Help Haiti

It feels great to see such unity among people of all nationalities to help Haiti. People from all over are texting, facebooking and tweeting each other to garner more donations for Haiti. And, with technological advances, making an impact in Haiti through little donations is just a few clicks away or you could simply text a number and a certain amount is donated automatically. US has already donated $ 100 million and Obama has pledged his support. Amazing.

Even at Trinity, solidarity among students is very impressive. Students have organized Haiti Relief Concert to be held at Coates Esplanade of Trinity University  on Jan 17 from 4 to 5:30 pm to raise money. Students are constantly updating their statuses with messages about how one could help Haiti. For instance, one of my friends Tim wrote this,

***** is cutting a check to Haiti. Considering the hundreds of thousands feared dead from yesterday's earthquake, I urge you to do the same if possible.

And take a look at this, 

 Text "HAITI" to "90999" and a $10 donation will be sent to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

Technology has made it easier to spread words but it could be equally misleading. For instance, a rumor has been widely spread both on Facebook and Twitter that UPS is shipping 50 lbs of material to Haiti for free. It is not true. In this time of crisis, UPS is facing difficulty delivering its own commercial shipments. Here is the rumor:

UPS is shipping anything under 50lbs for free to Haiti. You can send food clothes or shoes...and American Airlines is taking doctors and nurses to Haiti for free

Even one of the famous celebrities in Bollywood, Priyanka Chopra tweeted this until I told her it was a scam:

If you can, pls let every1 know that UPS is shipping parcels under 50lbs to #HAITI for free tdy! Pls donate! :)

Read about UPS Scam about 50 lbs here.