The January 12 earthquake in Haiti has created a humanitarian crisis that may well exceed any such event in the history of the western hemisphere. Even the low estimates of death and suffering are staggering.

Your TCHS Alumni Assn. encourages you to contribute to relief efforts. There are several easy ways to do this:

• contribute generally to the International Red Cross via the link below; on the RC donation page there is a general fund and a Haiti-specific fund.
• contribute to the foundation representing the new Haiti Fund established by former presidents Bill Clinton and G.W. Bush.
• from your mobile phone, send a text message to 90999 with the single word "HAITI" in the message body; your account will be charged $10, which will be included in your next bill; NOTE: this may result in text messages from cell phone advertisers; if this is a concern use another method.

For those able to do so, there is no limit on the number of text messages ($10 bills) you can send or monetary donations you can make.

The alumni assn. will donate half of subscription revenue for the month of January. If every registered member subscribes for $12, we could be able to donate about $10,000.

Caution: Numerous scams have already appeared. Don't compound the tragedy by replying or responding to email or telephone solicitations. Don't click "Donate Now" links in email messages. If you want to donate to an organization, type its website address directly into your Web browser and press Return. Or make a donation by telephone. We vouch for the websites linked from this article.

RC