One week ago a 7.0 earthquake hit Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, causing considerable destruction throughout.  The death toll is expected to be well in the thousands and a massive response by government agencies and non-profits is underway.

The devastation was huge and there is much need, so how can just one person help? While the damage is so huge and the lives affected are many, it’s important to remember that impacting just one person’s life is totally worth!

Work Smart

It is encouraging to see how so many people throughout the world have reached out through volunteering and generous donations of food, clothes, and money!  With that said, it’s important to work smart.. or else it could quickly turn chaotic and, dare I say, into ineffective effort: Volunteers Moved to Help Haiti, But Goodwill Turns to Organized Chaos.

In the non-profit world there is a saying: Beware of the donation that costs money. Getting the donations is only half the battle. Things need to be sorted, sometimes cleaned, organized (that takes a great deal of manpower) and then of course it is expensive to ship things to Haiti. Then the hard part really begins – getting supplies to those who need it most. In many cases, victims will not be able to seek out assistance themselves — volunteers will need to seek out the victims.

People have big hearts, but sometimes it’s best to leave the mobilizing of supplies and volunteers to those who have the most experience handling these sorts of tragedies. Companies can ship supplies much cheaper and in a more organized fashion then most of these groups who want to help, but lack the expertise to do so [Sak Pasé a commenter on ABC New's blog].

Avenues for Hope

Below are just a few credible organizations that are helping:

• Buy Issue 1 of A Photographic Benefit for the Survivors of the Haiti Earthquake from MagCloud.  All proceeds go to the American Red Cross International Response Fund for Haiti relief.
• You can donate $10 to the American Red Cross by texting “Haiti” to 90999. As of this writing, this tool has raised $3 million for the Haiti earthquake relief efforts.
• Christian relief organization World Vision distributed clothes, hygiene kits, dried biscuits and bottled water to 750 homeless families in Canape Vert and Petionville, Port-au-Prince, over the weekend.
• Doctors Without Borders – Currently treating people on the ground and will be operating an inflatable hospital.

Due Diligence

For those who will donate or volunteer time with an aid organization, take a look at their profile (if they have one!) on Charity Navigator.  The website analyzes a charity’s financial efficiency and gives it a star-rating.

Also see their list of recommended charities to help in the Haiti relief.

Question: How and with what organizations are you volunteering for/giving to for the Haiti relief?  Let wewerenaked know!

Christmas Update from Adrian and Chad from Clad Tailor on Vimeo.

Try something new this Christmas..

Move over Santa Clause.  There’s a new old Santa in town this Christmas.. Advent Conspiracy.

The idea is to:

Spend Less, Give More, and the idea is to give gifts of time, things that you make yourself, things that require a little more thought but often less money. And maybe Advent, and Christmas, will be a little less miserable. Start some traditions that don’t make the holidays simply something that adds to the stress, and leave behind the lesson that the best thing to ask a kid about Christmas is “What do youwant?” (Wired Magazine)

Why not continue the good work this Christmas and support His Voice for Sudan with you, your small group, your family, or your Church?

Such a great reminder.  Thanks, His Voice!

His Voice For Sudan Advent Conspiracy Video from Amber Burger on Vimeo.

We are pleased to announce our newest shirt Orphan Shirt (Project 365).  We are continuing with our focus on His Voice for Sudan which is an amazing organization that helps to feed, clothe and educate orphans in the war-torn country of Sudan.  $3 will cover the needs of one orphan for one day.  We will donate $3 for every Project 365 shirt you purchase.  Project 365 is an endeavor to quite simply, give 365 days! Help us help them! This is what modern philanthropy is all about.  Tell your friends to buy a shirt today!

Ohh, I almost forgot, we’ve lowered the price of the elephant shirt! Check it out! Buy it today!

Do you remember the movie with Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey called “Pay it Forward?”  I don’t remember exactly, but I don’t think the movie was that great.  Anyhoo, while the movie was not stellar, the main idea of the film was.  The idea, if I remember correctly, was to simply do a good deed and watch it spread.  Sometimes we get so caught up in the business of life that we forget the Golden Rule.  What would happen if everyone made a concerted effort to do one good, or nice, or helpful something for somebody everyday?  What if people started to treat people as they wished to be treated?  Is it possible for one person to change the world? Well, yes, as long as you don’t think that one is somebody else

P.S. Our new shirt is fixin to debut…stay tuned!

We are excited about a new company that has joined the ranks of what we like to call the modern philanthropy movement. GiveAnAnimal was started by a good friend of me and Adrian.  The concept is quite simple, buy a shirt and GiveAnAnimal will give a chicken, duck, sheep or goat to a family in a country where such a gift will prove to be quite impactful, even life changing.  I wish I could be there to see the faces on these families when they are blessed with such a gift.  I am looking forward to hearing about GiveAnAnimal for many years to come. Go buy a shirt and tell all your friends!  Stay tuned…maybe we can get an exclusive interview with the founder one of these days…I’ll work on that.  Cheers for now!

Check out Mississippi Music Artist Becca Varner at www.myspace.com/rebeccavarnermusic.

A revolution of sorts has begun between two worlds. The courting and eventual marriage of business and non-profit organizations is occurring right in front of our eyes. For far too long both were in a way subservient to each other. The non-profit kept alive by its patrons’ generous donations, the other sustained by the non-profit in all ways holy, spiritual and righteous. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying there has been anything wrong with the way things have been done. All I am saying is that the organizations of the future that will have an impact on the poor and needy, either in spirit or pocketbook, will no longer be able to thrive if they play by the same rules they always have. Ministries large and small will need to rethink the way things have always been done and be willing to transform themselves. The line between the sacred and the secular is quickly diminishing and fortuitously so. God has not called us to be separate from the world, but to revolutionize the world. The days of being salt in a shaker on the side have ended and a full out engagement of society has begun. It was Jesus the carpenter, Paul the tentmaker, Abraham the property owner, and David the king who revolutionized their worlds in such a way as to have us continually talking about them today. It is the combination and balance of the sacred and secular not its strict separation that will change the world. Are you ready?