfam America: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=85998&id=18575-10780759-0QhS3bx&t=2

Yéle Haiti: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=86026&id=18575-10780759-0QhS3bx&t=3

Thanks for all you do.

–Justin, Adam, Amy, Anna, Annie, Carrie, Christopher, Daniel, Danielle, Eli, Emily, Gail, Ian, Ilya, Ilyse, Joan, Jodeen, Kat, Keauna, Laura, Lenore, Marika, Matt, Matthew, Melanie, Michael, Nita, Peter, Scott, Stephen, Steven, Susannah, Tim, and Wes

FBI issues Alert – Haitian Earthquake Relief Fraud

from lezgetreal.com

The FBI today reminds Internet users who receive appeals to donate money in the aftermath of Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti to apply a critical eye and do their due diligence before responding to those requests. Past tragedies and natural disasters have prompted individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organization and/or a good cause.

Therefore, before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, to include the following:

Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages.
Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.
Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a purported link to the site.
Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes.
Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions: Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.

Anyone who has received an e-mail referencing the above information or anyone who may have been a victim of this or a similar incident should notify the IC3 via www.ic3.gov.

: Big Up to Brad and Angelina for immediately getting right to work with Wyclef. that’s what friends do. won’t you be a friend and help Haiti ? text your $5.00 donation to 501501 RIGHT NOW