Earthquake - How to help?

We are the lucky ones – my family and I live in Yokosuka, Japan 200+ miles south of where the earthquake hit on Friday. Out of our five family members only Mitchell and I were together at the time the earthquake hit – but we were quickly able to get home and regroup. Jeff called from the hospital and said that a tsunami warning had been issued for inside Tokyo Bay and we should head for higher ground ...

As I continue to watch the tragedy unfolding on tv/fb/web, my heart aches for our host country. Those experiencing the quake and tsunami in Sendai region did not have time to run home and regroup. They did not have time to get to higher ground.

What can I do? You want to help in times like these, it is frustrating to sit and watch and not be able to act.

Until I can find a better plan, here is what I've decided – if you have kept up with what I find inspiring while living in Japan and/or my other blog about the misadventures of a family of five foreigners encountering a very different culture from our own, or you are enjoying the slide show of what I consider my "best of" photos I've taken since arriving here and you've found joy in any of these, please consider taking just a couple minutes out of your day to make a donation to the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund through the American Red Cross. This is a secure website. I stopped by the Red Cross office this morning to find out how we can all help – at this moment the best way is through monetary donations. It's easy and if each of my friends just donated $10, I would be honored to think in some small way I made a tiny dent in the huge need that my host country is facing.

Step 1
Go to: http://www.redcross.org/

Step 2
Click on the red "Donate" button located in the top right portion of your screen.

Step 3
Click on "Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Fund" - this will designate that the amount of your contribution will go directly to helping the victims in Japan.

Japan is an amazing country. My family and I have found the people here to be incredibly generous, for example they will go out of their way to help you if you're lost; they are resilient, they take efficiency to the nth degree, and as they have done since I arrived here 20 months ago, the Japanese people continue to inspire me everyday. Please, won't you join me in making a difference?