Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 11:18 If you want some heartbreaking but astounding coverage of day to day life in Haiti - at the God’s Littlest Angels orphanage, check out Dixie’s blog.
Rock on, Dixie!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 10:19 I was just notified that Guidestar.org - one of the main charity ‘vetting’ organizations - has approved God’s Littlest Angels (GLA) as an approved Haitian relief charity and has listed GLA on their website. So, you can feel good about giving to GLA - and not just take my word for it.
But the fact remains that unscrupulous people are always going to be out there trying to get into your wallet. Heck, I’m from Miami … where scamming approaches being a form of performance art. Remember Hurricane Andrew?
Now, God’s Littlest Angels is now listed with Guidestar.org, JustGive.org, Greatnonprofits.org and the Network for Good.
That said, here are some tips from Guidestar.org President and CEO, Bob Ottenhoff:
Be pro-active, not re-active.
It’s not necessary or wise to respond to every call or request. Instead, follow the steps below to give wisely.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 20:49 As I was told just earlier this afternoon, a small group of orphans were being airlifted to Pennsylvania, while a larger group from the God’s Littlest Angels orphanage - which I’ve been talking about - is on their way to Holland.
The story doesn’t end here, though.
The United Nations Children’s Fund has estimated Haiti had 380,000 orphans before the quake hit. This means that an unbelievable influx of new orphans will be flooding the existing orphanages in the days and weeks to come.
These facilities are just not able to support that tide without a lot of monetary support. One bit of good news, two airplane loads of supplies will be on their way to Haiti with funds raised in Colorado by God’s Littlest Angels Ministry.
But, really folks, this is going to be really dire for the weeks and months to come.
Please, make even a small weekly donation if you can to the GLA folks. I vouch they are honest, caring and highly experienced to deal with this crisis. And, keep an eye out here for further news on some upcoming plans to re-build sustainable, earthquake resistant housing in Haiti.
There is a glimmer of bright on the horizon if we don’t falter.
Hey, if an atheist can be this committed to the GLA cause, so can you.
maven
Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 20:40 This morning, I happened to replay the interview between Bill Moyers and Thomas Frank - author of “What’s the Matter With Kansas” and “The Wrecking Crew”. If you haven’t read these two books, then you may not have a firm grasp of the current sociopolitical landscape and how it has been taken over by the so-called ‘conservative’ right - the election of Obama notwithstanding.
It was even more disturbing than when I first saw it. Frank is right that Americans have become part and parcel in a culture with an attention span shorter than a gerbil. The media is a black hole. Todays’ ‘big story’ can be forgotten in the blink of an eye. I don’t exactly blame the media for this. They’re chasing dollars. But what is the excuse for the American public? Or our legislators?
This is most apparent in the current round of Obama bashing from both left and right.
How soon they all forget who and what caused all this. And, the mainstream media lets the bashers get away with it. So does the Democratic Party.
