Red Cross partners with Facebook for Typhoon Haiyan Donations

The American Red Cross is asking for $10 donations via a special banner that Facebook will be pinning on top of its subscriber’s News Feed to support on-going global relief efforts in the Philippines devastated by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan).“For the next few days, Facebook is making it possible for users to donate directly to the American Red Cross either through a notification in News Feed, or directly on our Facebook page,” Red Cross social media specialist Gloria Huang posted on its official blog.The banner takes users to a payment screen to drop their donations. Contributions that are bigger than $10 can be made at the official American Red Cross Facebook Page.This marks the first time Facebook allowed relief efforts to be promoted on its top-rated news feeds section. Marketing understands that American Red Cross banner only appears on the news feeds of US Facebook users.Commenting on the move, Facebook said in the same blog: “We’ve always exploring various options for helping people contribute and assist during a time of crisis. This is just the latest evolution, and we’ll continue to keep finding new and different solutions.”All of the proceeds raised through Facebook will go to the American Red Cross and will be distributed to Red Cross groups that are working on the typhoon response.“We’re excited and grateful that they are activating this feature to support the massive global response effort following the impact of Typhoon Haiyan on the Philippines this past week," Huang added.Support has been pouring in since the storm made landfall last Friday with wind speeds of up to 225 kilometers per hour – what experts say is one of the four most powerful typhoons ever recorded.Inquirer.net reported that that Yolanda have killed 2,275 people today,  in what is feared to be the country’s worst natural disaster.