The initial word of the quake was shocking and crippling however as the fatality numbers hit mainstream the world is beginning to realize how crucial it is to send relief.

The world has not seen a natural disaster of this magnitude since the Tsunami that struck the coast of South East Asia in 2004. The disaster was followed by an outpouring of global generosity given the grisly chore of cleaning up the tens of thousands of bodies, and helped fund the reconstruction that is still taking place today.

As in 2004, the world must once again unite to help aid a country in need. The aftermath of the quake is catastrophic, The Red Cross is now estimating deaths at over 50,000. The State Department has set up a hotline for Americans to inquire after family in Haiti: 888-407-4747.

You can also use your cell phone to make a $10 donation to the Red Cross disaster relief fund by simply sending a text “Haiti” to 90999.

Please take the time to help Haiti in a time of need. For breaking news and updates in real-time on relief efforts visit LeapFish.

More ways to Donate:

American Red Cross
redcross.org
800-HELP-NOW
Donations can be made online or $10 donations can be made by texting “HAITI” to 90999.

CARE
https://my.care.org/
800-422-7385
Donations can be made online.

Catholic Relief Services
crs.org
877-HELP-CRS

World Vision
worldvision.org
888-56-CHILD

YELE Haiti Foundation
yele.org
212-352-0552
Haitian musician Wyclef Jean’s foundation is accepting online donations.

AmeriCares Foundation
americares.org
800-486-4357

UNICEF
unicefusa.org
800-4-UNICEF
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1953454,00.html#ixzz0cc0cjsgY

What started out as 10 sponsored kids, quickly turned to 39 and counting for a Salvation Army toy and supply drive driven by some kind hearted LeapFish employees.  Employees received ornaments symbolizing their sponsored child along with details on their sponsored child’s needs. Each employee purchased what their child needed and placed it under the company’s beautiful Holiday Giving Tree with delivery from Santa to the wonderful kids set for Christmas Eve!

Shepherds Gate, a Women and Children’s abuse shelter also received some holiday love from some kind hearted LeapFish employees this year as employees purchased boxes of kitchen supplies, educational toys, sports equipment and books for both the women and children. In addition, LeapFish is providing a Holiday meal to for the shelter and its residents this holiday season.

LeapFish is proud to contribute and help improve the lives of Greater Bay Area families. We hope to put a smile on each child’s face, and assist families in feeling the love that is shared during this special Holiday Season.

Happy holidays from all at LeapFish.

The Tweet-a-Cause for the Greater Bay Area Make-a-Wish Foundation is officially over.  Thousands of Tweets were generated by thousands of individuals supporting the cause and although the number Tweets fell short of the goal, LeapFish will be making Jacob’s wish come true anyway.

LeapFish has donated $10,000 to the Greater Bay Area Make-a-Wish Foundation and is sending Jacob to Disneyland with his family for a week!

Thanks to all of who Tweeted, published Facebook posts & made mention of the Tweet-A-Cause in blogs.  Jacob’s family is full of gratitude and thanks.

A Thank You From Jacob’s Mother:

Gratitude to all the special Angels at Make-A-Wish,

This will create a memory that will last a lifetime; bringing much needed healing and joy to our hearts.  As Jacob’s mother, I witnessed the reflection of joy and wonder in Jacob’s eyes I will never forget when he found out.  You provided a magical haven, a world away from daily cares and challenges that life threatening heart disease can bring; letting go of the emotional, mental, social challenges that Jacob faces in his life. Gratitude from the bottom of our hearts for everything!

LeapFish was proud to team up with the Greater Bay Area Make-a-Wish © Foundation in its first social media fundraiser and hopes more of such causes take form in the future.

The article covered the partnership between The Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation and LeapFish that raised $10,000 to send a 4-year-old ill boy to Disneyland.

Excerpt from the Article:

Regarding the use of Social Media to promote Charities, ” It only takes a couple of moments a day to change the world…LeapFish, a Pleasanton search engine, has pledged to donate $10,000 if 100,000 Twitter messages are generated.”

Click here to read the article on SFGate.com:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?blogid=19&entry_id=52391

PLEASANTON, Calif. – November 16, 2009 – LeapFish has joined forces with the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation^® to adopt an ill child’s dream and help make that dream come true. Tweet-a-Cause, a social media initative, will give Twitter users the power to help fund an ill child’s dream to go to Disneyland, one Tweet at a time.  LeapFish will make a donation per Tweet sent to the Make-A-Wish Foundation until $10,000 has been raised and the child and his family can go to Disneyland. LeapFish is inviting people to tweet to raise awareness of children that need your help.  LeapFish will make a donation to create magic and make their wishes come true.

Jacob, age 4, has a rare and life-threatening disease that has affected him since birth. He has one big wish in life –- to go to Disneyland with his family.  LeapFish and the Make-A-Wish Foundation have joined forces to help fund his wish through Twitter.  “We are privileged to be able to make a difference in young Jacob’s life by helping to fund his wish,” said Ben Behrouzi, CEO of LeapFish. “What better tool than Twitter to get the community involved and allow everyone to share in making a difference for someone,” said Behrouzi.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of America is the largest wish-granting organization in the world. The Foundation has granted wishes to more than 174,000 children with life-threatening medical conditions nationwide. Through the Adopt-A-Wish^® program, a donor, such as LeapFish, can cover the entire cost of a child’s wish. To raise awareness of the Adopt-A-Wish program and to help get the social media community involved in granting an ill child’s wish, LeapFish is sponsoring the Tweet-a-Cause and Make-A-Wish campaign.

The campaign will run from November 16 through December 4th, 2009. LeapFish invites people to Tweet-A-Cause to honor Jacob’s wish.

For more details on the campaign and how to help visit LeapFish.com/MakeAWish

About LeapFish

LeapFish is an evolved search engine that captures the traditional, multi-media and real-time Web, through a single, connected search platform for both searching and sharing content.  Founded by Ben Behrouzi (co-founder of Reply.com), LeapFish is a privately held, 100-person corporation headquartered out of CARR America Corporate Center in Pleasanton, California. For more information, visit blog.leapfish.com.

About Make-A-Wish

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.  For more information, visit www.makewish.org.

LeapFish is proud to be a sponsor and donate a Flat Panel TV and PS3/Blueray system to the Giveaway. The winners will be announced on June 21, 2009 Live on the St. Jude television special on KOVR CBS Channel 13.

More information for the contest and how you can enter to win can be found at http://www.sjdreamgiveaway.org/sacramento or you can call the toll free information line (800) 564-8758 .