June 4, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
In an effort to help Pakistani refugees, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is using a relatively new fund-raising tool: text messages.
At a news briefing at the White House, the secretary announced that by sending a text message to 20222 with the word “swat” typed in as the message, Americans can make a $5 gift to USA for UNHCR, which supports the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
In the week after the secretary’s appeal, USA for UNHCR received $28,635 from more than 5,200 cellphone donors and $72,888 through its Web site. At least $24,000 has been donated in more conventional ways to support the relief efforts in Pakistan.
The U.N. group is providing tents, clothing, food, and medicine to more than 2.1 million people who have been displaced in the Swat Valley region of Pakistan, where the government is fighting the Taliban.
For more information: Go to http://www.unrefugees.org.
