Posted by Sarah Harlan - email
TRI-STATE (WFIE) - A strong aftershock rattled Haiti Sunday night, forcing parts of the region to be evacuated after the 5.5 quake struck.
With the area already devastated, the Red Cross is asking for more help.
The American Red Cross says the recovery of Haiti will be long.
So, Sunday they showed 14 News the best way you can help out.
The U.N. said the U.S. Military, volunteers, and relief organizations are providing a half a million Haitians with food and medical care, but private aid groups want to make even greater strides, and that's where your help is needed.
"Right now we are advising anyone who wants to help in Haiti to make a monetary donation," American Red Cross spokesperson Greg Waite said. "It can easily be turned into whatever supplies they might need on the ground in Haiti."
Waite said at this time the organization isn't accepting non-perishable food items or bottled water.
These donations, he said, are normally welcomed during a natural disaster, but because of Haiti's location and it's fragile infrastructure, transporting the items becomes a hassle.
"At this point in Haiti there's only one runway open at the airport in Port-Au-Prince and that airport is being bottlenecked with other relief organizations, the military, and other agencies trying to make sure supplies are getting there," Waite said.
If you want to make a donation, Waite said this is what you need to know: always specify what relief effort you want to donate to. This will ensure the money goes to food, medical care, or supplies, but if you choose not to you should expect to see your money distributed differently.
Fifty percent of every dollar is being used to purchase food and water, 30 percent is being used to purchase relief supplies, which Waite said, include blankets, shelter, and medical supplies, and the final 20 percent will be used for logistics, in other words the transportation of goods.
"People should be reassured if they're making a donation that it is getting in the hands of people," Waite said.
There are several ways you can donate to the relief fund for Haiti.
You can walk in to your local Red Cross chapter, and talk to an employee about donating.
You can donate at tristateredcross.org.
You can text Haiti to 90999, and donate $10 through your cell phone carrier.
Officials said $100,000 has already been donated through our local chapter.
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