What NOT to send to Haiti

A great piece in today's note from Al Tompkins at the Poynter Institute. He writes about what not to send to Haiti. He echos a message we're trying to get out here in Florida: don't send used clothes, don't send food, don't send medicine -- send money; send it to UMCOR.

As Tompkins points out, what follows many natural disasters are people of goodwill sending in so much stuff that another disaster is created: what to do with all that stuff.

And by stuff, I mean (and Tompkins notes) lots of junk. For instance, after Hurricane Charley a few years ago in Florida, Tompkins writes about helping out in the relief efforts and finding cans of pickled beets in the food chain. "Trust me," he writes, "after a hurricane the one thing you are not pining for is beets."

Use your head. Donate money. Give it to UMCOR. One-hundred percent of your donation will go to help the people in Haiti.