It takes a natural disaster, for the world to come together, to help those less fortunate.  Even though, Haiti was in need of assistance our help prior to the earthquake, they are truly blessed to have everyone reaching out to help.  Here are a couple of facts about Haiti:

• Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
• 80% of the population in Haiti is living below poverty.
• Most Haitians live on less than $2 a day.

It has been a week since the destructive quake has struck Haiti, and the number of human beings dead continues to be unclear. The most recent estimate provided by the European Union citing Haitian authorities’ stands at 200,000 people dead.

This amount is comparable, in scale, to the 2004 Asian tsunami casualty count, which estimated 230,000 people dead.

Yet, many earthquake victims in Haiti continue to be perishing as a result of lack of medical attention, food and basic sanitary conditions. There are many reports of erupting violence and an imminent public health catastrophe, which might make the death toll climb even further.

So far millions of dollars have been raised by professional athletes.

• The “Athletes Relief Fund for Haiti” lead by retired all-star Alonzo Mourning and NBA player Dwayne Wade has pledged over $800,000 so far.
• Tiger Woods donated $3 million
• Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen donated $1.5 million
• The NFL and the NFL Players’ union donated $500,000 each to the American Red Cross and Partners In Health
• The NBA and its union donated $1 million toward the efforts.
• Major League Baseball donated $1 million
• The National Hockey League(NHL) donated $100,000

According to the Associated Press, Hendrick Motorsports announced it was loaning an airplane and two flight crews to Missionary Flights International.  This plane will send support teams in and out of Port-au-Prince. The first flight was scheduled to leave Fort Pierce, Fla., on Saturday morning.

Hendrick is covering all the flight costs. At least one roundtrip flight is planned per day with no timeline for how long the plane and personnel will be on loan.

Today, Bill Gates, the entrepreneur and a philanthropist joined Twitter to help the cause. His first update was a link to his charitable Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Thus far, Cell phone texters have raised $27 million for Haiti according to Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

There Are 9 Ways to Help Now

You have a lot of options on the web; here’s our list of trusted organizations. All of them will accept credit card donations through online forms.

The American Jewish World Service has set up the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund to respond to the crisis by supporting a network of organizations it works with.

AmeriCares has pledged $5 million to Haitian quake relief, and is soliciting donations to a general emergency disaster relief fund to help it accomplish that.

CARE is sending relief workers into the city of Port-au-Prince and needs funds to support its efforts. Suggested donations range from $50 to $1,000, but you can name your own amount if you prefer.

Catholic Relief Services has an office in Haiti, and luckily it’s still standing even though one of its neighbors collapsed. The organization is accepting donations of any amount.

Direct Relief International has committed up to $1 million in aid through two on-the-ground partners, and is sending containers of medical material aid.

Oxfam has 200 people on the ground to deal with the crisis, and began its efforts by trying to get clean water to victims of the quake. One of its staffers recorded a podcast describing the situation. You can donate on the American or UK site, depending on where you’re located.

Yele Haiti is sponsored by prominent Haitian-born musician Wyclef Jean. You can donate through its website or via text message as described in the next segment.

Google Support Disaster Relief is a website Google() has updated to respond to the crisis. Google has promised $1 million in support and also provides hospital addresses and links to sources for news on the situation.

Unicef focuses on safety of those separated from their families after the earthquake.