Photography enthusiast and retired physicist Milo Shott of Oxford, England has found a way use his love for cameras to raise boatloads of money for the poverty-fighting charity Oxfam: camera repair. 11 years ago, Shott noticed some workers at an Oxfam store throwing out an old piece of camera equipment. After saving it from the trash, he fixed it up and helped the store sell it for £270.
Since then, Shott has helped the charity repair old camera gear and sell it off at events held four times a year — events so popular that long lines form and ~$5,000 is raised in a week. In all, Shoot has helped the charity raise more than £120,000 (~$192,000) since he started.
The past two days have been filled with increasingly grim news following the catastrophic magnitude 7 earthquake in Haiti. If you had a chance to catch MSNBC’s coverage of the aftermath in the video above, there are some very powerful images.
Boston’s Big Picture also has some extremely moving photographs, which, without words, speak to the devastation and dire need in the small island country.
How to Help
Consider a compassionate donation to reputable charities — but a word of caution: donate DIRECTLY to charities and be wary of scams.
Red Cross: Text “HAITI” to 90999 to donate $10 to the Red Cross in Haiti — via phone bill.
Update: Photographer Lane Hartwell (@lanehartwell) has created a magazine containing powerful photographs from various photojournalists have documented Haiti in the past. It’s being sold on MagCloud, and all proceeds will go to the Red Cross.
