Japan: Ways To Help

As news continues to come from Japan since Friday's tragedy, we as Americans, New Yorkers, and F.I.T. students need to know the ways of how to help our neighbors in Japan. Though a high developed nation with one of the best healthcare systems in the world, this is a situation that no one could have predicted. It is as if a major earthquake and tsunami had taken out a part of the United States, what would we do, and what would we want OTHERS to do??

This incredible image from the NY Times puts the mass destruction into perspective, a woman-having lost everything.

Here are a few ways to help the people in Japan, I strongly encourage you all to look through a few and pledge to help in some way, this could have been us!

• The Red Cross: Know for it's incredibly short reaction time the Red Cross was in Japan within hours organizing disaster relief efforts and providing medical care along with food, water, clothing, and the necessities of life. Visit their website here or text 90999 from your mobile phone to make a $10 donation for their incredible relief efforts.
• Google PERSON FINDER: In response to past disasters, Google has gone ahead and set up a person finder for the Japan disaster for those who are either looking for family or friends in Japan, or those who are in Japan and want to assure their friends and family that they are okay. Click to go to the Person Finder. 
• Global Giving: a more widespread organization, Global Giving has taken on the disaster relief effort and is collection donations to put people on the ground in effort of helping with the cleanup efforts and helping those in need both physically and psychologically. This organization also disperses funds to Save The Children, and International Medical Corps, 3 ORGANIZATIONS WITH 1 STONE! Visit the organization here.
• InterAction: Along with USAID the InterAction members is a website with "proven" organizations you can trust and go through to make any donations or find out additional ways to help. Visit the website with the 22 organizations here.
• Lady Gaga: Lastly, of course our incredible Mama Monster has taken her humanitarian efforts to try and raise funds for Japan. She was quick to design and start selling a WE PRAY FOR JAPAN bracelet with the proceeds being donated towards relief efforts. Buy your bracelet here for $5 and add more to make an additional donation.

The tsunami wiped out entire neighborhoods, and left boats where homes once stood.

I know there are a number of us, myself included, that wish we could fly to Japan and be on the ground to help, but I strongly encourage you all NOT to do so at the time being! With the nuclear disaster still an issue, I encourage everyone to LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS for now! Do support these professional organizations that have been doing disaster relief for years though! If an opportunity to go to Japan and help on the ground arises that I think is suitable to our F.I.T. community I will report on it.

I leave you with the link to the NY Times photojournalism site on the situation in Japan, these are some powerful images, and I hope you all take a break from your busy day to think about those who DESPERATELY need our help, and take it upon yourself to do something about it.

View Images from Japan on the NY Times Website