I was sitting in my chair watching the Fox Pre-Game show before the Cardinals/Saints game. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this weekend for weeks, as my beloved Vikings play tomorrow against the Cowboys.
While watching the pre-game, or any show for that matter, Haiti is talked about constantly. If you’ve been in a hole for the past week, then you wouldn’t know that they were rocked by a monster earthquake. Death everywhere. Sad news. And day in and day out, we report the news. Being in the news business, I’ve trained myself to ‘step away’ from the story and just report the news – not let it affect me personally. I guess I’ve gotten pretty good at it, as I can deliver the news on Haiti daily and not let it affect me.
But today while I was home in my chair – I guess I finally took in the news. Seeing some of the images on CNN and Fox News, some of the stories, all of the loss. It’s horrible. And many times people like me think “I’m just one guy – I can’t do anything, especially from Tucson, Arizona”. Well, that’s a crock.
Our Red Cross teams are ready for action. WorldCare is primed to send hundreds of pounds of goods to the region. People are doing things. There’s no reason why I can’t.
Suddenly I realized how easy it is to help. Text message. That’s it. Something I do daily can help the cause within minutes. The Fox Pre-Game show threw up a full screen about texting a donation to the Red Cross to help. It’s a $10 donation. Awfully smart – the money is deducted from your bill. Painless. So I did it.
I’ve included the “dialogue” from my phone of how the transaction occurred. Simply text ‘HAITI’ to #909-99 and it’ll reply. If gives you a chance to confirm by typing ‘YES’ – then offers some more options after that. Again, painless.
It’s a good day to sit back and realize how good we all have it. I don’t do that enough. So as I prepare for a weekend of great football, good food and hanging with friends – I can feel a little better that I did something ‘painless’ that will instantly help those dealing with nothing but pain at a time like this.
