Two More Places to Give to Help Haiti

I don't usually write about my husband's job on my blog -- partly to respect his privacy and partly because it's more fun to leave his position as mysterious as Chandler Bing's.

But in light of the unspeakable tragedy in Haiti, I'm going to pull back the curtain a little today.

Corey works with nonprofits (NGOs if you're outside of the U.S.). He helps them with their fundraising and works with them to streamline and strategize how they raise funds more efficiently and effectively. He is an executive at his company, which means he gets to do all sorts of other fun things, like work on spreadsheets and compile reports for the board and get pulled into emergency budget meetings. But the reason he does what he does each day, the passion that gets him out of bed in the morning, is working with dozens of amazing nonprofits who are making a difference in the lives of people all over the world.

Because of his job -- and because I used to work with him -- we have a unique viewpoint. We are intimately acquainted with the behind-the-scenes working of almost all the larger Christian nonprofits in the country. We are also privileged to call many people inside these nonprofits our friends.

With that in mind, I wanted to get the word out about two fabulous Christian ministries in Haiti who aren't getting as much attention as Compassion -- but they deserve it just as much. Both are world relief and development organizations (much like World Vision), which mean they are specifically designed to work with poor communities and disaster situations.

The first is Food for the Poor. If you're immersed in the evangelical subculture, like me, I'd wager you've never heard of them, because they are a Catholic organization. But their love for Jesus is very real. When Corey first started working with them, I was stunned to learn they are the largest relief organization in the U.S. They serve almost exclusively in Latin America and the Caribbean, which naturally means they have a huge presence in Haiti.

Corey actually traveled to Port-au-Prince with Food for the Poor in November to see their work. (I'm trying to get Corey to do a guest post for me on his trip. Short story: My husband, who grew up as a street rat orphan in a third world country and who visited Sumatra just a few months after the 2004 tsunami, said Haiti was the worst poverty he's ever seen in his life.)

As you might imagine, both the disaster in Haiti and Food for the Poor's response are heavy on Corey's heart this week. He's also been insanely busy working for these organizations to raise money for the relief efforts. Some of the employees of his company have been so moved by the tragedy, they are volunteering their time this week to raising funds. They don't have much money to donate, but they figure they can at least donate their time. I love seeing the creative ways people get involved.

The second organization I want to highlight is Food for the Hungry. (Corey went to Indonesia post-tsunami with this ministry, by the way.) Desiring God is one of Food for the Hungry's partners (in addition to Christian artists like Sara Groves), and yesterday, they posted a plea for people to support Food for the Hungry's relief work in Haiti.

Food (as they are known colloquially ) is a tremendous organization, and the more I get to know them, the more I fall in love with them. Like many NGOs, they've been serving the poor in Haiti for years before the earthquake. I followed the progress of their Emergency Response Unit the last few days on Twitter (FH_ERU) as they tried to get a plane into Haiti to both search for their own staff and establish emergency aid. It looks like their director was finally able to land in Port-au-Prince this morning. Time is critical for donations for them as they seek to help those wounded or without food, water and shelter.

Like Compassion and World Vision, both Food for the Poor and Food for the Hungry have earned Charity Navigator's highest ranking (four stars) for ethical and efficient fund management. Read: You can trust them to be wise stewards of your money. If you are still looking for a place to give, I'm honored to recommend these two organizations.

And if you're already given -- no matter where? Thank you. And continue to pray.