Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti earlier this year, leaving hundreds dead and even more homeless. The hurricane also made its way to several U.S. states – South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. More than likely you’ve heard about Hurricane Matthew or seen photos of destroyed homes and streets. Well we’ve compiled a list of ways that you can help those in Haiti after the hurricane, especially Haiti’s children!
Want to help us design a future GLA Haiti program, centered around global health and medicine? Click here.
Spread Awareness – make sure all of your friends know what is happening and ways that they can also help.
- Share Articles. Sites like NPR and even the White House have published articles about Hurricane Matthew and ways people can get involved.
- Post on Social Media. Use the hashtag #hurricanematthew when you post, be sure to retweet photos of the destruction, and even @ local organizations in your posts.
- That’s right, The Red Cross not only lets you donate money online but now you can donate $10 by texting. Simply text MATTHEW to 90999.
Raise, Donate, & Sponsor – raise money to donate to causes. There are many organizations helping out in Haiti including Save the Children, Food for the Poor, Food Aid International, and many more.
- Kickstarter and GoFundMe. Create a post on a fundraising site to raise money that can be donated to an organization helping those in need.
- Handmade Items. Make items that others might want to buy like crocheted scarfs, postcards, or bracelets. The money that you make from people purchasing these items can be donated to aid organizations.
- Donate Money. Instead of using that money you had saved up to go to the movies, donate it to an organization.
- Sponsor a Child. Organizations like UNICEF, Save the Children, and World Vision allow you to give money to a child in Haiti. Even if the child was not directly affected by the hurricane, chances are that their resources whether that be food, shelter, or the ability to learn were.
Looking for mission trips in the Caribbean, designed for high school students? Click here to view our Dominican Republic programs.
Volunteer – while you can’t go to Haiti to directly help out those in need you can volunteer your time with local organizations.
- VolunteerMatch.com. This website will let you find organizations that are near where you live so you can volunteer.
- Local Organizations. Whether it’s a food pantry or a homeless shelter that you volunteer for, you are helping the community especially as many resources even in the U.S. have been pulled to help with Hurricane Matthew.
- Give Blood. With the hurricane, there are less people who are able to donate blood. If you are able you can give blood at one of the American Red Cross’ blood donation centers.
Contributed by Samantha Watkins
