U.S. texters raise US$11 million for Haiti disaster

The Mobile Giving Foundation called it a "mobile-giving record" and said more than US$11 million has been donated. Former President Bill Clinton and other politicians have urged the American people to give while the popularity of websites like Facebook and Twitter was also instrumental, where users are prodding one another to make donations using their cellphones.

Jim Manis, chief executive officer of the foundation helping to manage cellphone donations, said it was receiving up to 10,000 text messages per second.

Cellphone users can donate US$5 to Haiti-born hip-hop musician Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund by texting the word "Yele" to 501501, or they can donate US$10 to other nonprofit organizations, such as the American Red Cross, by texting the word "Haiti" to a specified number, like 90999.

The donation is charged to a user's cellphone bill.

Wireless carriers Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc, Sprint and T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, have waived fees for customers wishing to send mobile donations. Carriers are also letting users know they are not taking a cut of the donations.

U.N. disaster experts report at least 10 percent of housing in the Haitian capital was destroyed, making about 300,000 homeless, including in some areas 50 percent of buildings were destroyed or badly damaged.