In just the last 24 hours I have gratefully received a surprising number of responses to my call to action in Haiti. JustinSchuck.com/haiti has been visited by over 400 unique visitors since the site went live with 1,290 page views so far; over 100 of those people went on to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund website where I hope many of them gave a contribution.

Several people sent me emails pledging their cooperation on my service projects. I am genuinely moved by the enthusiasm these friends and Twitter followers have shown. (If you're interested, email info@JustinSchuck.com with "HAITI SERVICE PROJECT" as the subject.)

Ideas for the Justin Schuck Haiti Project
In addition to interest generated in giving money, I was was surprised to receive many responses from people wanting to join me in service projects on the ground in Haiti once the immediate recovery is complete and the job of rebuilding the country can begin. Some very good ideas have been sent my way and I would like to share some of them with you now.

1. Working with the World Society for the Protection of Animals
2. Starting a non-profit to facilitate donations for the project. (The downside is that administration of a 501(c)3 would be complicated and I would need a lot of help from more experienced people to make this a reality.)
3. Volunteering for the Red Cross
4. Organizing Washington a national DC-based drive for air mattresses and home goods
5. Building physical structures, including a school, small apartment building, homes and/or commercial buildings using green technology (especially utilizing ICF for its strength and energy efficiency)
6. Organizing trips for mental health professionals to provide much needed care
7. Creating a website where people in the U.S. can sign-up to host a Haitian family in their home, and provide access to jobs, health care, and education.

There are so many great ideas, even I have had a few. :) But, I want to hear more. Regardless of which projects we embark, we will need people who have compassionate hearts and a willingness to help—experience in construction is an obvious plus.
Read more »

Labels: Charity, Haiti, Justin Schuck, Volunteer

This weekend President Obama called on us to do whatever we can to raise money and help the people of Haiti in the aftermath of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated the capital city of Port-au-Prince and much of the surrounding area. I now call on my friends to do the same, and join me in this effort and help me organize the first of several service projects in Haiti.

In the immediate aftermath of the 2005 gulf coast hurricanes that devastated parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, I launched a similar awareness campaign on JustinSchuck.com. Now I come to you again asking for your help and compassion. As we move forward I will provide additional resources on my dedicated Haiti page.

The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund
On Saturday, President Clinton and President Bush announced the creation of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund as a central resource to donate money towards the recovery and rebuilding efforts in Haiti. I feel very proud that these two former presidents have taken this call to action. Their presence will lend a unifying credibility to the fundraising effort. The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund will ensure that all funds raised go directly to the organizations and groups that need it the most. We are being asked to send only money at this time so that people on the ground can decide for themselves exactly what they will need to save lives.

Please visit their website to learn more: http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org

We've come a long way, baby.
Since the 2004 South Asian tsunami and the 2005 gulf coast hurricanes, we have seen great advances in technology and fundraising capabilities. The U.S. State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the American Red Cross used the power of mobile communications to raise an unprecedented amount of money via text messaging. By texting "HAITI" to "90999," users will be charged $10 on their phone bill, the money going directly to relief efforts. The swift action on the part of the government and Red Cross in launching this innovative program made it easy for people to give what they can.

In the months to come, I hope we continue to remember to text our donations so that we can provide a sustained stream of revenue for aid.

Where do we go from here?
Like many I feel restless to help, donations to aid organizations do not ease these tensions. Words eloquent enough to describe the range of emotions I feel for the Haitian people have not found my tongue. I want to be on the ground, getting my hands dirty, clearing rubble, building homes and comforting the impoverished of spirit. It will be several months before we are able to fully understand the scope of this tragedy, but my convictions are simple: I plan to organize, with the help of friends and partners, service projects in Haiti once the immediate crisis calms and the journey of rebuilding a nation begins—as early as this spring if the stars align.

I urge you to heed my call to action and join me in helping the people of Haiti. If you are interested in volunteering or contributing in any way to this effort, please email me directly with the subject "HAITI SERVICE PROJECT" to info@justinschuck.com.

Haiti Tags
To stay up-to-date on the latest from me, use this link to find my blog posts on Haiti.

Twitter Hashtags
I am asking my friends and followers to use the "#JustinSchuckHaiti" hashtag at the beginning of tweets to provide an easy way to follow the conversation on the web.

Labels: AIDS, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Bush Clinton Haiti Fund, Catholic Relief Services, George W. Bush, Government, Haiti, Justin Schuck, JustinSchuck.com, News, Twitter, USAID, Volunteer, Website

In July 2006, accompanied by my friend Cliff who grew up in New Orleans, I embarked on a photographic expedition to cover the city a year after the devastating storms of 2005. Hurricane Katrina and the resulting catastrophic levee failures resulted in countless deaths and destruction totally more than $100,000,000,000 (that's $100 billion) in damage. Whole neighborhoods were wiped away as the city's poorest residents were left to fend for themselves.

A year later the devastation was still visible. At times I was overwhelmed by the scope. There wasn't a parish not touched by the storm. While my overall experience was positive, I am still struck by how much has yet to be done.





Song: "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap

To learn more about how you can help the city of New Orleans and its residents, visit the following websites:

"Mama D" Dyan French on MSNBC - Watch the video! You'll recognize her from mine.
Common Ground Relief - Solidarity, not charity
New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund
Unity of Greater New Orleans - formerly Unity for the Homeless

Labels: America, Help the Homeless, Hurricane Katrina, Justin Schuck, Justin Schuck Photography, New Orleans, Photo, United We Stand, Video, Volunteer

From a very early age we are told that heaven is a place of comely clouds, airy angels and peacefully pleasant people. We are taught that hell is a place of fire, of demons, of haunted suffering souls. Perhaps this is true, but I have yet to meet a soul who's holidayed in either and returned to tell the tale. In the mean time, you'll have to muddle through my conjecture.

In the hell I see, you are surrounded by an endless banquet of the finest foods ever prepared. I dare say even better than my mom's. There are biscuits and croissants and homemade marmalades. Fresh blackberry jams and jellies are no more than an arm's length away. There are hams and yams and pheasants galore. Roasted duck shares the table with lamb kabobs, naan and saffron rice. Oh the saffron rice. Fanciful fruits and vegetables of the ripest fields fill the empty spaces between people and plates. Little bowls are filled with sweet cream butter just waiting for a chance to meet your toast. Goblets and glasses filled with wine and spirits accompany teas and smoothies freshly made. There is no direction that you can see where there isn't something more delicious than the place you looked previously.

Millions and billions, and perhaps even thousands, share a place at this vast banquet, yet not a soul is eating. In hell, the food never gets cold, the enticing scent never dissipates. A sweetly savory steam rises from turkey stew simmering nearby. Yes, hell is a place of endless reward and limitless suffering. But how could anyone suffer in such a place? The condemned seated at this colossal fete are unable to eat, for they have forks and spoons strapped tight to length of their arms. Wrists and elbows are unable to bend the trapped souls closer to the food they cannot eat. Their necks are uncranable making the snacks unsnackable. The suffering is as infinite as the feast.

The souls, so consumed by their own torment hardly notice the suffering of their neighbor, much less the one missing ingredient that makes all the trappings tastier. Incidentally, it's the same ingredient that makes the sun shine shinier, the water waterier, the carrots crunchier, and the companionship closer. As you may have by now guessed, the lost enchantment is love. Love is missing. The love of family, the love of friends, the love of God. So they sit and sit and sit until it's time to sit some more. The food's still warm, but the tortured see the longer side of eternity before the food sees the inside of their stomachs.

In heaven there is the same bounty with buttery croissants, honey-roasted hams, blackberry jams and endless glasses of wine. Roasted chicken shares space with freshly caught salmon fillets, and a good pot of chili gurgles close.

Many trillions and quadrillions, and maybe millions, of rewarded souls in heaven have forks and spoons strapped tightly to their arms. They too cannot bend their wrists and elbows, but suffer they do not. At the banquet table in heaven, everyone enjoys every effervescent eat because in the presence of love, in the presence of God, they feed each other.

By feeding our neighbors, we feed ourselves.

Labels: Creative Writing, Faith, Family, Food, Heaven, Homeless, Justin Schuck, Podcast, Religion, Volunteer

The Help the Homeless Walkathon was a resounding success! We far exceeded our goal of raising $500 for team Justin Schuck by raising $860 in online and offline donations.

I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for their thoughtful donations, especially Shane King, Marti Cullen, Barbara and Bob Salvucci, Keith Richburg, Carl Tugberk, Ilissa Suss and Marisa Sellinger-Fisher. I also want to thanks Mariana Reynolds and Christina Hee for joining my team and helping me raise money, and Mabel and Michael Reynolds for walking with us on Saturday.

Our beneficiary organization, the Central Union Mission, received hundreds of dollars from various organizations and individuals, but I am pleased to say that team Justin Schuck was the most successful single team. And while that is all fine and dandy, next year I want to raise more than double that amount. They do terrific work with men in DC and provide a safe stable environment that helps the men help themselves with job and skills training among other things. Bottom line: it's a great cause and we are going to raise more money, walk with a larger team and continue doing the work that serves the greater good.

Labels: Charity, Help the Homeless, Justin Schuck, Volunteer