Please don't forget about Japan.

[nenena]

As of today, the official death toll from the Tohoku Offshore Earthquake has climbed past 11,000 deaths, with 17,000 people still missing. Over 300,000 people are living in shelters without adequate food, water, or medical supplies. It's freezing cold in the Tohoku region right now and vast numbers of people are without heat or electricity. Many roads are still impassable which means that grocery stores are running out of food and gas stations are running out of kerosene (which fuels heaters in many Japanese houses).

If you can spare any money, please please please donate to the International Red Cross. They are the most deeply embedded in the afflicted regions right now and they're your best bet for making sure that your money goes directly to supporting somebody who needs it.

My friend Yoshiko also recommends donating to the Ashinaga Fund for Children, which provides financial aid, therapy, and psychological support to children who were orphaned by the disaster. They provide a desperately needed service in a country where the concept of "therapy" is still taboo for a lot of people, so please spare them some money if you can.

It's still not too late to make a bid at help_japan, either. Auctions won't close until March 31st. The auction website is much easier to browse through its delicious account - especially if you need to instantly sort through the over 1800 different fandoms offered - so please give it a look.

For those of you who use Tumblr, you can now donate to the Red Cross of Japan directly from your dashboard, and Tumblr has pledged to match user donations for up to $15,000.

Comments

[symbolswriter.livejournal.com]

International Red Cross. They are the most deeply embedded in the afflicted regions right now and they're your best bet for making sure that your money goes directly to supporting somebody who needs it.

So, um, tell me. The Red Cross of America is not as good an option? Just asking.

[nenena.livejournal.com]

It's the same thing. I wrote "International" assuming that not everybody reading this post would be in the United States, and the idea is always to donate to your own country's national chapter of the Red Cross first. The American Red Cross is sending funds and resources directly to Japan, as are many other national chapters of the Red Cross.

If you want to donate money directly to the Red Cross of Japan you can find steps to do so on this page (http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html), but personally I think it's a better idea just to donate to your national Red Cross chapter.

[(Anonymous)]

I donated £10 and felt it wasn't enough so I got in touch with my local Red Cross representative and she gave me little pyramid boxes to hand out to each class in my school and I am collecting them this Thursday and hopefully we will raise a good amount because really anything can help at the moment. And if you can't give your own money, follow my example.