Relief Information to Help Those Affected by Disaster in Japan

The City of Bloomington extends our deepest sympathy to the individuals and families impacted by the Japan earthquake and Pacific tsunami. There are several ways to help support victims of this disaster:

Online:

The American Red Cross is collecting donations for its disaster relief efforts to help people in Japan and throughout the Pacific ([www.redcross.org|www.redcross.org])

Apple has posted a donation page on ITunes where you can use your ITunes account to make a secure donation to the American Red Cross and its Japanese relief fund. ([https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/buyCharityGiftWizard|https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/buyCharityGiftWizard])

Save the Children is collecting donations and has dispatched an international emergency team to assist staff in Japan. ([www.savethechildren.org|www.savethechildren.org])

The Salvation Army is collecting donations while its counterpart in Japan responds to victims' needs. ([www.salvationarmyusa.org|www.salvationarmyusa.org])

The International Medical Corps' Emergency Response Fund has deployed an emergency response team to Japan and is collecting donations ([www.internationalmedicalcorps.org|www.internationalmedicalcorps.org])

From Your Phone:

The American Red Cross is also collecting donations via text message. Donors can text "REDCROSS" to 90999 to give $10 for relief efforts.

The Salvation Army is collecting $10 donations for each text with the words "Quake" or "Japan" sent to 80888. Donations can also be made by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

International Medical Corps is collecting $10 donations - text "MED" to 80888.

By Mail:

Check donations for the Salvation Army's Japan efforts must be marked "Japan earthquake relief" and sent to:

The Salvation Army
P.O. Box 1959
Atlanta, GA 30301-0959

Checks to the American Red Cross can be mailed to the address below. Please indicate your designation on the memo line. The Monroe County Chapter of the American Red Cross will also accept donations.

American Red Cross
PO Box 4002018
Des Moines, IA 50340-2018

For assistance locating loved ones in Japan:

International Committee of the Red Cross Family Links - [http://www.icrc.org/familylinks|http://www.icrc.org/familylinks]

Google has launched a crowd-sourcing database for those searching for people in Japan and for those with information about people in Japan - [http://www.google.com|www.google.com]

Avoiding Scams:

As people seek ways to donate money and goods to support people devastated by the massive Japanese earthquake last week, it is important they also be wary of scam artists seeking to take advantage of their goodwill. The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance offers the following tips to help donors decide where to direct contributions.

• Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages because they may contain computer viruses.
• Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as members of environmental organizations or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.
• Beware of organizations with copy-cat names similar to but not exactly the same as those of reputable charities.
• Rather than follow a purported link to a website, verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group's existence and its nonprofit status.
• Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
• To ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes, make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf.
• Do not be pressured into making contributions; reputable charities do not use such tactics.
• Be aware of whom you are dealing with when providing your personal and financial information. Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.
• Avoid cash donations if possible. Pay by debit or credit card, or write a check directly to the charity. Do not make checks payable to individuals.
• Legitimate charities do not normally solicit donations via money transfer services.
• Be wary of claims that 100 percent of donations assist victims. All charities have fund-raising and administrative costs. Even a credit card donation will involve, at a minimum, a processing fee.
• Be cautious when giving online to unfamiliar charities. Be wary of spam messages and emails that claim to link to a relief organization. After the tsunami disaster in 2004 and the earthquake in Haiti last year, many websites and organizations that were created overnight allegedly to help victims turned out to be scams.
• Find out if the charity has a presence in the impacted areas. Unless the charity already has staff in the affected areas, it may be difficult to get new aid workers into the area to provide assistance. See if the charity's website clearly describes what they can do to address immediate needs.
• Find out if the charity is providing direct aid or raising money for other groups. You may want to avoid the middleman and give directly to charities that have a presence in the region. Check out the ultimate recipients of the donations to ensure that the organizations are equipped to effectively provide aid.
• Gifts of clothing, food or other in-kind donations may not be appropriate. Unless the organization has the staff and infrastructure to distribute such aid, the donations may be more of a burden than a help. Ask the charity about their transportation and distribution plans. Be wary of those who are not experienced in disaster relief assistance.
• Legitimate charities websites end in .org rather than .com.
• Depend on respected experts to evaluate a charity. Be cautious when relying on recommendations such as bloggers, because they may not have fully researched the listed relief organizations. The BBB provides a Wise Giving Guide to charities at [www.bbb.org|www.bbb.org]. The guide shows which charities meet the BBB's stringent standards.
• Visit [http://www.charitynavigator.org/|http://www.charitynavigator.org/] to make sure charities use their funds for their intented purpose.