Support for Japan

One week ago, my husband woke me up to because he was so struck by what he was seeing on the morning news. Japan had been hit by an enormous 8.9 earthquake, but what was worse was the incomprehensible tsunami that followed. Both of our brothers have spent a lot of time in that country - my brother was stationed there for over two years while enlisted in the Marines, and my brother-in-law not only studied abroad in Japan, but he just completed a job interview the previous week for a position that would take him back there!

As I spent the entire day watching the footage, I felt helpless. I posted a blog post It Can Just Get Washed Away... on my food blog, but I knew that still wasn't enough. Here's my problem, I currently have zero money to donate, so I really felt like my hands were tied, until I saw this video:



How to Help Japan FOR FREE:
 
For every time this guy (Victor Kim) gets 1,000,000 views of this video, he will donate $600 to the Red Cross (if you don't know why it is $600, then you didn't watch the video!!). As of this writing, he has exceeded 2,000,000 views - LET'S KEEP IT GOING!! Watch the video and share it with your friends!!

How to Help Japan if You have Some CASH:

If you have some cash of your own to donate, then you, too can donate to the Red Cross yourself! If you would like to give some monetary support and wear it with pride, then you might be interested in a offer from the company I am an affiliate for called We Add Up. They created a super-cool t-shirt for the cause:

We LOVE Japan t-shirt

Here's the details of the $25 t-shirt, from the site:

Donation
Show your love for the people of Japan. All of our hearts go out to the Japanese, as the earthquake, tsunami, and now nuclear crises unfold. 100% of profits from this "We Love Japan" shirt will be donated to the Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and the Salvation Army for relief efforts in the wake of this tragedy.

The "We Love Japan" shirt is also available in a Kid's Tee and Baby Tee/Onesie! Get your whole family counted in.

About
The Japanese symbol on the back of this shirt means "Love." Each 100% certified organic t-shirt is custom printed with a unique number, representing your position in our global count of people adding up to make a difference. All shirts are printed sequentially in order. Let's show the world that We Add Up! *Please check out our size guide and note that our Women's Tees run quite small. Thanks!

I am looking forward to rocking one of these after my tax return comes in!!

Do you know of any other ways to help Japan in their time of need?

****UPDATE****

Does Japan NEED our support???

A recent piece in the NY Times just came to my attention and is definitely worth a mention in a post about giving support to Japan. Here is just one excerpt to give you an idea of what you need to think about:

The Japanese Red Cross, for example, has said repeatedly since the day after the earthquake that it does not want or need outside assistance. But that has not stopped the American Red Cross from raising $34 million through Tuesday afternoon in the name of Japan’s disaster victims.

Roger K. Lowe, a spokesman for the American Red Cross, said his group had sent $10 million to Japan on Tuesday, and had spoken with the Japanese group, which had expressed gratitude for the support.

 ...The American Red Cross keeps 9 percent of any money it raises, which means that as of Tuesday afternoon, it had raised more than $3 million for itself through the Japan campaign. It also plans to cover the costs of the shelters it opened in California and Hawaii when there were warnings that a tsunami might hit there, estimated at somewhat less than $100,000.

That is definitely something to think about as you consider sending your support to the American Red Cross. However, I think taking the advice provided by AIDWatch, the blog that brought my attention to this matter, is best whenever thinking twice about donating:

Our best advice for people who feel moved to give by the tragedy in Japan: Give generously, in cash, to an organization that you trust, and don’t restrict your donation. This way, your charity can use the funds for Japan if it turns out they are needed. If not, then it is free to use your donation for another purpose, like the dozens of under-reported, large-scale disasters that CNN isn’t featuring today.