How You Can Help The Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami Victims!

Many of you are wondering how you can help the Japanese people, in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the island nation. Here are a few organizations involved in the rescue and recovery effort that you can donate to.

• The Red Cross – Provides donations, first-aid and emotional support for both survivors and rescuers
• Doctors Without Borders – Provides funds that will support medical aid for the injured
• Save The Children – Disaster relief and support specifically for the children of Japan
• Salvation Army – Texting “Japan” or “Quake” to 80888 will donate $10 automatically
• Convoy of Hope – Text TSUNAMI to 50555 to donate $10 to Convoy of Hope’s Disaster Response efforts.
• Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund – “Disburses funds to organizations providing relief and emergency services to victims of the earthquake and tsunami”
• ShelterBox – An organization devoted to providing immediate shelter for those made homeless by major disasters
• International Medical Corps – Major focus on deploying medical needs to affected areas
• Google People Finder – A searchable crowd-sourced log of people affected by the disaster in Japan

(Photo by German Aeorpace Center DLR/ZKI via Getty Images)

Many familiar and longstanding charities are taking donations via websites and text messages. Some examples:

Text “redcross” to 90999 to make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross. Text “japan” or “quake” to 80888 to donate $10 to the Salvation Army. Text “4japan” to 20222 to send a $10 donation to the humanitarian group World Vision. The charges will appear on your cell phone bill.

Most major groups post updates about their activities on website blogs as well as on Twitter and Facebook. Texting “corps” to 30644 will bring Mercy Corps updates in response.

For a list of charitable organizations, check out InterAction, the largest alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs. The Better Business Bureau and Charity Navigator are good ways to check out charities as well.

(Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Fidel C. Hart/ U.S. Navy via Getty Images)