Charities large and small mobilized Wednesday to help Haiti. World Vision staff members worked to move blankets, bottled water and other relief supplies. The American Red Cross promised tarps, mosquito nets and cooking sets for 5,000 families from a warehouse in Panama. And churches and small nonprofits called in volunteers.
Response from donors was swift. Charities set up Twitter alerts, Facebook groups and donations via text message. By early Wednesday evening, more than $1 million had been raised for the Red Cross, $10 at a time, by people texting “Haiti” to 90999.
The World Bank announced $100 million in emergency grant funding.
Ted Turner, who founded the U.N. Foundation, announced a $1 million commitment to the relief effort. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon announced $10 million.
