How You Can Help in Haiti - Donations are the Best Way
  

What is the best way I can support the relief efforts in Haiti?

Financial contributions are the best way to help; they allow us to support the greatest needs in the most efficient manner. Financial contributions allow our relief workers to purchase items as close to the disaster site as possible, minimizing the costs involved in transporting goods. Financial contributions ensure the product delivered to disaster victims is culturally appropriate. Purchasing goods locally is also beneficial because it stimulates the local economy that has also been affected by the disaster.

I would like to donate a small quantity of personal items (e.g., food, clothing, shoes, medicine, etc.)

Thank you so much for your offer. Unfortunately, the Red Cross is unable to accept these types of donations.

The cost of processing and transporting these donations is almost always greater than the cost of purchasing those goods locally. And, the influx of unsolicited donations distracts relief workers on site from critical emergency response activities – feeding and sheltering the affected population.
[For more reasons, see #4]

Financial contributions are the best way to help; they allow us to support the greatest needs in the most efficient manner. Financial contributions allow our relief workers to purchase items as close to the disaster site as possible, minimizing the costs involved in transporting goods. Financial contributions ensure the product delivered to disaster victims is culturally appropriate. Purchasing goods locally is also beneficial because it stimulates the local economy that has also been affected by the disaster.

Why does the Red Cross discourage donations of collected goods and individual items for disaster relief?

The cost of processing and transporting these donations is almost always greater than the cost of purchasing those goods locally.

• The influx of unsolicited donations distracts relief workers on site from critical emergency response activities – feeding and sheltering the affected population.
• In addition, because we cannot anticipate what these spontaneous donations of collected of items will include, we cannot ensure that the donated products will be appropriate for the relief effort or that there will be enough of a particular item to distribute them equitably.
• Shipping donated goods is costly and particularly difficult in the aftermath of a disaster. Routes into disaster sites are often damaged or impassable and can be clogged easily with shipments of non-priority items.
• The Red Cross makes every attempt to procure items locally, which minimizes transportation and storage expenses. By procuring goods locally, the American Red Cross can also ensure the items distributed to disaster victims are appropriate for the culture and diet.
• Donations of Canned Food: The Red Cross concentrates on feeding large groups and mostly uses food packed in institutional or bulk sizes. We recommend that canned food donation be donated to your local food bank. http://feedingamerica.org/foodbank-results.aspx
• Donations of Clothing:The Red Cross is not set up to process or distribute donations of clothing. Organizations like Goodwill, the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul can typically accept these donations in your community.

You may be able to find an organization able to accept the donation on www.interaction.org . InterAction lists all of the organizations that are participating in the Haiti earthquake response, as well as any outstanding product needs they may have. The site is updated frequently, so if you don't see any needs today, check back later next week. Since we're still in the very early stages of this response - most organizations probably will not be ready to start accepting donations for a few days or weeks. http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/earthquake-haiti

Our organization would like to start a collection drive to support the earthquake victims of Haiti.

Thank you for your offer. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept these types of donations.
Financial contributions are the best way to help; they allow us to support the greatest needs in the most efficient manner. Financial contributions allow our relief workers to purchase items as close to the disaster site as possible, minimizing the costs involved in transporting goods. Financial contributions ensure the product delivered to disaster victims is culturally appropriate. Purchasing goods locally is also beneficial because it stimulates the local economy that has also been affected by the disaster.

Are there other ways our organization can support the relief effort?

Though the Red Cross cannot accept individual donations or collections of items, you can be creative about raising money in the workplace. For example, you could hold a

• Silent Auction (Employees internally donate and bid on items)
• Blue Jeans Day (Employees who donate can dress casually)
• Spare Change Drive (Employees collect spare change)

I represent a company that would like to donate bulk goods that we manufacture.

Thank you for your offer. At this time, we are not ready to accept in-kind donations for the Haiti earthquake. However, there is a possibility we may have a need later on in the response. To determine whether your product might be helpful in the future, please call our In-Kind Hotline at 1-800-7-INKIND or to our email address ikdunit@usa.redcross.org.

I have a unique item I would like to offer the Red Cross.

Thank you for your offer. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept these types of donations.
Financial contributions are the best way to help; they allow us to support the greatest needs in the most efficient manner. Consider selling your item and donating the profits to the American Red Cross.

You can sell your items on eBay Giving Works [http://givingworks.ebay.com/] and donate the proceeds of your sale to the American Red Cross International Response Fund.

Where can donations of collected goods and individual items be most effective?

Individual donations of goods and collections of items are put to the best use possible and have the greatest impact economically, when they are donated to charitable organizations in your local community. Donating these items locally eliminates transportation costs and ensures disaster workers are not overwhelmed with sorting unsolicited donations, allowing them to focus on the critical response activities.

Local charitable organizations are not operating in the crisis environment that characterizes disaster relief, so they will have the time and resources to process these types of donations and to identify how and where they can be most beneficial.

Does the American Red Cross ever accept in-kind donations for international disaster response?

If you represent a corporation that would like to offer a bulk donation of items for a Red Cross international response that you sell or manufacture, you may contact your local Red Cross chapter, which will direct your call appropriately. Please keep in mind that due to the time sensitivity, transportation costs, and complex nature of our product needs, we have greatest success procuring product as close to the disaster site as possible, which avoids delays in getting basic necessities to disaster victims.