Why are people so eager to jump on the opportunity to donate to Haiti, when before this disasterous event barely any money was going into other charities?

Some of the people I know have donated to Haiti, but have never donated or talked about donating to another charity in their life. I saw pictures at GM place (where the Canucks play) and people were pouring their money into jars for the Haitian’s. Yet when I went to the Canucks game a couple months ago, barely anybody supported the 50/50 raffle which goes to Children’s Hospital (plus you have the opportunity to win something). Another example is the Sikh charity foundation, they raised 1.5 million dollars through just their community and were mentioning how they are very caring and loving people, but this is the only notable charity they have invested in. I’m not saying in any way that giving to the Haitian’s is a bad thing, don’t get me wrong, it’s a great thing. I just don’t understand the people who have only decided to give their money to Haiti, and have never bothered to donate money before?