Socks for Japan

Mar 14, 2011 | Fashion

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

~To help the victims of the disasters in Japan, please share this post at the very least!~