Help Haiti

by Kyle on January 21, 2010

Originally published on The Daily Bunch on January 14:

The only good news in the wake of the tragedy in Haiti is how quickly the world has mobilized and leveraged technology to help get much-needed financial resources to support aid missions.

That’s where we come in. If you haven’t already, I urge you all to donate something to the relief effort. Here’s a list of ways you can help out:

The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake. They expect to provide immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. They are accepting donations through their International Response Fund. You can also donate $10 to the Red Cross by texting “HAITI” to 90999 (it’s not magic — you will be charged $10 on your next cell phone bill).

UNICEF has issued a statement that “Children are always the most vulnerable population in any natural disaster, and UNICEF is there for them.” UNICEF requests donations for relief for children in Haiti via their Haiti Earthquake Fund. You can also call 1-800-4UNICEF.

Donate through Wyclef Jean’s foundation, Yele Haiti. Text “Yele” to 501501 and $5 will be charged to your phone bill and given to relief projects through the organization.

Operation USA is appealing for donations of funds from the public and corporate donations in bulk of health care materials, water purification supplies and food supplements which it will ship to the region from its base in the Port of Los Angeles. Donate online at www.opusa.org, by phone at 1-800-678-7255 or, by check made out to Operation USA, 3617 Hayden Ave, Suite A, Culver City, CA 90232.

Save The Children has launched an emergency relief effort for Haiti. Donate to their fund to provide medical attention and clean water to children and families.

International Medical Corps is assembling a team of first responders and resources to provide lifesaving medical care and other emergency services to survivors of the earthquake. The IMC previously helped recovery efforts after September 2009’s earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia, and the massive 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Donate to the International Medical Corps through their 24-hour hotline at 800-481-4462

Ben Stiller’s Stillerstrong campaign will be temporarily diverting all donations to support the Haiti relief effort.

Partners In Health reports its Port-au-Prince clinical director , Louise Ivers, has appealed for assistance: “Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. SOS. SOS… Temporary field hospital by us at UNDP needs supplies, pain meds, bandages. Please help us.” Donate to their Haiti earthquake fund.

As a UN Special Envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton appeared on CNN on Wednesday to ask for further assistance in bringing relief to populations on the ground. You can donate through the Clinton Foundation or text HAITI to 20222 to donate $10.

Mercy Corps is sending a team of emergency responders to assess damage, and seek to fulfill immediate needs of quake survivors. The agency aided families after earthquakes in Peru in 2007, China and Pakistan in 2008, and Indonesia last year. Donate online, call 1-888-256-1900 or send checks to Mercy Corps Haiti Earthquake Fund; Dept NR; PO Box 2669; Portland, OR 97208.

Doctors Without Borders is on the ground and has set up clinics to treat injured in Haiti. Donate any amount so they can keep their efforts going.

Direct Relief is committing up to $1 million in aid for the response and is coordinating with its other in-country partners and colleague organizations. Their partners in Haiti include Partners in Health, St. Damien Children’s Hospital, and the Visitation Hospital, which are particularly active in emergency response. Donate to Direct Relief online.

Oxfam is rushing in teams from around the region to respond to the situation to provide clean water, shelter, sanitation and help people recover. Donate to Oxfam America online.

The UN World Food Programme is gathering all available resources to deliver food to the recently homeless and impoverished in Haiti. Donate now to help bring food to those affected as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The Baptist Haiti Mission is operating an 82-bed hospital that is “overflowing with injured.” Donate online to BHM and 100% of your donation will go to the relief effort.

International Medical Corps is assembling a team of first responders and resources to provide lifesaving medical care and other emergency services to survivors of the earthquake. Donate online.

Following the earthquake, Catholic Relief Services made an immediate commitment of $5 million for emergency supplies. They are distributing food and relief supplies, and importing plastic sheeting, mosquito nets and water purification tablets from the Domincan Republic. Donate to Catholic Relief Services to assist in these efforts.

Give to the American Jewish World Service’s Earthquake Relief Fund.

CARE is deploying emergency team members to Port-au-Prince today to assist in recovery efforts. They’re focusing their efforts on rescuing children who may still be trapped in schools that collapsed. Donate to CARE.

Orphans International America reports that they have been able to make contact with their program director in the town of Jacmel, a city about 20 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince that houses OI’s hospitals and schools. Orphans International America is attempting to gather food, clean water and emergency medical supplies to Jacmel. You can contribute to them through PayPal.

The International Rescue Committee is deploying an emergency response team to Haiti to deliver urgent assistance to earthquake survivors and to help overwhelmed local aid groups struggling to meet the immense emergency needs. They will focus on critical medical, water and sanitation assistance. Donate to the IRC Haiti Crisis Fund.

NetHope is coordinating its response with its NGO member agencies and with the UN’s Emergency Telecom Cluster to establish connectivity in Haiti. Seventeen of NetHope’s members are already providing aid and deploying resources on the ground. Donate online.

The Haitian Health Foundation is still assessing the situation of their full-time facilities and staff in Haiti. They regularly provide health care, development and relief to rural mountain villages in Haiti. Donate to the Haitian Health Foundation.

World Vision has more 370 staff in the country. Staff members from less-affected regions of Haiti are mobilizing, and World Vision’s global experts are expected to arrive in the disaster zone as soon as possible. Donate to World Vision.

The Jewish Federations of North America is partnering with the American Jewish Joint Distribution committee and have created a dedicated Haiti Relief page for online donations.

United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is the UN’s humanitarian fund responding to emergencies like the earthquake in Haiti. Donate online.

Friends of the Orphans will use donations to meet the needs of first responders such as first aid supplies, shipping of necessary materials to assist in efforts, and treating the injured. Those interested in helping the relief effort can visit www.friendsoftheorphans.org, or call 888-201-8880 to make a donation.

World Concern’s staff is almost entirely composed of Haitian nationals and will be tapping into private as well as U.S. government supplies to help in the relief effort it hopes will soon be supplemented by cargo ships. Donate to World Concern.

Merlin USA is sending an emergency response team out to the region and have subsequently launched an emergency appeal to bring urgent medical aid and assistance to those affected. Donate to Merlin USA.

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Amber Comes Alive

by Kyle on December 21, 2009

Last week, my collaboration with Amber Music — the new ambermusic.com and accompanying Tumblr-powered blog — officially launched. I won’t bore you with too much project management minutia; like any project, it took a little longer than everyone had hoped and had its moments of frustrating communication difficulties. But we ended up with a finished product that everyone involved felt good about. I’ll take it.

A lion’s share of the credit for the work itself goes to Ray, who created the new brand identity and visual design for the site. He had a difficult mandate, trying to tie in to the previous brand identity. Enough said. But he came through heroically, fought for what he believed was right, and the client loved the finished product (as should any rational observer). Once Ray finished all the identity work (which I’ll post pictures of in a separate post, if I can’t get Ray to do it on his own site) and the site’s visual design and style guide, John took the visual assets and turned them into presentation layer (integrated with WordPress) in what seemed like a long lunch break. (The kids coming up today — we’re going to be working for them sooner than later. Oh to have been in school in a post-CSS/Google/Facebook world.)

Above all, thanks to Amber Music for being a great client. They were creative, flexible, and eager to participate in the process, without overstepping. If you find yourself in need of music for your commercial, music video, or even a unique concept involving a track on iTunes or a ringtone, give them a call. As someone who’s spent a lot of time with their work in developing this site, I can say without a doubt, they get the job done right, time and time again.

And finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t give props to Jamie for all of her patience and support through the process. There’s no doubt that none of it would have happened without her.

Slideshow tour is after the jump, or you can visit ambermusic.com and check out the experience for yourself.

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Sports and Social Media in 2010

by Kyle on December 14, 2009

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A few weeks back, my fellow Blogs with Balls founders and I got asked to participate in a “Sports & Social Media: Predictions for 2010″ compilation put together by Jason Peck.  Today the resulting e-book was published and it looks great. My hat goes off to Jason for putting together a report that’s professional without being stuffy, thanks in no small part to the efforts of my BwB cohorts.

You can check out our contribution, and the rest of the book, after the jump.

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(Formally) Introducing The Daily Bunch

6 December 2009
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It started as a trial run with a new application called Tumblr. It evolved into a “this is too easy for me to NOT do it” exercise. Eventually it grew into an obsession.  5,000 entries later, it could be denied no longer — something was happening here, and even if I didn’t know what it [...]

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Travel Thoughts: Then and Now

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This post was inspired by my friend Wade — the current envy of our office — who’s driving across the country and documenting the whole thing in near real-time at 26days.tumblr.com. (He also took that picture above)
Stop for a second and consider what traveling looked like a decade ago: The internet (then known as “The [...]

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Revamping Yet Again

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In what seems to be unintentionally growing into a twice-a-year ritual, I’ve uncorked yet another reworking of kylebunch.com and my other Bunch sites. For most of you it won’t feel like any major change. But it solves a few problems that had bothered me since the release of the last version back in June. Here’s [...]

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Austin City Limits Festival 2009

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I was there with Pearl Jam, Kings of Leon, Phoenix, Bon Iver, Raphael Saadiq, Dr. Dog, Grizzly Bear, The Dead Weather, Passion Pit, Them Crooked Vultures, and countless others. You can see a full gallery here.

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Blogs with Balls Panelist Announcement

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Blogs with Balls and ESPN

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Big news out of Blogs with Balls land this week. The Worldwide Leader has gotten involved and provided a ball subsidy: From now through 9/28, if you visit blogswithballs.com/2/espn you can request a free discount code that brings the price of BwB 2.0 in Las Vegas down to $100.
Full details after the jump.

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Blogs with Balls 2.0

11 September 2009
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An overdue bit here — tickets for Blogs with Balls 2.0 in Las Vegas (now expanded to October 15-18) are on sale now. We’ve queued up another great lineup of panelists. Here are some more details about the sportsblogging event of the year.

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Blogs with Balls 1.0 Highlight Reel

19 July 2009
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It’s officially been over a month since Blogs with Balls 1.0 went down in New York City. And seeing as details about Blogs with Balls 2.0 in Vegas are starting to trickle out, now seemed like as good of time as any to bust out the highlight clips from 1.0.

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The Digital Aqueducts

16 July 2009
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Where I compile some discussions and thoughts about location-based services like Yelp, Foursquare, and OpenTable and what their successful integration could mean for local businesses around the world.

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Testing Out iPhone Posting

15 July 2009

This is my first pass posting from my iPhone — don’t know if I’d be more inclined to post here or on Tumblr from my phone.
What do you think? Does this post read like something I wrote on my iPhone?

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Austin Return: My First Meals

29 June 2009
Photo by Yap

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