[dreadgeek]

Some Secular Routes for Haitian Relief Efforts

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the impoverished nation of Haiti and devastated the nation's capital and surroundings on January 12 is a disaster of catastrophic proportions. In the wake of this calamity, there are ways to reach out and give support to relief efforts.

If you have not already designated a channel for offering financial assistance, or if you are not yet aware of any routes for secular delivery of aid, then you may want to assess some of those pathways mentioned below. The Brights' Net is conveying information and suggestions from those secular organizations that promptly reported these available channels.

Haiti's high population density, pervasive poverty and wretched architecture have created a full-scale human calamity. Over three million people have been affected by the quake with injuries or deaths in the hundreds of thousands. Communications, transportation, and in fact the entire infrastructure in the area of Port-au-Prince have collapsed, and the network of assistance providers in many arenas who could aid recovery are missing or dead. This impoverished nation urgently requires help in this catastrophe.

Message from the Secular Student Alliance:

The Foundation Beyond Belief has recommended several organizations that have received high ratings from Charity Navigator and take a secular approach to their charitable work. We are reposting their list here so that Secular Student Alliance members, supporters and friends are able to find organizations through which they can support Haitian relief efforts. The links will take you to the Charity Navigator page for that organization, where you can find more information and make a donation.

Foundation Beyond Belief writes: "MADRE is a small organization with a high efficiency rating and a good track record in disaster relief that does not mix worldview with its charity. ActionAid International is an outstanding organization that is efficient, non-sectarian, and works with a small budget. International Relief Teams, AmeriCares, Doctors Without Borders, and Partners In Health all receive high ratings for the secular charitable work they do."

Our hearts go out to those who are suffering in Haiti, and we are happy to put our hands to work to help the survivors. Please feel free to share this information with your local groups, friends and family, in order to demonstrate our humanistic generosity in a time of great need

Message from the Center for Inquiry

The Center for Inquiry is accepting disaster-relief donations through its S.H.A.R.E. program to support those providing care to the survivors of the 7.0 earthquake that struck Jan. 12 near the capital city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

All donations - 100 percent with no operating costs retained - will be sent directly to the secular aid group Doctors Without Borders, which suffered the loss of all three of its medical facilities and is working against difficulties to provide the basics of first-aid care and stabilization.

The needs of those who've lost their family members, their homes, and their livelihoods will be very great. Your assistance will make a huge difference for the victims of this tragic disaster. Please join us and other humanists and skeptics as we help those in need in this time of crisis.

Message from the American Humanist Association

Humanist Charities of the American Humanist Association (AHA) expresses its deep sorrow for the people affected by the massive devastation caused by the earthquake. To ensure rapid and effective response to this tragedy, Humanist Charities has established the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund to support the relief efforts going on right now.

Humanist Charities is working with Sebastian Velez, evolutionary biologist at Harvard University and director of the Children of the Border project, which works to protect the rights and expand access to medical care and education for Haitian immigrants. Humanist Charities has previously supported Mr. Velez and the Children of the Border project when AHA members helped raise thousands of dollars to expand emergency medical service for expectant mothers living in the Haitian border region of the Dominican Republic in 2008.

Mr. Velez is currently in Haiti assessing the situation and will report back to us a humanist or secular organization that can receive funds directly to help with relief efforts. If none is found, Humanist Charities will make a donation to the American Red Cross' International Response Fund on your behalf.