Use it for Good – the Haiti Connection

Some days, I’m just a little slow. I saw the information on TV about the Haiti earthquake and it impacted me in much the way so many of the things happening in the media do. I absorbed it and it passed me by.

Then I saw a Facebook note by Coy Sawyer at 89Q and his concern about people he knew there… and it touched me. Then I saw a comment by a friend, Ellen, from church saying her daughter who was in the Dominican Republic on another mission trip was safe and they would be used to help the people in Haiti. I replied that I was glad her daughter was safe but it still didn’t quite get it.

Then I saw, almost simultaneously posts from Jim Rosenberg saying:

This from Bonnie Bissonette at NTC: The NTC Foundation, 1000 W. Campus Drive, Wausau, WI 54401, will accept donations for the NTC Haiti Relief Fund, in recognition of the 8 current Haitian students and the dozens of former students now living in Haiti. This is a local connection for an international disaster. Thanks, Bonnie and NTC!

And from Jaclyn from Wesley Methodist (my church) announcing Anyone who would like to can meet in the sanctuary to pray for all of our friends and loved ones in Haiti in the aftermath of yesterday’s devestating earthquake. The prayer meeting is at 6:30 tonight.

And then I made the connection. Many of the international students who are part of our every Sunday worship come from Haiti. Jaclyn and her parents have housed the students for several years. Some of them volunteered for Wausau Whitewater too. Suddenly there was a connection and it was personal.

Faceless things happen all around us and we become immune to what is happening because there are so many tragedies all around the world every day. People talk about how everyone just talks social media but doesn’t do any thing. This is an opportunity to make a difference.

I just talked to Jaclyn on the phone and she said that this is such an information gathering stage where no one knows who is safe and who has been hurt or killed by the earthquake so the most important need first is to get that information. She set up a group for our church and a discussion page so people can post about people they know who are safe or give status updates: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=28642116979&topic=13581&ref=nf

Jaclyn told me that the mission team that was in the Dominican Republic has been rerouted to go help with the earthquake in Haiti.

On Twitter, the hashtag #haiti will get you information about the latest in information coming through Twitter. Worldvision is on the ground in Haiti. The RedCross is collecting funds through texting 90999 with donations of $10 for each text. More is explained in the White House blog. Here’s another Tweet that just flew by: RT @BuzzEdition My son is being deployed to #Haiti for disaster relief within a few hours #FortBragg #82ndAirborne > Our prayers 4 u all.

Now this tragedy isn’t faceless for me anymore. It has a face, it has faces, and now it becomes something I can do something about. I can pray for the people who have lost so much, I can pray for the rescue workers, I can donate, I can spread the word. Social media is a powerful tool but instead of talking about it, we can use it.

What can you do? How can you help? Stay in touch. My signature line is talk to me, I talk back… somehow that seems a little odd right now. But talk to me… I will talk back.

Update from Jaclyn: Yele Haiti,  founded by Wyclef Jean, right now the website says 100% of donations will go to earthquake relief: http://www.yele.org/