Donate to Japan please (info inside)

[Sikbug]

Ichiro donated 100 million yen, which is more than $1 million.

Damn yeah that's a good amount more too. I was thinking about this earlier how with the Yen even stronger right now if the money is being converted into Yen along the way they are losing 20 cents on the dollar.

[Sikbug]

This is going to be a great fund raiser for anyone in the NYC area.

http://www.japansociety.org/event_detail?eid=10a81178

[Sikbug]

This article is a real eye opener of the amount of help they still need in Japan.

http://dwaynerescuejapan.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/reports-from-the-field-3/

From article

"Reports from the Field

By rescuejapan

Hello everyone.

After a week of working to get emergency supplies into the Tohoku area and listening to the reports of drivers who have returned from that area, I wanted to take a moment to share with you what I have observed and learned.

The listings we have posted here www.rescuejapan.asia/updates.asp are just a few Shelters we know for sure are in need of the ‘priority items’. We name them this because this is what Shelters are asking for.

It is amazing when my assistants call a government run emergency evacuation administration office responsible to act as a hub, and hear these people complaining about how they are not getting the supplies they are asking for from the Government. Once we tell them about ”Rescue Japan” and what we do, it is very strange. Even though they are not supposed to solicit help from independent organizations without authorization to do so, these officials ask us ”can you get us what we need?”.

Of course we can.

In fact we have been supplying drivers who make frequent runs to the Tohoku region making deliveries to Shelters, hubs and smaller communities who have lost everything, with our support network we are providing them with food, water, clothes, blankets, and diapers for infants, towels, and other necessities.

Maybe we are breaking a few rules doing this but I for one can not sit around and do nothing while my neighbors suffer in the north. We can not help everyone… so we decided to focus on people who are not getting aid from the government. And believe me, they are not that difficult to find. You see them in just about every community from Miyagi all the way into Iwate.

Here are a few items we had learned by getting good information from on the ground in the disaster area:

People were still living in the 80km radiation zone. They got no warning to leave from anyone. No door to door, no flyers dropped from planes… nothing.

There is no power so they can’t get TV, radio or Internet. They had no idea there was an emergency or radiation coming from the reactor.

One of the drivers told us about them pulling up to a Shelter where there were 400 victims sitting in a room and all they had was an almost empty tank of water. Our guys gave them everything on the truck.

People are leaving Shelters and going back to their homes, in some cases unlivable homes. No power or running water. They rather go home than to stay in the shelters where there is no food. Shelters are seriously over crowded.

People are looking for vacuum packed food in the debris.

Hundreds of trucks on the road make it impossible to get to the disaster area in reasonable time.

Food shortages all over Tohoku and fuel are very hard to find.

Children told our guys they saw cars and people washed away. The teachers and parents are worried about their mental health.

The hubs at the local city government building sending food to the shelters work on a system and they will not deviate from it. It they need 500 bottles of water and they only received 480, they will hold the water until they get the last 20. Even if it takes a day or two, or a week. That is the way they think. They will not break rules.

There is a huge demand for large sandwich bags. You could probably guess why… there is no running water. That means no toilets. People must use the sandwich bags for toilets. This is very common in most of the Shelters in Iwate.

Shelters are also asking for Adult diapers. This indicates there are elderly in those Shelters.Cling wrap is requested for some places. They use it so they can eat from the same plate without having to wash it. There is no running water in most Shelters in Iwate.

We have only been able to contact Shelters that have power and phones.

There are over 1000 Shelters that we have not been able to contact as of yet.This is only a small part of what we have verified from our own guys on the ground in Tohoku. Obviously the media is not covering much of Iwate.

Rescue Japan have contacted many suppliers of clothes and other items that can help the Earthquake victims rebuild their lives.

I personally do not do this to gain glory. I do it because I am able to help and it is the right thing to do.

Why don’t you get directly involved? There are 2 options here.

If you are outside of Japan, join together with other groups and hold fund raisers. Donate proceeds to small relief organizations on the ground doing the work in Japan. Rescue Japan is one of them. We are all volunteers using donated to cover fuel and shipping costs to get basic supplies to areas that need them in the Tohoku region.

The 2nd option if you live in Japan is to ship supplies direct to Shelters yourself. If you cannot we are happy to do it for you.

I suggest you get with colleagues, co-workers and friends, collect donated goods and raise money to cover shipping. Then send them to any of the shelters we contacted. We are happy to get you shipping information and a list of priority items they need. And please only collect, buy and send priority items.

At least doing it that way you know nothing is getting discarded and everything you send is being used by the victims themselves. We have names to post your packages directly to so you know they are getting in the right hands.

As more Shelters become more accessible by general courier we will update the lists.

I believe this is a better way to spend your money on relief programs than to go to an event that claims they are raising money for Earthquake victims. Please be careful. There are tons of events being posted on Facebook and other sites saying they are donating proceeds to the Red Cross. I organize many events and I can tell you first hand unless someone is disclosing how much was raised at an event and where it went, I would be suspicious.

Venues have to be paid. Other expenses have to be paid. Overall very little of your donated money goes to victim relief efforts.

I would rather see you attend events hosted by organizations who are actually doing the work on the ground than some promoter or venue who claims to be having a fund raiser. Do the math.

Unless they disclose how much they are donating for charity (which by the way is the law) what they are raising funds and what part of it is for Aid relief, please do not support it.

Just a word of advise.

Rescue Japan is a small organization with only volunteers that have a simple operation. We collect donations from Drop-Off locations throughout Tokyo and bring them back to the hub (my office), everything is sorted, boxed and prepped for shipment.

Donations are shipped only to Shelters and their hubs who request them. We are updating lists on our website daily. We are currently looking for groups overseas that are raising monetary support to fund this operation. Please pass this message to any one you think that may be interested in getting involved.

Find the latest developments on this organization at http://www.RescueJapan.asia

–dwayne

Email: dwaynebmw@rescuejapan.asia

Web: http://www.RescueJapan.asia"

[Sikbug]

Here is an update on how much and where the money the Japan Society received is going.

http://www.japansociety.org/earthquake