Use your computer to help 9/11 victims

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Question: How can I help the victims of the World Trade Center disaster?

Answer: I have been asking myself this question since last week. I was flying into New York September 11 for an IBM press conference and our approach took us over the World Trade Center as it burned after the first aircraft hit it. We landed safely at LaGuardia within minutes of the second aircraft impact.

I drove 15 hours to get home to Toronto on Thursday night and have been mulling over how I can help with the cause. (more) I’ve discovered several ways, using the Internet as the ultimate tool, and I want to share them with you.

DONATE ON-LINE: The first way is to give money. The Internet is a great way to donate emergency cash to several organizations to help with the relief efforts. However there have been reports of e-mails soliciting donations that are scams.

According to a statement by Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email (CAUCE), an Internet-based advocacy organization: “A typical message claims to be part of an ‘Express Relief Fund’ or ‘Victims Survivor Fund’. One message claims that donations will go to the Red Cross, but the donation link leads to a Web site unconnected with that organization.” More information is at http://www.cauce.org.

The best way to avoid these scams is to use one of the links below or use click-through from a recognized site such as CNN.com, or Yahoo.com.

Here are some direct links to legitimate agencies taking donations for the disaster relief.

  1. The American Red Cross donations page is at: http://www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html .
  2. You can also get information on how to help through www.salvationarmy.ca (1-888-321-3433) or www.redcross.ca (1-800-418-1111).
  3. There are good resources for donations and ways to help at http://www.charity.ca (2006 Update: Site is no longer performing this function), and http://www.helping.org/.
  1. WEB CONDOLENCES: If you want to send a message of condolence via the Internet, visit the Government of Canada web site set up for that purpose. It’s at http://commemoration.gc.ca/11sept2001/ or via the Governor General’s web site at http://www.gg.ca.
    Or light a virtual candle at ICQ: http://wwwcgi.icq.com/cgi-bin/memorial/candles.pl5 (2006 Update: Site is no longer online.).
  2. HOAX E-MAIL: Do not send forward the bogus e-mails that have been circulating about the World Trade Center disaster.
    These include any e-mail that refers to Nostrodamus quotes that predicted the terrorist attacks. These e-mails quote supposed passages written by the 16th-century French astrologer. In his prophesies called the Centuries, published in 1555, he wrote a series of quatrains, four-line verses purported to predict events far into the future.
    There have been several e-mails supposedly quoting him. One says: “In the City of God there will be a great thunder, Two brothers torn apart by Chaos, while the fortress endures, the great leader will succumb, The third big war will begin when the big city is burning. -Nostradamus 1654.”
    The first evidence that this is a hoax is that Nostradamus died in 1566, so he couldn’t have written this in 1654. The text originated on a Web page written several years ago by a student named Neil Marshall. He invented the quatrain to demonstrate that the writings of Nostradamus are vague enough to be interpreted to mean pretty much anything you can read into them. Ironic.
    Another e-mail adds the line: “On the 11 day of the 9 month that…two metal birds would crash into two tall statues…in the new city…and the world will end soon after.”
    Yet another mentions: “Two steel birds will fall from the sky on the Metropolis.” Again, the astrologer never penned this. Help put an end to these e-mails by letting the person who forward them to you know that they are hoaxes.
  3. BUY THROUGH EBAY: eBay, the highly successful Internet auction house is also trying to help. It has created “Auction for America,” an interactive way for people around the world to help the victims and families of terrorist attacks. You can buy and sell items on the site through the “Auction for America” category on the site at www.ebay.com (2006 Update: Ebay no longer has an “Auction for America” category.).
    eBay sellers can also list items that are earmarked for the “September 11th Fund”. The Fund, established by the United Way of New York City and the New York Community Trust, is focused on short-term emergency assistance to provide for the urgent needs of people affected by the attacks. Once a sale is made, all proceeds from the transaction will be contributed directly to the charity selected by the seller.
    eBay, along with Visa USA, MasterCard International, and Wells Fargo Bank, have waived all of their customary fees. eBay says 100 per cent of the money raised by each transaction will go to charity. The eBay Foundation has contributed the first $1 million.
  4. SPEAK OUT: Finally, I want you to use your computer and the Internet to stop the hatred. They are very powerful tools. Don’t tolerate angry attacks against everyday god-loving Muslims or people of Arabic descent. They are no the perpetrators of these awful crimes. The guilty will be found and dealt with and we will restore peace in the world.<br
    Use these tools to stomp out hate and venom. Use your intellect, your kind Canadian demeanour and your sense of fairness to confront those that are ignorant. Use email, use Web forums and use Internet chat. It may seem like a small thing, but as private citizens it’s perhaps the most important thing we can do.