I live in Los Angeles. I lived through the 1971 Sylmar earthquake (6.6) and the 1994 Northridge earthquake (6.7). To this day, I can recount for you what happened from the moment the house started shaking, the glass started breaking, and the anxiety set in. There were, however, no broken bones in our family. I did get out of school for a week in ’71 as they had to re-asphalt the school; and was out of my house for a month as it was yellow-tagged in ’94.I can only imagine the terror and damage the 2010 Haiti earthquake (7.0) will leave, both physically, spiritually and emotionally, for generations to come.
So, here I sit safely in my office on the 47th Floor of an incredibly well constructed building in Los Angeles. I’m taking care of my travel arrangements for the LMA 2010 conference, booking appointments, prepping attorneys for a road trip … but my thoughts keep turning to what I should be doing to help those in Haiti.
Here’s what I have done so far from my ergonomically correct chair:
- I opened my wallet and donated money. So far I have made donations to Doctors Without Borders, Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund , The American Red Cross and Three Angels Children’s Relief (an orphanage outside Port of Prince), and Direct Relief International. Here’s a list of more organizations that need assistance.
- I’ve made arrangements to donate blood to the Red Cross. They might not use my blood in Haiti, but they will need it as they ship their current “stock” to the island.
- I am coordinating a project for my Girl Scouts so that they can understand what they, as 5- to 9-years old can do, along with some safety and preparedness training for the girls.
So far, I have given up 40 cups of Starbucks for Haiti Relief at $4 a cup. I won’t miss the coffee, and I’m sure the money will be used well.
What are you going to do?