Dating and Social Network

UPDATE: The State dept says more than $20 million has been raised as of Sunday evening EST.
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The Red Cross text messaging campaign has raised nearly $18 million for Haiti relief, according to the State Department’s Katie J Stanton. Just four days ago, we reported that the total had passed $5 million.

Promos during the NFL playoffs helped boost donations, Stanton explains on her Twitter feed. Now she’s encouraging her followers to break the $20 million mark by midnight (EST, we assume).

The goal isn’t unreachable: Simple donations via text messaging combined with the viral spread of the campaign message on Twitter and Facebook have led to an unprecedented number of donations. It’s a model that will likely become the standard for disaster relief.

If you’d like to donate to the Red Cross campaign, text “Haiti” to 90999. For other ways to help, see Haiti Earthquake Relief: 9 Ways to Help Now.

Tags: haiti, red cross