One by One

As soon as I heard the first report on Haiti on Tuesday evening, my heart sank. I knew that an earthquake that big and that close to the capital had to do some serious damage. And I know that the people of Haiti have been subjected to both natural and manmade disasters again and again.

We don't have a large presence in Haiti. There is an office on the Dominican Republic side, but no formal space in Haiti. There are a couple hundred IBOs that we are searching out and waiting to hear from. 

The reports triggered our disaster relief plan at Amway. And I'm proud to say, our leaders were quick to approve donations to the American Red Cross and Save the Children for a total of $100,000.

Our response plan, established after the Southeast Asian Tsunami, also acknowledged the need to provide an outlet for the generosity of our IBOs, and encourage their giving. So we also set up a place on our site to donate. Amway will be matching these donations, dollar for dollar.

We are looking into other ways we can help, both in the short term when need is greatest, and in the long term when all the cameras have left.

Please consider a donation through our site. You can go to Amway.com, or click on this link to go directly to the Red Cross site for Haitian disaster relief to make a donation. The Red Cross will provide food, shelter and other critical services to help the victims recover as quickly as possible.

Thanks to all those who have given hundreds of thousands of dollars through our site after other disasters. And thanks to those who will step up again to help our neighbors and friends in Haiti.