With estimates that as many as three million people may be affected by the catastrophic earthquake which hit Haiti Jan. 12, the American Red Cross released an additional $9 million for earthquake relief last Thursday, bringing its total commitment at that point to $10 million to support relief efforts in Haiti.

Countless requests have come from people wanting to help.  The best way to do that is to make a donation to the American Red Cross International Response Fund at redcross.org or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS. Donors can designate their gifts to Haiti relief.  Donations to the International Response Fund allows the American Red Cross to respond to global emergencies and disasters.

In addition, several hundred thousand people have chosen to make a mobile donation.  Donors can text "Haiti" to 90999 on their cell phone to send a $10 donation to support Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.  The mobile giving effort raised more than $3 million by Thursday morning, and all money raised goes to support Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti.

The Red Cross does not accept unsolicited donations of products (such as clothing, hygiene products, medicine or food), noting that, while well intentioned, they have hidden costs for processing time and shipping. The Red Cross makes every attempt to procure items locally, which minimizes transportation and storage expenses. By procuring goods locally, the American Red Cross can also ensure the items distributed to disaster victims are appropriate for the culture and diet.

Priority needs in Haiti are food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support.  Thousands of local Red Cross volunteers are aiding their fellow Haitians.  American Red Cross Disaster management specialists are arrived from the United States, Peru and Mexico to join local Red Cross staff already on the ground in the disaster zone.  As soon as airports begin accepting relief shipments, tarps, hygiene items and cooking sets for approximately 5,000 families were to be sent from the Red Cross warehouse in Panama.

The American Red Cross is also helping the injured who may need blood, with blood and blood products shipped to the U.S. Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, and then on to Guantanamo Bay to help Haitian evacuees and patients.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sent a plane full of mostly medical items on the way to Haiti from Geneva. Other Red Cross partners have deployed a mobile hospital, medical teams, and 40 staff to help with sheltering, providing water, sanitation, and telecommunications.

ICRC is helping reconnect separated families in Haiti through a web site, www.icrc.org/familylinks, which enables people in Haiti and outside the country to search for and register the names of relatives missing since the earthquake.  In the first twenty-four hours, more than 6,000 people were registered.