What can do? We believe that there are three concrete ways of responding to a tragedy such as this one. One way through financial contribution, people are notoriously generous at times like this, and so for those who are able to contribute monetarily we offer a list of dependable and secure organizations with whom we are familiar and have worked. To learn more about how to donate money, please click here for the advice from the Better Business Bureau. Please know that there is no amount that is too small! The second concrete way of responding is through being an advocate for the people of Haiti. The U.S. government is in a position to provide some relief to Haiti and its people by reconsidering and changing current policies. We have listed below some organizations that explain these issues and how you can help make a difference through advocacy. The third way and quite possible the most significant way is to continue offering a prayer for those who have been devastated by this disaster. For prayer resources please, click here. For more information on Haiti, click here. Monetary Aid: JRS is a Jesuit program whose ministry is to work with refugees and forcibly displaced individuals. Jesuit Refugee Service/USA (JRS/USA) affirms its mission to accompany, serve and defend the rights of these vulnerable and often forgotten people. Therefore it is a natural fit for the Loyola community to support their work. In response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Jesuit Refugee Service is mounting an emergency relief effort to provide lifesaving aid, including food and other urgently needed items, to the Haitian people. They are established in Haiti and familiar with the local needs. To support JRS/USA's humanitarian response to the emergency needs of the Haitian people, please click here. Catholic Relief Services Catholic Relief Services has permanent offices and ongoing projects in Haiti, which is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Eighty percent of Haitians are Catholic. Right now CRS is quickly mobilizing its pre-positioned emergency relief supplies including: kitchen kits, hygiene kits, mosquito nets, bedding, water containers and other lifesaving assistance. CRS has made an initial commitment of $5 million to help with immediate needs. Please support CRS’ efforts to rush relief to the earthquake victims in Haiti. Your help is urgently needed. Please donate now. To donate to CRS via cell phone text, please text RELIEF to 30644 and follow the instructions. To learn more about Catholic Relief Services fundraising efforts and for a message from Fr. John Dear, SJ. or CRS, please click here. The American Friends Service Committee is seeking financial contributions to help Haitians recover from the devastation of the earthquake and rebuild their lives and communities. Please make a gift today and aid Haitian earthquake survivors. In the quake’s aftermath, power and telephone access is difficult right now, but the American Friends Service Committee continues to try to reach its many contacts in Haiti to assess the best way for AFSC to help. Click here to donate. National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness The people of Haiti will need help from around the world to meet both their immediate needs and fund the long term effort to rebuild homes, schools, hospitals and cities. Organizations on the ground will continue to need donations to ensure they have the resources to get food, medicine and supplies to the people that need them. Donations are urgently needed - please donate what you can now. It is also easy to organize a fundraiser on campus. Learn how by downloading their Response  Kit. They are recommending people direct donations to their friends at Oxfam through their website. Oxfam has four offices in Haiti and over 200 highly-experienced aid workers on the ground. Advocacy Responses: Advocacy responses can make a tremendous impact on the lives of the people in Haiti that we care about and want to help in their time of suffering. When you open the following link, you will notice an update that indicates that those who had responded to the advocacy request for Temporary Protected Status for Hatians living in the USA have already been granted this request. This shows advocacy efforts can be successful and make significant changes. But there is much that still needs to be done in the future. This link will also provide further information regarding Haiti's past history and present needs. This recent earthquake threatens to erase much of the progress Haiti has made in the fight against poverty and economic injustice. In June 2009, Jubilee USA supporters and partners celebrated $1.2 billion in debt cancellation for Haiti, erasing most -- but not all -- of Haiti's debt. Now Jubilee USA needs your voice to ensure a robust and just response to this crisis from the Obama administration. Take action today! Call the White House today at 202-456-1111 and urge President Obama to provide massive relief and reconstruction assistance as grants, not loans; cancel the rest of Haiti's debt. Of the nine million people residing in Haiti, 55,000 have been approved for family-based reunification visas to the U.S., but are destined to wait up to 5 years more in Haiti for final permission to enter the United States. These are the sons and daughters, husbands and wives of U.S.citizens and U.S. legal permanent residents, left behind in earthquake devatasted Haiti . Recently Senators Gillibrand and Menendez and Representative Clarke introduced a bill, the Haitian Emergency Life Protection Act of 2010 (The HELP Act) to immediately reunite those Haitians approved for U.S. visas with their loved ones. We ask that you write your congressional respresentative and senators today to urge them to co-sponsor the H.E.L.P. Act. | 
