Beautiful Sendai before the disaster
Ever since I did a post the other day asking that your prayers and thoughts be with the people of Japan, my heart has been breaking. Every time I see pictures or video I am holding back tears. I just keep thinking every day that there has to be something that I can do. I think a lot of people might think that because it isn't a really poor country that they don't need help. Even for a country that is well off this amount of destruction would be astronomical.
But Japan unfortunately isn't well off, Japan is a heavily indebted nation and this obviously isn't going to help. There is no way that Japan can help all of their people without help from other countries.
It makes me so sad, my husband and I have been wanting to take our children to see Japan and for them to see where they come from (my husband is half Japanese). I wanted to be able to show them what a beautiful country it is and now a lot of that is destroyed.
I know with our economy it is hard to imagine what you could possibly do. And if you are couponing for the reason that most of us are you probably don't think that you have much to give. But anything helps! Below I have a list of a few ways you can help out.
Salvation Army:
The Salvation Army is a wonderful organization. I was in charge of the bell ringing program a few years ago for my local area. And I think a lot of people associate the Salvation Army with bell ringing and think that's all they do. But they do so much more the Salvation Army is works tirelessly to assist any country when there is a disaster. The Salvation Army in Japan immediately dispersed teams following the disaster to the most severely affected areas where they distributed basic necessities to survivors. The Salvation Army has been at work in Japan since 1895, operating more than 80 centers there, including two hospitals and four children's homes. They are a part of Japan's communities and they are dedicated to their recovery. And you can help by going here to make an online donation or Text the words "Japan" or "Quake" to 80888 to make a $10 donation.
Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. Right now you can text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific. You can also go here to make an online donation.
Heart to Heart:
Probably one of the only organizations you will find that donates 98% of your donation. And one of the only organizations that I found that is taking In-kind donations. And as couponers I know that this is something that we can do! After all who has more toiletries to donate than we do! Go here to find out how to make a care kit. This might be something you can do with friends or neighbors.
Pray - It may not seem like much, but it is! Just pray for comfort and help for all of the families that are in need.
Local Churches- Check with your local church to see if they are doing anything to help. And if not, maybe you could organize something (a fundraiser, a yard sale, bake sale.)
I know it is sometimes hard to put yourself in the shoes of someone that is so far away and you feel that you have nothing in common and that it doesn't affect you. But these are families just like yours who were affected and they need your help.
So I am asking my readers to make a pledge to help. For every pledge I will donate $0.25. A pledge includes praying! Just let me know with a comment below what your pledge is. I am also doing a local yard sale to raise money, If you are in Utah and would like to help please contact me here. Thank you for your help!
Sendai after the disaster
