Haiti: How You Can Help

The disaster in Haiti reminds us that our problems (too much homework! Not enough Diet Coke! Jerky parents!) really aren't problems at all. How can those of us who are unspeakably lucky help those who are suffering in Haiti?

By sending money. The Red Cross says, "At this time, what we need the most are financial contributions."

As Andy Green at the Baltimore Sun writes, "An outpouring of support from American citizens is crucial for two reasons. [A]id organizations such as the Red Cross and Baltimore-based Catholic Relief Services, which already have a strong presence in Haiti, can quickly and efficiently bring food, temporary shelter, generators, medicine and other supplies to the most devastated parts of the nation. They will need an infusion of funds to sustain those efforts."

* To donate $10 to relief efforts via the Red Cross, text the word Haiti to 90999.

* To give online, go to americanredcross.org and crs.org.

* If you'd rather call in your donation, the number is 1-800-RED-CROSS.

* Check out CNN.com's great roundup of ways to donate.

Red Cross Youth also urges you to "hold a local fundraiser." If your school hasn't organized anything yet, get your friends together, talk to the principal, and start raising money. A few ideas:

- Bake sale. Oldie but goodie. Hint: no one ever turned down a brownie made with peanut butter chips.

- Car wash. Works best if you don't live in the frozen North.

- Auction. Call local businesses to request donations. Then hold a live, silent, or online auction.

- Compete. Pit classes against each other to see which can raise the most money. The winning class gets a prize—an orgy of Big Macs and vanilla shakes, perhaps?

- Sell cheap stuff at a huge markup. Pick something enticing—carnations, gourmet lollipops, chocolate—and buy it in bulk. Then set up a table or go class to class, selling the item for a jillion times what you paid for it.

- Harness the power of Valentine's Day. Take orders for Valentine's Day roses (red for love, pink for like, yellow for friendship) at $5 a pop. Ask a local florist to consider donating all or some of the flowers. Enlist your friends to deliver the roses to their recipients on the Friday before Valentine's Day.

- School-wide garage sale. You're over your Twilight phase, but the freshmen are just entering theirs. Sell your Robert Pattinson posters for a hefty profit, buy that graduating senior's amazing Darth Vader toaster, and send all the money you collect to the Red Cross.

Let us know what you're doing to help Haitians affected by the earthquake.

Related post: Bring the "Fun" Back to Fundraising