As we’ve seen across the news, Haiti was shaken by a devastating earthquake on Tuesday, January 12. The earthquake registered a 7.0 on the Richter scale–the strongest earthquake to hit Haiti in a century. It was centered about 10 miles southwest west of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and the current death toll is estimated to be close to 50,000.

Now, we wonder, what can we do to help? Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have put the word out about an organization called Yele Haiti , founded in 2005 by hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean. The organization’s mission is to create small-scale, logical relief projects to contribute to Haiti’s struggle as one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries.

Yele Haiti, The Salvation Army, The Red Cross, and similar organizations all have set up instant means of donating to Haiti’s earthquake victims: texting. By texting words such as “Haiti” or “Yele” to a certain code, one can choose to donate either $5 or $10, which would then show up on your phone bill for the month.

Celebrities such as Lance Armstrong, Lindsay Lohan, Ben Stiller, and countless others have pleaded for relief aid through their twitter accounts. The texting method is said to have raised at least $4 million, while the American Red Cross has raised at least $5 million. You can also donate online or by mail through most organizations.

So get out your phone. We all text daily, and spend at least $5 at lunch once in a while. Pack a lunch tomorrow, and text one of the following numbers to donate to Haiti’s earthquake victims.

Text the word “Yele” to 501501 to donate through Yele.

Text the word “Haiti” to 85944 to donate through Union Rescue Mission and MedCorp International.

Text the word “Haiti” to 25383 to donate through the International Rescue Committee.

Text the word “Haiti” to 90999 to donate through The Red Cross.

Front page photo compliments of The Financial Times.