Sharing, Seeing, Hoping

A view of the back yard today.

I pause today (and have given pause every day since the earth quake) to bring a reality from our world that is much more important than vegan food and my blog. The disaster hit me hardest last night as I watched PBS's News Hour and saw a report from the BBC--it was probably one of the most emotional Haiti disaster stories I have witnessed thus far. As we are now watching the fourth day of the relief effort, I cannot help but reflect on the despair I have felt over this crisis. (As I am sure others feel as well.) I am only one person. What can I do?

Yesterday I finally made it out to do some shopping after spending a week at home. It was a hard to get myself out the door, I really had to work at it. My first stop was Whole Foods. As I was checking out, the woman asked: Whole Foods is donating to the Haiti Relief Fund--100% will go to the recovery program--would you like to donate $1? I looked down to save myself from completely losing it as here I was going through my daily "errands" while millions suffer--and this question was put before me--I said most certainly and gave another amount instead. Thank you John Mackey and Whole Foods for allowing me to do something.

Now, today I see the situation only getting worse. Helping hands from every part of this planet are trying to do all that is possible to save people's lives. The PBS news last night also mentioned planes were bringing in veterinarians. My heart broke yet again. For if there is one thing I know I could not live without come hell or high water, it is my dogs. Or my husband--(he feels as I do about our animals). I know the human toll is greater than any this world has seen for quite some time, but also know that there are those without a voice who will require treatment as well. It's all so much to bear.

I was in Google's Blogger Buzz catching up on the latest news/tools and gadgets Google has available to its bloggers. I feel very blessed to be able to blog through my Blogger account. My blog has made an incredible difference in my life. The first update dated January 13 indicated that Google had created a widget in partnership with the American Red Cross allowing its bloggers to add an icon to its blogs enabling them to donate directly to the Red Cross. From Blogger: The Red Cross assures us that 100% of the money raised is going to disaster relief efforts in Haiti — we and they thank you for your support!

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have also launched a web site dedicated to relief aid for Haiti--you can link to it from here. Also, Google has a Crisis Response page with several links to help you navigate charitable organizations. There is a great, sad potential for scammers to begin to emerge--this link has listed several legitimate options for making a donation. I have added the Red Cross widget to my blog, as well--thank you Google for creating this option and for working with the American Red Cross.