It’s astonishing how much money has been raised so quickly to help the victims of Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti. $5.9 million through texting alone! That’s incredible.

Kleph at Roll Bama Roll tweeted this:

Think of the last sporting event you attended. Now imagine coping with something that killed that many people. Link

That hits home. Like he wrote at RBR, remember the 92,000 who attended Coach Nick Saban’s first A-Day game? Imagine that many people gone, trapped under rubble. Imagine the family members distraught with grief, searching for any sign of their loved ones. Imagine relatives who live away from Haiti, trying to get word of whether their family is alive.

Now remember Hurricane Katrina’s devastating effects upon our Gulf Coast and the attacks on Sept. 11. Though fewer people lost their lives, the psychological, emotional and physical damage remains.

Imagine if we could raise that much money for those in need here in America. For those who have no food. For those who must choose between eating and taking necessary medications. For those children who cannot attend school. For those children whose only meal comes at school. For those who have no place but a mattress to call their own.

I’m as guilty as anyone for not doing enough to help those here at home. Let’s let this year be the year that we don’t wait for another catastrophe to do something.

Photos of a tent city constructed by survivors, top, and a young girl resting with her mother and brother at a makeshift medical clinic are courtesy of United Nations Development Programme