care packets of new socks to send to the survivors in temporary shelters
As you all probably are aware, on Friday, March 11, Japan suffered a devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake off the northeast coast, that brought an enormous tsunami (tidal wave) that washed inland, destroying entire towns and the northeastern coastal areas. This earthquake was an event that happens only once every 1,000 years, and was so strong it shifted the main island of Japan by 2.4 meters and tilted the Earth’s axis by 25 cm so that the days are now incrementally shorter. (!!)
The official death toll in Japan is currently in the thousands, though it is estimated that more than 10,000 people were killed, and many more are currently still at risk with no power, water, or food. More than 430,000 people are currently in temporary shelters, and 25,000+ are still stranded due to high water and debris. Roads, hospitals, and schools were destroyed, as well as an entire airport. Currently in some shelters, there is no power, no heat, and the people there are rationed to one riceball per day.
Yahoo slideshow of the disaster and devastation
The stunning NY Times before-and-after satellite photos of the devastated towns
Since Friday we have been watching the television (actually 3 different internet feeds, simultaneously) with growing horror as in my husband’s home country there is now also the possibility of meltdowns in three or more of Japan’s nuclear reactors, stores and supermarkets are bare of food and provisions, lines for gasoline are four and five hours long, and bodies are washing ashore by the thousands. Though none of the family or friends we know personally were in the areas directly affected by the tsunami and they are all safe, many are experiencing blackouts, no trains running, little food availability, and structural damage to their homes.
There are hundreds of thousands more people who were far less fortunate.
Feeling paralyzed and helpless by a disaster of this magnitude, we wanted to do something to ease the suffering.
~~~To Donate Money~~~
Paypal.com allows you to make an immediate donation of $25, waiving any transaction fees for donations to such organizations as Save the Children, the American Red Cross, Global Giving, and Hands On Network. Alternatively, you can click on the organizations linked above to go directly to their respective websites and dinate there.
Mercy Corps is also another excellent organization that works for disaster relief and is accepting financial donations.
Edit 3/15: Also, you can text your donation from your phone, and text fees will be waived for post-paid Sprint customers:
• Texting REDCROSS to “90999” to donate $10 on behalf of the American Red Cross;
• Texting TSUNAMI to “50555” to donate $10 on behalf of Convoy of Hope;
• Texting WAVE to “50555” to donate $10 on behalf of the World Relief Corp. of National Association of Evangelicals; and
• Texting JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to donate $10 on behalf of The Salvation Army.
The same goes for Verizon Wireless customers texting the above numbers, as well as to the following, to make a $10 donation:
• ADRA Relief, by texting SUPPORT to 85944;
• American Red Cross Relief, by texting REDCROSS to 90999;
• GlobalGiving, by texting JAPAN to 50555;
• International Medical Corps, by texting MED to 80888;
• Mercy Corps, by texting MERCY to 25383;
• Save the Children Federation, by texting JAPAN or TSUNAMI to 20222; and
• World Vision, by texting 4JAPAN or 4TSUNAMI to 20222.
T-Mobile also is not charging texting fees to these charities.
~~~To Donate Something Personal~~~
Socks for Japan is a newly-formed organization based in the city of Sano, which is close enough to the devastation that they can physically go to the distressed areas, but far enough away that the post is still arriving. They are asking for new, clean socks – one pair, or more if you can – grouped into envelopes by size and type for quick distribution. You can also enclose a care letter if you like, and they will translate the letters into Japanese, and hand the packet personally to the people currently housed in the temporary shelters. Socks are also in desperate need during times of crises, the sizes are universal, they are small and light and easy to ship, and can be treasured afterwards by survivors as a sign that someone faraway cared. Please click on the link above to find out more about it. (I’ve added the banner to the top of my site as well.)
I’ve already donated some money to Save the Children and the Red Cross, and I am now putting together 38 packets of new socks and care letters to send to Socks for Japan. They are asking for new socks only at this time.
Please, if you can, spare some money (even just $25!) for a donation, and if you’d like to do something more, please find some nice socks to send to someone who has lost everything in the world.
If you can’t donate money or items, please spread the word so that the people in desperate need can receive assistance.
Now is certainly the time to remember how lucky we all are, and, if possible, do a little more for people desperately in need.
****Please share this post with as many people as you can to spread the word!*****
We hope none of you have had friends or relatives affected by these events. Hold your loved ones close and stay safe!
I will resume fashion/DIY posting tomorrow.
xoxox
Carly
Thanks for your post. It’s really important to note, though, that donations of socks, and even of money specially earmarked for Japanese disaster relief might not be the best option right now.
Take a look at these blogs for an explanation of why that is: http://blog.givewell.org/2011/03/11/japan-earthquaketsunami-disaster-relief-donations/
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2011/03/14/dont-donate-money-to-japan/
I also really want to help, and it’s very tough to feel that you can’t do anything about this disaster right now, but sometimes even really well intentioned effects can land up doing more harm than good.
So. definitely do donate–just think about giving to another cause in the meantime, and to Japanese disaster relief efforts in the longer term if the money’s needed.
One fantastic option that needs–and can effectively use–funds right now is the charity Village Reach: http://www.givewell.org/international/top-charities/villagereach
Oh, I meant to add: If anyone feels they absolutely have to give to an organization helping in Japan right now, the best option is Doctors Without Borders, one of the more effective disaster-relief groups. (Just make sure your donation isn’t earmarked, so it can go to where it will do the most good.)
Dear Monty,
Donating to a legitimate relief agency, that is actively working in the affected areas, and with local agencies in those areas, is a good and valid point. We all need to be careful in times of crisis and not throw our hard-earned cash up into the air and hope that it will land on those we wish to benefit.
But charity is ultimately an act of FAITH. Not of the religious variety, but the type of faith that these organizations will actually do what they claim to, and faith that our fellow human beings will act compassionately and as best they can when using that money. Being so far away from those areas in greatest need, how on earth do we determine what is “best” for them? The organizations who are there should, and that is what they do, and purport to do with money that is donated to them.
Whenever you are dealing with an organization that is larger than a single person it is impossible to have complete transparency, and track every single cent that you donate, unless you are physically following the money like a dog, tracking disbursements, and auditing on the ground. NO ONE is able to that with 100% accuracy, and if those who donate do not realize this then yes, let us point out the obvious: 100% of donated money will not and cannot go directly to those in need – some of it will be needed for organizational costs and may be disbursed to different areas or programs in need, and excess funds will again be forwarded on to another cause if at some time in the future donations exceed the need. Charitable organizations, having learned from past mistakes, now list this information up-front on their websites.
Now, after the fact, we criticize the Red Cross for not acting above reproach during Hurricane Katrina, and ask what happened to all the money donated to Wyclef Jean’s attempt to support Haiti after the earthquake, and examine the past track records of Save the Children and Helping Hands…but are you truly arguing that NO MONEY sent at all is better than SOME MONEY, whatever portion of it may be misdirected, misused, or unavailable?
And why is this a debate about global needs at all? (How you can watch the devastation in Japan and think “Gee, that’s terrible what’s happening in Japan, so I’m going to give my money to Africa INSTEAD!!” is beyond me.) I donate on a regular basis to a number of charitable organizations, both local and international, and I am not saying to STOP donating money to Haiti or Africa or wherever you may be moved to donate to on an ongoing basis.
But to advocate DOING NOTHING at all for Japan because she is rich? Because other countries need it more? If anyone is in a situation where it is an EITHER/OR proposition then obviously they need to make a personal decision with where they feel their money would be represented and used. Helping one charity should not in any way diminish the work and legitimacy of another, or downplay needs elsewhere.
I am not saying deplete all your resources and give only to Japan. I am not even talking about giving other organizations short shrift in order to funnel your funds into Japan. I am merely encouraging people to donate money (even a tiny bit!) to the organizations who are in Japan working for relief who NEED it and are ASKING for it NOW.
You have also provided a link to that inflammatory Reuters article that is the worst-researched, worst-written piece I had read in a long time. The writer titles his piece “Don’t Donate to Japan,” and then goes on to make many false claims including “Japan is printing money” (which is ridiculous since the government can’t actually do this), accusing the organizations there that they are not actually distributing funds to the areas that need it (which they ARE according to workers in those organizations, news sources, and eyewitness accounts), and then wraps everything up by boasting of his $400 donation to an organization that may or may not use it for Japan’s relief efforts. Begrudging boastfulness – now there’s a new one for the Internet.
I’m sorry, but this is not a well-researched or complete article; merely a pigheaded opinion piece that scarcely bolsters your claim in any way.
The writer also argues that money should not be donated to Japan because “Japan is rich” – which is so inherently flawed I don’t know where to begin.
1) How does one define “rich?” GDP? GNP? Average household income? Standard of living? GDP means nothing to individuals who lost their whole families, homes, possessions, and TOWNS. These individuals are hardly “rich” by any means.
2) If we are using national wealth as a barometer for assistance, then by that line of reasoning the U.S. should not have received any during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, or even 9/11…or during many of the other countless crises we as a nation have faced. The U.S. is the richest country in the world whether you define it by GNP, GDP, household income, consumer power, standard of living, or a host of any other measures. Why bother to help Americans at all, since they are rich and their country can afford it? To deny a needy populace simply because their government has money on paper is illogical.
Even if you posit that Japan should not receive help because she is a wealthy nation, how about gratitude? After Hurricane Katrina Japan donated over $2.2 million to relief efforts (including $200,000 to the American Red Cross) and were a similar situation to happen in the U.S. again, do you believe that the Japanese would hem and haw about how donations are used and point our reasons NOT to help? Are we now to sit back on our heels and say “thanks for that money after Katrina…but we’re not helping you out because you have enough to spread around anyway?”
And finally, if you are arguing that we should NOT donate any money because it doesn’t have any personal impact, then what impact does a heartfelt letter of encouragement handed directly to someone in need have? Would you discount that too, saying it doesn’t really help anybody’s physical needs, or feed their growling stomachs, or provide shelter? No, it provides comfort of the HEART, and that is the whole point of SOCKS FOR JAPAN, despite how useless you have insinuated it to be.
If it were me, in that situation, stuck with military rations and in a temporary shelter after my house and family were swept away…I would LOVE a new, clean pair of socks, a small piece of chocolate, and a note from someone faraway saying that they care about me.
And that’s the whole point of it.
Amen! I think Monty’s heart is in the right place, but he is reading the wrong articles. I hope he read your response and is collecting socks as I type this! Thanks, Carly!
You are doing a great job hun. keep it up.
Thank you for sharing the link, I was thinking about how to help more directly than just sending money. I lived in Japan for one year, and seeing those pictures on the news makes my heart cry. Socks are not the world, but they help a little tiny bit, and if that’s all I can do, I will still do it.
Thank you, and ganbatte!
Blogged and posted on the “Book of Faces”! Thanks so much for the info!
Joi recently posted…I’m donating socks!