The daily news updates of the devastation in the Philippines, particularly in the Visayas Region, caused by Typhoon Haiyan are heartbreaking. The storm, one of the largest ever recorded, has shattered lives and left hundreds of thousands of people without basic necessities like food, water, shelter and clothing, let alone access to medical services.

I have been in contact with several of our cardiovascular colleagues since the Typhoon, including Philippine Heart Association President Eugene Reyes, MD, and ACC Philippines Chapter Governor Saturnino Javier, MD. Thankfully both they and their immediate families are reported safe, however, they note that the country is in dire need of aid. Dr. Javier wrote: “When the waters [had] ebbed, and the winds [had] stopped … we were staring at a chaos and devastation of unimaginable, unspeakable, unprecedented scale. The images on television are just so overwhelmingly disturbing that it drives even the hardest of hearts to tears - me including.”

The ACC, its leaders and staff are pulling together to help provide support for those in need following the storm. Below are four ways in which you may donate to help the people of the Philippines.

• U.S. State Department: To help from U.S., text AID to 80108 to give $10 donation to @mGiveFoundation #Philippines Typhoon Disaster Relief Fund http://go.usa.gov/WXtB

• Philippine Red Cross: The Philippine Red Cross is accepting donations and coordinating disaster relief on the ground throughout much of the central Philippines. The organization is posting updates on Facebook and Twitter.

• World Food Program: The World Food Program, which provides emergency food aid to families and children, is accepting donations online and through PayPal.

• Unicef: The Philippine branch of Unicef, the United Nations Children’s Fund, says that children affected by the typhoon need urgent access to drinkable water, medical supplies, food and shelter. It is accepting donations online as part of an emergency typhoon appeal.

Dr. Reyes said it best when he wrote that this tragedy is a global problem that “greatly affected and touched not only Filipinos, but other nationalities as well.” Let’s do our part to provide help and support to our friends, colleagues, their families and the entire Philippine’s nation as they attempt to recover from the death and destruction of Haiyan.

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