Mobile Action in Haiti

Mobile phones are playing a significant role in the relief efforts in Haiti. From on the ground communications information sharing to fund raising, mobile is proving its' muscle in Haiti.

TWITTER
Many Haiti twitter lists have been set up, including those by reliable news organizations:
CNN Haiti Boots On The Ground Twitter list
NPR Haiti Earthquake Twitter List
New York Times Haiti Earthquake Twitter list

The twitter hashtag
#haiti
and a Google search using haiti site:twitter.com yields more.

Of course in the group consciousness of a disaster and people wanting to feel in the know and involved, mass twitter arena rumors are bound to result. What do you call rumor tweets? Tweemors? Rutweets? My observation is this is especially true with the passing on of good news. Snopes.com has a Haiti Earthquake Relief rumors page about messages providing information about contribution to earthquake relief efforts to Haiti. Among the false information that is currently being tweeted.. and retweeted:

FALSE: Phone companies have agreed to donate 25 cents to relief efforts in Haiti everytime a certain text message is forwarded.

FALSE: UPS will ship any package under 50 lbs to Haiti for free.

FALSE: JetBlue and American Airlines are offering free air travel to Haiti for doctors / nurses

TRUE: T-Mobile is allowing customes to phone Haiti without being charged international long distance.

TRUE: You can donate $10 to the Red Cross Haiti earthquake relief efforts by texting the word "Haiti" to 90999.

PRNewswire reports donations made via mobile phones for Haiti Earthquake Relief are upwards of $16 million as of Sunday 17 January, using the short codes managed by the Mobile Giving Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping other non-profits raise funds through cell phones.

As more organizations join the relief efforts in Haiti, additional short codes will likely become available for making monetary donations to aid needs in Haiti. My hope is that some of this be used for disaster risk reduction (drr) and resilience, with significant focus upon the civil sector become active participants at all levels (self, family, neighborhood, community).

How to contribute: By texting a keyword to a designated short code via a mobile phone, a micro-donation of $5 or $10 can be made to aid the millions of people affected by this tragedy. 100% of your donation goes to the recipient charity, and the donation appears as a charge on your carrier bill, standard rates may apply.

Who: The list of organizations that are responding to this urgent need with mobilegiving efforts, including the following:

Text the word "Yele" to 501501 to donate $5

Text the word "Yele10" or "YeleTen" to 501501 to donate $10

On behalf of the Yele Foundation, the leading contributor to rebuilding Haiti founded by Wyclef Jean

Text the word "QUAKE" to 20222 to donate $10

On behalf of The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

Text the word "Haiti" to 20222 to donate $10

On behalf of the Clinton Foundation Haiti Relief Fund

Text the word "Haiti" to 52000 to donate $10

On behalf of the Salvation Army

Text the word "Hope10" or "UNICEF" to 20222 to donate $10

On behalf of UNICEF

Text the word "Haiti" to 40579 to donate $10

On behalf of the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB)

Text the word "Save" or "Safe" to 20222 to donate $10

On behalf of Save the Children Federation, Inc.

Text the word "Give" or "World" to 20222 to donate $10

On behalf of World Vision Inc.

Text the word "Haiti" to 85944 to donate $10

On behalf of the International Medical Corps

Text the word "Haiti" to 25383 to donate $5

On behalf of the International Rescue Committee

Text the word "Oxfam" to 25383 to donate $10

On behalf of Oxfam America, Inc.

Text the word "PP" to 25383 to donate $10

On behalf of Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc. (CARE)

Text the word "Americares" to 25383 to donate $10

On behalf of Americares, Inc.

Text the word "Habitat" to 25383 to donate $10

On behalf of Habitat for Humanity

Text the word "Give" to 25383 to donate $10

On behalf of the MTV telethon

Text the word "AJWS" to 25383 to donate $10

On behalf of the American Jewish World Service

Text the word "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10

On behalf of the American Red Cross in the U.S.

Text the word "Haiti" to 45678 (In Canada Only)

On behalf of the Salvation Army in Canada

Text the word "Haiti" to 30333 (In Canada Only) to donate $5

On behalf of the Plan Canada

Text the word "Hope" or "Monde" to 45678 (In Canada Only) to donate $5

On behalf of World Vision Canada

Text the word "CAHAITI" to 20222 (In Canada only) to donate $5

On behalf of the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative