Chinese charity organizations are soliciting help from the society to raise money for earthquake-struck Haiti.

The China Charity Federation Monday released on its website channels for public donations, including banks, post offices or face-to-face transfers.

The Red Cross Society (RCS) of China also made public donations its local branches had received.

The RCS' branches in Sichuan, a province hit in 2008 by an 8.0-magnitude earthquake, had received a donation of nearly 12,000 yuan (US$1,760) from three schools in Mianyang, a city among the worst-hit in the earthquake, said a statement on the RCS China website Monday.

Donors said the students and teachers wanted to make their own contribution to help the Haitians rebuild their homes as they themselves had been aided by benevolent people from around the world after the 2008 earthquake.

The RCS China's Shanxi branch received up to 115,000 yuan from a man who said he and his family were both grieved over the tragedy in Haiti.

China has made a promise to sent Haiti 30 million yuan worth of emergency relief materials. The first batch of goods, worth around 13 million yuan, arrived in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince on Sunday morning local time. Among the goods were medicines, tents, food, drinking water, water purifying facilities and clothes.

At least 50,000 people are believed to have died in the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that hit the Carribean island country on January 12 local time, including eight Chinese peace-keeping police officers. Actual death tolls could be much higher.

International aid has been pouring in. The International Committee of the RCS has set up a website, icrc.org/familylinks, for people in and outside Haiti to search for families who have lost contact.

(Xinhua News Agency January 19, 2010)