New Information on Red Cross/Red Crescent

Well, so much for my bright idea. I don't understand, though... the director of my local chapter assured me twice that money could get there from here.

The American Red Cross blog reports that the ARC is not accepting designated funds or blood from the public for activities in Iran.

http://redcrosschat.org/2009/06/29/clarification-on-situation-in-iran/

The Red Crescent isn't doing anything at all, apparently.

"The Iranian government's Emergency Center of the Ministry of Health is responsible for treating people who have been injured or affected by the emerging situration in Iran..."

Edited 7/5 to add:

I've been trying to find out what will happen to the money people have sent to the Red Cross for Iran, but have received no information yet. Mostly ummms and uhhhs. Oddly, a comment I posted to the Red Cross Blog asking about this money has been held "in moderation" since Thursday morning. I'll stop short of accusing them of anything until Tuesday - that's more than enough time to "moderate" any comment.

Another Charity to Consider

Via Huffington Post's Nico Pitney:

Raising Funds to help Iranians get online. The global online activism group Avaaz.org, which was co-founded by MoveOn.org, is holding a fundraiser:

One small donation of $15 can fund enough bandwidth for Iranians to send hundreds of secure emails. If 5,000 or more of us can donate, we can scale up these services massively -- with more servers, bandwidth and advanced technical support. The next two weeks will be crucial -- donate now to break the blackout.

More information can be found at https://secure.avaaz.org/en/iran_break_the_blackout/

A little more information

I've had a few questions about blood donations to Iran's Red Crescent. After speaking with the director of my local Red Cross, I can confirm that the US cannot send blood to Iran. Blood donations in the US can be circulated around the US in times of crises, but that blood never leaves the country.

I have several other questions for the Red Cross/Red Crescent, but have been unable to reach the people with answers as yet. Hopefully they will return my calls soon, and I'll have more info.

In the meantime, I have been assured that donations made by mail, phone, or in person to your local chapter of the Red Cross can be sent to Iran's Red Crescent.

If you can't send money, you can still help by sending out this information to the people who do have money. Infopimp for Iran!

Citing Sources

Wondering how I came by my information? Here's how it happened.

I started online, with www.rcs.ir/persian and clicked on the single English page. The Donate Now! button does nothing... none of the buttons do anything. From there, I went to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies at http://www.ifrc.org/

IFRC has no information whatsoever on Iran. You can donate online to a set list of causes, but Iran does not appear on that list.

Finally, I began making phone calls, starting locally with the Willamette Valley chapter of the Red Cross. The people I spoke with had no information, but promised to look into it. In the meantime, I called the national Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C. and got pretty much the same answer. Not only did they not know how to get money to Iran, they had no idea that anything was happening in that region. (Keep in mind, this was nearly a week ago, before CNN et. al. picked up the story.)

So I ended up calling the IFRC's New York delegation to the UN, which is incredibly intimidating for a housewife, let me tell you. The lady I spoke with said that their Iran affiliate had not requested aid, but did not seem to know anything about the internet and telephone restrictions that Iran is currently under. She was also convinced that I could donate from the rcs.ir address, which is not currently working.

Eventually it all came back to the local level. The Willamette Valley Red Cross called me back, and I spoke with Karen Schultz. She assured me that while online donations are out for now, any donations made by phone, mail, or in person to local Red Cross chapters can be earmarked for Iran's Red Crescent.

It may take longer for the money to reach Iran than it normally would by internet... but it will get there.

Red Cross and Red Crescent

The Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies have an outdated donation system, making it difficult to donate to a specific cause online. In order to donate money online to Iran, one would have to go directly though Red Crescent Iran's website... which is not working right now.
( http://www.rcs.ir/persian/index.aspx?portalid=19 )

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies does have an online donation page at http://donate.ifrc.org/?navid=02_02 , but a donor can't choose Iran as a destination for their contribution. Iran would have to put out an official appeal for aid in order to be on the list, which they may not be able to do at the moment.

However, after calling up and down the chain of American Red Cross and International Red Crescent Societies, I have been assured that you can donate over the phone or by mail to your own local Red Cross chapter, specify that the money is to go to Iran Red Crescent, and the money will get there.

If you would like to tangibly help Iran's people, giving to an established charity is an excellent choice. Even if all the Red Crescent can do at the moment is hand out water and blankets, they will need money to do it. Please consider sending even $5 to help.

A show of support is a fine thing, but actual support is even better.