Inbound Marketing

Every day I hear from business owners working on the edge. Some are building new businesses and some are established but being hurt by the recession. Most are worried about getting through to the end of the month and there are those who have stopped living day by day and are now living moment by moment. It’s pretty easy to start to look inward, to start isolating ourselves and to be consumed with our problems.

The situation in Haiti right now snaps us back to reality. The earthquake there has been devastating and the loss is hard for us to comprehend. Much like the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004, Haiti is dealing with a force that was beyond their control. There was nothing they could have done to prevent it or stop it.

This should be the time we all look outward and count our blessing. Do you have a roof over your head? Do you have a loved one standing next to you? If you pick up your phone, will it work? Did you get to take a vacation this year? Are your kids healthy and in school?

Sure, our problems may not be small to us, but they sure are small in the scheme of things. This isn’t the time to play politics or procrastinate.  This is the time for action and we are known for jumping in and lending a helping hand.

It may take a bite, but sometimes that is very good for our soul. Sometimes helping someone else even helps us to fix what is broken.

Please give to a reputable charity right now. The need is urgent. These first few weeks are critical in saving the lives of as many as possible. If you can only afford $10.00, don’t be shy. $10.00 can mean a lot. If you can afford more, if you have to tell the kids you are putting off the vacation this year because someone needs your help more, than do the kids a favour and show them what it really means to be a global village. Maybe we could turn this into a win/win. Can you give up some of those morning coffees? Can you cut back on some take-out? I was sort’a planning on quitting smoking but now I’m determine to stop tomorrow. I’m watching a lot of money go up in smoke.

Leave a comment below and tell me what you have done/ plan on doing. Let’s encourage everyone and at the same time, take a bow for standing up and getting involved.

Here is a list of places you can donate to

U.N. Food Program
http://www.wfp.org/

Because of the desperate situation the U.N. Food Program had their warehouse looted yesterday and they lost a lot of food they were trying to distribute. This means they are in even more need of donations.

Red Cross Canada
http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=000005&tid=003

(If you don’t want to donate online, many Canadian banks are accepting donation that go directly to the Red Cross  http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=33931&tid=001 )

Red Cross U.S.
http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main&s_subsrc=RCO_ResponseStateSection

Habitat for Humanity
https://www.habitat.org/cd/giving/donate.aspx?link=1&r=r

** Update

1. For Canadians. CIDA is matching dollar for dollar your individual donations up to 50 Million dollars. For more details check here

http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/ACDI-CIDA.nsf/eng/ANN-114115719-MVV

2. Many corporations, such as KPMG (Bravo!) are also matching dollar for dollar their employees donations to UNICEF.  Ask at your place of work what is being done to help.