Many MMO companies are finding innovative ways to provide charity for Haitian relief efforts, after last month's earthquake devastated the country.

Most of ZAM’s readers should be familiar with the recent magnitude 7.0 earthquake that left much of Haiti’s populated areas—including its capital city, Port-au-Prince—in ruins, on Jan. 12. Prior to the catastrophe, many Americans weren’t too familiar with the country to begin with; unless you really paid attention back in high school’s History or Geography classes, most people with a substantial knowledge of Haiti gained it at the collegiate level, or perhaps from their own genealogy.

Following the disaster—which left at least 150,000 dead by preliminary assessments from the Haitian government on Jan. 23, according to the New York Times—the entire world began pitching in to help an estimated 3 million affected Haitians, contributing to U.S. and other governmental relief efforts already underway. Many within the entertainment industry also launched an outpouring of aid and support, including MMO companies.

Originally a branch of the French Empire in the 1700s, Saint-Domingue (Haiti’s French-colonized name) prospered from its rich export within the global market. By the end of the 18th Century though, France’s slave-labor population was inspired by the ideals brought about by the French Revolution, which paved the way for the Haitian Revolution. Jean-Jacques Dessalines eventually succeeded in freeing the land from colonial control. Dessalines went on to become modern-Haiti’s first emperor and is considered one of the country’s founding fathers.

Despite its rich past, modern Haiti—even before the earthquake—wasn’t a prosperous nation. Today, millions of its citizens are now homeless, starving and in desperate need of help with basic provisions like food and modest shelter. Disease is running rampant, and many of the sick aren’t even able to give the dead proper burials; many bodies still remain unidentified and will remain so when laid to rest.

That’s why many companies within our own gaming communities have already set up various charities in the hopes of raising money to help the millions of Haitian citizens affected by the disaster. Sony Online Entertainment raised $25,000 to donate to the American Red Cross by giving $10 from every EverQuest, EverQuest II and Free Realms in-game “Haiti Relief” item purchased in its marketplace in mid-January, as we recently reported. MMO publisher YNK Interactive (R.O.H.A.N.: Blood Feud, Seal Online) launched a similar donation effort in early January, offering exclusive in-game items in its RMT shop to raise money.

A Gamasutra article published last Tuesday highlights more MMO companies that recently launched donation events and fundraising incentives:

“Free-to-play MMO publisher Outspark is selling "Help Haiti" in-game bundles in four of its popular titles—Fiesta, Secret of the Solstice, Wind Slayer, and Project Powder—for $5, donating all of the proceeds to Yele Haiti, musician Wyclef Jean's relief organization. That campaign launched in January 15th and ended on the 31st.

London-based developer Tall Trees has contributed $20,000 to UNICEF's relief efforts in Haiti, which it raised through the sale of virtual Haitian cichlid fish in its Facebook game Fish World. The aquarium simulator began offering the fish to players last week for $2.

Runes of Magic publisher Frogster also sent €40,000 ($55,476) to Save the Children Deutschland e.V. The charity is devoted to helping kids grow up healthy and attend school, protecting children from exploitation and violence and helping families in emergency and disaster situations, such as the earthquake in Haiti. Frogster raised the money with a promotion selling an in-game mount to Runes of Magic players late last year.”

Even the social online gaming scene, best known for “Web-based” and “browser” games is pitching in. In fact, the San-Francisco-based Zynga, publisher of Mafia Wars has already raised a staggering $1.5 million by selling virtual goods earmarked for donation to the U.N. World Food Programme, which is distributing food and other aid to Haitians displaced by the earthquake (via WorldsInMotion.biz).

With all of the charity work launched within the MMO and online gaming communities, the issue of companies that haven’t yet announced similar programs has recently become a hotly-debated topic within the community . World of Warcraft publisher Blizzard Entertainment has particularly received a great deal of scrutiny throughout the past month; many proponents are asking why the most-successful MMO company on the planet—boasting more than 12 million subscribers—hasn’t announced its own donation, or even explained its intent.

The official Blizzard forums were inundated with Haitian aid-related posts last month, many of which were eventually deleted or locked by forum moderators. As most forum veterans can probably surmise, many of the threads were locked as a result of inappropriate comments and “trolling.” However, the threads just keep on coming, even throughout the BattleNet forums and other Blizzard-related communities.

In the interest of fairness though, Blizzard has a long history of charity-related work and activities, most notably with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. When the publisher began selling in-game vanity pets last November for $10 each, it announced that half of purchase price for one of the pets would be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation until the end of the year.

When it comes to charity, it’s difficult to point fingers and berate a company for not giving away enough money. After all, there are probably dozens of philanthropic activities that Activision-Blizzard is involved in, many of which the community doesn’t read about because they aren’t widely publicized.

Regardless, we at ZAM are continually inspired by the amount of work, money and time that the MMO and online gaming communities have spent helping those in need. It’s nice to see that both developers and gamers have no problem breaking the stereotypes that we don’t care about anything happening in “the real world,” so to speak. If you’re looking for more information about how to lend a helping hand, check out a reputable organization like the American Red Cross, or visit the Better Business Bureau’s Charity Standards and Resources website.