blog post Today on Lanarama: The Canada For Haiti Roundup

I donate regularly to Doctor's Without Borders and recently I donated to the Radio 3 office pool. We upped the ante and injected a little competitive spirit into our fundraising... For every $20 donated to the pool, each staffer wrote their name on a slip of paper and popped it into a R3 toque. After everyone donated, we drew a name and the winner got the tax slip! And so our beloved blogmaster John Paolozzi gets to knock a bit off his taxes AND make sure some dough gets to Haiti.

On behalf of Radio 3, I'd like to challenge other groups to do the same. We raised $500 in a day in our office. What can you pull together?

That's a good incentive (someone gets a big tax receipt!)

I want to highlight again something I posted a few days ago. Since today is the day for it, I'll just exceprt the whole piece:

Don’t donate goods. Donating stuff instead of money is a serious problem in emergency relief. Only the people on the ground know what’s actually necessary; those of us in the rest of the world can only guess. Some things, like summer clothes and expired medicines are going to be worthless in Haiti. Other stuff, like warm clothes and bottled water may be helpful to some people in some specific ways. Separating the useful from the useless takes manpower that can be doing more important work. It’s far better to give money so that organizations can buy the things they know they need.

Some people like to donate goods instead of cash because they worry that cash won’t be used in a way that helps the needy. If that’s you, I have two points. 1) Why are you donating to an organization you don’t trust? 2) What’s to stop them from selling your donated item and using the money for whatever they want?

After Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Honduras was flooded with shipments of donated goods. They clogged ports, overwhelmed military transport, and made it nearly impossible for relief agencies to ship in the things they really needed. Those donations did harm, not good. Expired drugs had to be carefully disposed of. Inappropriate donations had to be transported away and discarded. All of this wasted time and money.

Don’t go to Haiti. It’s close to the US, it’s a disaster area, and we all want to help. However, it’s dangerous right now and they don’t need “extra hands”. The people who are currently useful are people with training in medicine and emergency response. If all you can contribute is unskilled labor, stay home. There is no shortage of unskilled labor in Haiti, and Haitians will be a lot more committed than you are to the rebuilding process.

If you are a nurse or physician, especially with experience in trauma, and you want to volunteer, email Partners in Health – volunteer@pih.org – and offer your services. Or submit your details to International Medical Corps. They’ll take you if they can use you. Do not go to Haiti on your own, even if you are doctor. You’ll just add to the confusion, and you’ll be a burden to whoever ends up taking responsibility for your safety.

Don’t ignore rebuilding. The physical damage done to Port au Prince is going to take a long, long time to repair. The human consequences will have a similar slow recovery. Haiti will still need our help next year, and the years after that. It is going to take more than just a short-term infusion of relief money. Give your money to organizations that will be in Haiti for the long haul, and don’t forget about Haiti once the media attention moves on.

There's a great line-up for this event next weekend.  i'm flying up from Chicago!!! (not that we're not raising money here but....)

there is an option i've recommended to musician friends before that works pretty well. at your show ask people to just toss in a hat/bucket/whatever--to donate price of one drink.

it's a bit of psychology--they feel like they're making a bit of sacrifice.  also the money gets all organized & sent in together & saves people the trouble of that step.  if your merch person is willing to collect, it works a treat.

typically we've told people all money is going to a specific organization, like Red Cross or Oxfam or Doctors without Borders.

wish well to all who are taking the time to make a difference

Thanks for the heads up, I've got a little ambivalence as I made plans with my gf tonight since the PPP was sold out. I won't see her all weekend and I'm going to the Zolas and GLS next week so I'll see her even less...

I know she'd say she was fine with me going but would still be disappointed to not get to spend the time with me. Damn, I don't think I'll do it >< I need to save up my "Sorry, I'm going to a show, you can come if you likes" for the Olympics. I have a feeling I'll be out ever night for those two weeks.

I am a little dismayed that it takes a massive catastrophic event to trigger people's desire to help.

Millions of people die every year due to starvation and lack of access to clean water, but rarely does that recieve any attention.

Agreed. And yet, it is a good thing that peoples hearts and wallets are opening at this time. Beforehand would have been better (which is the case at a smaller scale), but whatever people are willing to give is good. Perhaps that also means I need to rethink my negative thoughts about efforts like Ben Stillers?

Haiti has long been out of sight out of mind for most, but that's not completely the case either. Our own Lana Gay has been there 3 times herself (did I remember the right number?).

Perhaps you could go over (again maybe, I missed alot of your earlier shows this week) what brought yourself there Lana?

Jason Kenney and the Cons have been getting alot of flak about the adoption process, but I think I need to side with them on this issue. Slow and cautiuous is the best way to move on that front. Placement within country should be first aim. The idea of people looking to help and actually adopting an infant who is not an orphan is very scary...although one could get into the philosophical question as to if that child is actually lucky to have been separated from their parents and raised in Canada...too much thinking there for me right now.

Donate to the Red Cross, Oxfam and MSF.

I agree - we should definitely be supporting impoverished nations like Haiti year-round, however I'm still heartened to see people opening their wallets and sending money now. It IS a shame that it takes a tragedy of this magnitude to get the world's attention, but at least a lot people are rising to the occasion.  I can't help but hope that now that we're all more aware of the situation the people of Haiti will remain in our collection conscience.

I just emailed Grant to find out what's happening with them. I guess I won them, but I already have a plan for this evening. I offered them to Alex, but it looks like he's occupioed as well.

I wouldn't want to resell them, but would be happy to give them up to an eager fan. If I can't find anyone to use them (I know, that's sad, I just don't know that many people in Van still...) should I email you at your band's email address?

"Millions of people die every year due to starvation and lack of access to clean water, but rarely does that recieve any attention."

True enough, but does that mean we just sit back and say oh well, because we don't donate to these other things, we can't possibly help out Haiti right now? 

I was kind of shocked when my parasitology professor told me that the main thing people die of in third world countries is dysentery. Completely preventable and curable dysentery causing dehydration due to the lack of clean, drinkable water. It seems so crazy that this isn't a priority but then, that's something that bugs me a little with some charities. They seem to focus too much on relief instead of trying to help fix the underlying problems. I'm talking about the relief that's not disaster relief, as disasters need relief aid of course, I just would rather hear about fixing the problem instead of putting band-aids over them.

What's wrong with the Expo line? It goes right there...(Surrey for Bend Sinister)

Very cool. My broke friends (and they are many) have been using their Airmiles to make donations. 200 airmile = $25. Not too shabby!

https://www.airmiles.ca/arrow/Home

Donation matching? So that donation I made actually doubled in the amount the charities get? That's awesome.

You're a couple of smart folks; what are your thoughts on "while the sentiment is noble and appreciated, is there anything that his outfit is better suited too than IRC, Oxfam or MSF?"

I was talking about donating to celebrity charity outfits (specifically Ben Stillers, as Conan has been promoting it, but i mean the general case as well)

These guys got my donation.  USD even!  

Thanks to the Ceeb for listing the links.

I think the 17th is also the Feist show at the Orpheum, so I'll be at that. I'm thinking I might make 1 or 2 trips out to Surrey, but by and large will be at the Live Sites.

I think supporting Haiti is a great idea, regardless of one's history in donating.  If a natural disaster is the catalyst that opens people's wallets, so be it.

I just hope that people keep it in perpective and remember that there are a lot of people that could benefit from better international aid.

Well, I guess donating is donating, but I suspect that organizations like MSF and Oxfam are better suited to get the most out of every dollar.

I have to run out to pick some stuff up and want to hear the simulcast, so I'm off now. I won't be able to hear any last tips from whoever it is you've been featuring, so a post of her name and link to blog would be great.

Thanks for this show as well.

Cheers @blog

Canada made a pledge back in 1970 to contribute 0.7% of the gross national product to international aid (official development assistance). 

We've never been close, and we don't even have a plan to get there.

In 2005, Canada's ODA was 0.34%

So, send your text messages, go to relief concerts, return your empties and donate to help the relief in Haiti.

Then, write your MP and encourage Canada to fulfill it's pledge and support long term aid.

0.7%

I donated right after it happened, going down and putting my money right into my favourite and trusted charity's hands.

As I said before, I am cynical.  I am glad to see eyes finally turned on Haiti, but they need to stay there. 

Haiti is vulnerable, and the vultures tend to circle about when they can sense weakness.

K'naan on right now...

I'm hoping the relatively quiet thread is due to it being Friday and other factors.

I'm confused. I thought the simulcast started at 4pm PT? Regular programming on CBC and CTV right now...

I think people think it's a faux pas to talk about silly things and have fun (which generally gets more comments) then to get into a serious issue. Especially this late on a Friday.

So, for those of us that are here I thought I'd ask what you though of something.

If you give to a charity X dollars a month, what do you think is appropriate if they decide to ask for a larger one time donation due to <reason>?

I used to give monthly to an unnamed charity, and it felt like a lot as this was when I was a student in university but the charity called me for a "one time donation". Now, this makes sense to me but the guy on the phone felt unreasonable and would not take no for an answer. It was as bad as a guy working on commission trying to sell you a warranty plan. I found it really frustrating to the point of being disrespectful to my situation and at that point stopped donating because of it. I just felt that if they were going to treat me like that, I didn't want to be associated with them which is too bad because when I signed up, I really liked what they sounded like they do.

With regards to your comment about Haiti being on a fault line, a lot of places on fault lines can go centuries without a major quake.  For instance, most of the BC coast.  Of course, BC has better building codes.

Emily & James on right now.

Help I'm Alive, piano & guitar...

Stunning...

yeah, of course on geologically time scale 100+ years without activity is nothing...but has there ever been a recorded quake there previously?

and building codes is a big deal forsure.

Thanks John and Russ. I guess it will be a recorded feed starting at 7PT on the CEEB like Lana mentioned last break.

Yeah, that's what I thought. It's like if there's something big going on and you want to ask for a one time donation, that's cool but if I say the money I'm already giving is what I can spare that should have been the end of it. After this I've mostly stuck to charities dealing with close to home issues, mostly the Children's Hospital but if I go international Doctors without Borders is my first thought now.

I donate when I see a fitting need.  

My favourites this year have been the Humane Society, a local Canadian University radio station and some friends who grew some awesome facial hair in the month of Movember.

I also like to help out this Canadian Indie Blog/website.

If the Ceeb and fellow bloggers have a cause, I'll look at it.   

That reminds me...I want to eat a seal heart.

Why not DWB/MSF ?