"Help is a Verb"

“Help is a verb” – we have one world and our neighbor is crying. By Michele Bedigian.

I love the ways of the worldwide web.

The online exchange of information is so astonishing to me, especially at a time like this, with so many people in need of so much.

Think of the ways of the world 20 years ago; information technology was not nearly what it is today (I know, duh). There wasn't really an internet (or at least, the majority of the world's population didn't know how to use it and even if you did, it took ten minutes to load a page) and there was no texting, no instant messaging. When fundraising efforts were in high demand, we relied on toll-free numbers, snail mail and in-person donations. Not to say there's anything wrong with those methods, but here and now in 2010, we can press a button and send help on any scale.

I guess what got me thinking about this is that I realized that 90 percent of what I know about Haiti's current humanitarian situation has come from the internet. And 90 percent of that 90 percent has been information about relief efforts. Where to click, what to text, how to help.

There is one effort in particular that I would like to highlight and, not surprisingly, I found out about it online, from local designer Beth Campbell of bethcampbellcreative.

What it is: for every $50 donated to CARE for Haitian relief efforts, donors receive a limited edition, signed 13" x 19" illustration by the one of the STUDIO 1482 artists.

Click here: OneDrawingADay (see, it's that simple!)

Art at its best, that for a cause.

“Hispaniolan Trogan” – Drawing/collage of the national bird of Haiti, the Hispaniolan Trogan. By Greg Betza.

Thanks to Beth for the info.