Filed under: community services, consumer behavior, science and technology | Tags: disaster relief, haiti, harris teeter, red cross, text message, WFAE
At this point, everyone’s heard about the new text-message way to support disaster relief in Haiti. By making donations so quick and easy (literally 8 taps on my phone “Haiti” and “Yes” It’s 10, if you count hitting “send”) wireless providers have raised record amounts for the Red Cross at unprecedented speed.
Local grocer Harris Teeter has also been using its lower-tech way to raise money at the register for the cause.
What these both have in common is that donations occur at the point of thought, removing the consumer’s barriers of inconvenience. No need to sit down to write (and mail) a check or enter in a bunch of credit card information.
And today, local WFAE reporter Julie Rose told us how those donations actually make it to relief teams on the ground, disputing the myth that the money is taking 90 days to be useful.
