Donating to the Relief Efforts

To say what happened in Haiti is horrible is about the worst understatement of the decade. Granted, the decade just started. But it's a ridiculous understatement nonetheless.

I've been trying not to watch too much of the coverage on television because I know once I start I won't be able to stop—and it's the sort of thing that just gets more and more painful the longer you watch.

However, I have been listening to a lot of news reports on NPR in the past couple of days. And I've been reading an occasional article here and there, hoping for the best (that relief will arrive more quickly, that the thousands buried in the rubble will survive).

Now it's time to do something. I can't rush to the aid of the Haitians, armed with medical supplies and fresh water and hugs. But I can send a few bucks of spare change their way in the hopes it will at least help a little bit with the devastation.

Now the dilemma is to figure out where to donate. I'm thinking of sending my money to UNICEF, which promises to give 100 percent of donations for the disaster to emergency relief efforts in Haiti.

I'm also a bit intrigued by all these mentions of texting for the relief effort. Apparently if you text HAITI to 90999 you instantly donate $10 to the Red Cross (I think it ends up on your phone bill). Or if you text "Yele" to 501501 you donate $5 to Yele Haiti, which is Wyclef Jean's foundation to improve the lives of people in his home country.

Are you donating? If so, how? Have you tried the text method?