HR Carnival to aid Haiti: SEROvie

On Jan­u­ary 27^th, Michael VanDervort is fea­tur­ing a spe­cial edi­tion of the HR Car­ni­val intended to pro­vide assis­tance in Haiti.  As opposed to posting HR-related articles, Michael is requesting HR pro­fes­sion­als who blog to do a lit­tle research on charities soliciting donations for aid in Haiti. Essentially Mike is calling on us to do a "background check" on a selected organization, write up the findings, positive or negative, and post them on our blogs.

I've decided to do my background check on The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) specific fund set up for SEROvie.

Here is the story of SEROvie:

AmfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, an international nonprofit organization reported that 14 members attending a support group at the offices of SEROvie, a community organization that provides outreach an HIV/AIDS-related services were killed as a result of the earthquake that hit Haiti two weeks ago.  As of last week, one staff member also remained missing.

SEROvie, which received community awards from amfAR in 2008 and 2009, has been working with men that are particularly vulnerable to HIV in Haiti due to stigma and discrimination, providing medical and psychosocial support, and building a network of providers who offer HIV services.

According to SEROvie's executive director Steve La Guerre: “We were having our usual support group meeting on a quiet Tuesday afternoon when the worst happened. The sound is unforgettable. I can’t even describe the horror as the ceiling and the wall of the conference room started to fall and the chaos started. Fourteen young men were lost forever in the earthquake.”

Cary Johnson, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), said in a statement the group has sent funds directly to SEROvie to allow their services and supplies to continue to reach their LGBT and HIV-affected clients in Haiti. The group is also providing funds to groups such as Colectiva Mujer y Salud, a feminist Dominican organisation that has crossed the border into Haiti in order to assist with direct relief to LGBT communities and to the many other victims.

Here is what I discovered:

To the best of my knowledge, the above story is true and the IGLHRC is legitimately sending funds directly to SEROvie.  But since it is easy for several online news sources to repeat the same story, I decided to make some phone calls and ask some questions.

First, I attempted to go straight to the source on this and call SEROvie myself.  Unfortunately the only phone I have is a cell phone and it is unable to make international calls. I could pay extra for the service.  But since this investigative journalist gig is temporary, I have decided to forestall that for now.

My second call went to IGLHRC themselves.  I wanted to speak to someone there because their website indicates that they are accepting donations for SEROvie.  But when you come to the donation page, there is no way to indicate your dollars are going to Haiti, as opposed to paying for their administrative staff.  When I called I had to leave a message.  My message indicated that I would like to donate to SEROvie but was unsure how to make sure my funds were going to Haiti. I left a message and did receive a return phone call.  They assured me that 100% of the donations made through this website go directly to Haiti.

So my background efforts resulted in me having a greater comfort level with donating.   Which I will be.

Thanks Mike for putting this together and for thinking of another way for us to give to those in need.