Thursday's Thoughts: Japan Relief

LOVE JAPAN (eathquake and tsunami relief)
Custom Pillow Keychain
by Sweet Mimi Designs

Right now, our hearts and minds are on the tragedies happening in Japan, so I thought I would use this Thursday's Thoughts to bring some creative ways to help relief efforts. Sometimes money is the one thing you don't have to give, but it's still possible to help if you think outside the collection box.

From A Beautiful Idea:

Artists can partner with A Beautiful Idea to donate a portion of their sales to relief efforts. Pooling money as a group feels like such a unified effort. 100 peoples' $20 together as $2,000 feels bigger than 100 $20 donations.

Remember - print
by Designtwentysix

From Halogen TV:

Make your purchases count, either by purchasing from shops donating a portion of their proceeds to disaster relief, purchasing specially created items, like Lady Gaga’s “We Pray for Japan” bracelets, or using services like SwipeGood, which automatically donates the change from debit and credit card purchases to the charity of your choice.



From Playing by the Book:

You can contribute stories and illustrations to Books That Help. The organization will publish a collection of stories, poems, and art honoring and celebrating Japan. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to relief efforts.

I Love JAPAN Mini Dot Cookies
by Artsy Cookies

From Fool.com and Slashgear.com:

If time is more the issue than money, you can text your support:

Text JAPAN to 20222 = $10 to Save the Children

Text MERCY to 25283 = $10 to Mercy Corps

Text REDCROSS to 90999 = $10 to the American Red Cross

Text 4JAPAN to 20222 = $10 to World Vision

Text TSUNAMI to 50555 = $10 to Convoy of Hope
Text JAPAN to 80888 = $10 to The Salvation Army

And from me:

Give to where and however you can. You’ll be helping someone.

One thing to remember, relief organizations around the world still need your support. Often at times of devastation, well-thinking individuals funnel all their charitable donations to support the current issue and other agencies suffer. I’m guilty of this myself. We all have limited resources, so we just need to be aware that organizations and projects that we’re currently supporting with time and money still need our support while our hearts and attention are on Japan.