<p>Donate at [American</a> Red Cross](<a href=“http://www.redcross.org%5DAmerican”>http://www.redcross.org) or to your favorite charitable organization.</p>
<p>Japan (like India) is a very, very rich country. They have plenty of money to rebuild if they so choose (as did the U.S., after Katrrina, and chose not to.) What they may need are organizations who are already on the ground, who are able to extend their supply chains and services. The Salvation Army, which has been in Japan since 1895, immediately comes to mind.</p>
<p>PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don’t give money to the American Red Cross. I was on the ground during the tsumani that hit South India, and they were positively awful. (I have stories!) And I lived in Santa Cruz during the earthquake, and the Red Cross took money OUT of California rather than spend it on those who needed it. The mayors of Santa Cruz, San Jose, and San Francisco finally had to sue the Red Cross (two years later) just to get them to use the money they took out.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, The Salvation Army is a church/religion.</p>
<p>Giving to a church/religion is not a bad thing. And the Salvation Army is a good church/religion.</p>
<p>It is, though, a church/religion.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, as many companies don’t match donations given to religious entities. And if you belong to a church besides the Salvation Army, that may make for interesting complications.</p>
<p>I am selling t-shirts to help provide aid to Japan. I have created two t shirts and I will take requests.</p>
<p>PM for details (:</p>
<p>I gave to Doctors Without Borders this morning. They have two small groups on the ground already. They always seem to be where the need is.</p>
<p>Have to agree. I will never give to the Red Cross.</p>
<p>And also agree that Japan has plenty of money.</p>
<p>Am not sure if I plan to donate or not yet. I’d rather give to other organizations where the money is absolutely needed (such as Haiti).</p>
<p>People in the US feel the need to help where and when they can…I would have trusted the Red Cross , so good to hear they might not be worthy</p>
<p>I am very, very concerned about the possibility of a meltdown</p>
<p>We gave to Doctors Without Borders this morning. We support them on a regular basis anyways.</p>
<p>lje62 - I’ve used this website before to determine what charities are worth my giving to:</p>
<p>[Charity</a> Navigator - America’s Largest Charity Evaluator | Home](<a href=“http://www.charitynavigator.org/]Charity”>http://www.charitynavigator.org/)</p>
<p>Regarding the Red Cross (and I wish I could remember the details of this better), I met a woman through work who was a nurse overseas in the military during WWI. She told me stories about the Red Cross that were not in line with what I thought their mission was. She said after her direct experiences with them over there, she vowed to never give a dime to them. Over time and as I got to know this woman better, I highly respected her perspective and opinions on issues.</p>
<p>For a “non-profit” organization, the Red Cross seems to be awfully expensive for some of its services. I was investigating CPR/AED classes, and the Red Cross’s were twice as expensive as other organizations (local Fire/EMT.) They explained that they were the “gold standard” of such classes but I doubt there is any difference. It’s a 4 hour class everywhere, and covers the same material.</p>
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<p>This seems a tad cavalier. Japan’s economy is in terrible shape. Besides the global recession, they are struggling with deflation. I have no doubt they will rebuild, but it’s going to be a long difficult road for them.</p>
<p>We should have rebuilt NOLA, but that doesn’t mean we had “plenty of money” to do it. By 2005, we were already committed to a hugely expensive (and unnecessary) war which has drained our economy and is a big factor in our record budget deficit.</p>
<p>I too have been extremely underwelmed with the Red Cross. We had a fire recently in HI and a family with young children was displaced. The Red Cross had a worker appear, have them sit on the ground and fill out forms. The principal of the nearby school had to come out and offer them a table, chairs, blankets, food and beverages. The Red Cross did NOT offer them any of those things, even tho they had lost EVERYTHING and were tired, cold, hungry and scared after the fire that Red Cross KNEW they had experienced. They have great PR but don’t seem them actually HELPING much–spend a lot of physical facilities for THEIR org tho. Have not been inclined to donate to them but was shocked at how little they helped, as was the principal.</p>
<p>Ok - so you don’t like the Red Cross. Pick your charity. The point is if you can help these poor people, please do. Every day the situation worsens. Japan has been in one of the worst recessions ever and yes, they do need help.</p>
<p>^^
I agree, momofboston.</p>
<p>teriwtt is right about Charity Navigator being a terrific resource. It’s not just a gigantic list of charities; it allows you to evaluate the charity. It gives you efficiency data, accountability information, financial and historical data, and mission statements so you can pinpoint exactly the type of help you want to support.</p>
<p>They’ve set up a page specifically for this disaster: [Charity</a> Navigator - Japan Earthquake and Tsunami](<a href=“Charity Ratings and Donor Resources | Charity Navigator”>Charity Ratings and Donor Resources | Charity Navigator)</p>
<p>I also agree with momofboston. When the spirit moves you, just give. Speaking for myself, sometimes if I wait too long, I rationalize myself out of giving. No organization is perfect but just pick one that you feel most comfortable with.</p>
<p>I am ambivalent about the Red Cross. I have been on the receiving end of Red Cross aid when our family first came to this country. Later on, when a tree fell on top of our house and we were away, we came back with a note pinned to our door from the Red Cross offering help. By this time, we were financially capable of taking care of our loss but were touched nonetheless. Yes, their national organization causes much scandalous headlines but their local volunteers (at least in our area) are quite helpful. I vacillate every year between giving and not giving, depends on how irritated I am with them that year. But in the end, if they happen to mobilize quickest to the disastrous area, I give. Also thumbs up to Charity Navigator as a good start in your research.</p>
<p>Glad to find this thread on my source for all info. I was just trying to find something like Charity Navigator. Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>Thank you, everyone, for the information. I also have a very negative view of the Red Cross, based on the experiences of a close relative. I have found Charity Navigator very useful in the past.</p>
<p>I am also very worried about the status of the nuclear power plants. It seems to me that, although the Japanese plants are very well designed and maintained, the fact that explosions have seriously damaged at least two of them implies that the various instruments, sensor, piping, electronics, necessary to run the safety systems (and regular systems) might not be operational. Also, the general situation must make it difficult or impossible for help in the way of expertise and equipment to to get to the reactors.</p>
<p>Even though Japan is a wealthy nation, I believe it’s appropriate to help them in some way. It’s a small thing to donate money from the comfort of our warm, dry homes. The catastrophe seems to grow worse daily what with nuclear plant explosions and threats of more tsunamis. I read somewhere that the Japanese donated a very large amount for the Katrina disaster. More than likely this donation came from an individual and not the government, but people help people nonetheless. I recently donated to Doctors Without Borders simply because I didn’t know where else to donate.</p>
<p>I agree, beawinner. Even if the Japanese government can afford to re-build eventually, tens of thousands of individuals need help right now. I can’t stand to watch the coverage of this horrific situation without at least (and it does seem like a drop in the ocean given the magnitude of the disasters) making a contribution to an organization that is able to provide immediate assistance.</p>
<p>Pay it back or pay it forward, it’s all good karma. I am amazed at how the whole country is able to maintain such decorum and social order in face of utter devastation. No report of looting or chaos that usually happens in such mayhem. Don’t mistake their stoicism for lack of need. They have a long road back to any semblance of normalcy.</p>