An American Red Cross worker assists an injured child following the earthquake in Haiti.

One month ago today, the severely impoverished nation of Haiti was devastated by an unprecedented magnitude 7.0 earthquake, and more than 50 powerful aftershocks, crippling infrastructure and leaving more than 230,000 dead, 300,000 injured, and one million of the population homeless.  Along with a considerable volume of other nonprofit philanthropic organizations, the American Red Cross acted in immediate and swift response.

Prior to the earthquake, the nation of Haiti was already suffering in severe impoverishment and to most, it became immediately clear that a massive amount of financial aid as well as manpower would be needed in the recovery effort following the disaster.  The American Red Cross has stepped up to fill this need through means which are newly innovative and accessible for those who wish to become involved in providing aid.

For the first time on such a massive scale, the American Red Cross utilized text messaging as a mode through which any wireless cellular customer on a subscription plan could make a donation right from their phone through a simple text message.  By creating a mode through which making donations could be as simple as text voting for shows such as American Idol, the American Red Cross has tapped into what has become an increasingly popular form of communication with major media outlets and television programs.

You can make an instant $10 dollar donation (which will be added to your wireless bill) to the American Red Cross relief effort in Haiti, simply by texting “HAITI” to 90999.