Elsewhere on the Web
Elsewhere on the Web
Donating to Help Victim's of the December 2004 Tsunamis
Where to Send Your Donations
It's difficult to comprehend the enormous number of people who were killed by the earthquakes and resulting tsunamis in Asia and Africa. As I write this, six days after the event, 150,000 people have died. The number of dead has steadily increased each day will likely continue to do so in coming days and weeks.Sometimes it's easier for me to comprehend statistics by comparing them with places I'm familiar with. One-hundred fifty thousand is about three times the number of people who can sit in a sold-out baseball game at Ewing Kauffman Stadium, where the Royals play in Kansas City, my home town. It's more than twice the number of people who will attend the Superbowl in February, 2005. It's just slightly more than the entire population of St. Johns County, Florida, where St. Augustine and Ponte Vedra Beach are located.
And the number of dead is far overshadowed by the massive number of people who have been injured, lost a family member, or lost their homes... and whose lives will never truly be the same as they were prior to December 26, 2004.
How We All Can Help
Americans are always quick to help others in need, whether it's in their own country or abroad, but sometimes it's difficult to decide where to send our donations. We want as much of our funds as possible to be used for aid, not to pay for fund administration. And some of us want our donations to be used for a specific disaster, rather than going into a general fund that can be drawn on as needed.
So how do you start researching different funds? A good place to start is The American Institute of Philanthropy, a nonprofit group that acts as a watchdog, monitoring charitable organizations and the way they spend their funds.
A few disaster relief funds on their "A" list, organizations that provide aid dollars totaling $75 or more for every $100 received:
There are thousands of charities that accept disaster aid donations, and even more small groups and organizations that work to raise funds. If you cannot afford to donate, there might be a way to volunteer for fund raising on a local level. Read your local newspaper for planned events, or organize something yourself with a church or school group.
If You Can't Help Now
The relief effort will go on for a very long time, so don't assume that if you can't help now, you can't help at all. Keep this event in mind, even after the press slows down its coverage of it. The people in affected countries will need a great deal of help to get their lives back on track.
There are always ongoing disaster relief efforts around the globe, often for massive earthquakes and tropical storms, and if they don't affect us we forget about them quickly. Not because we don't care, but because we are busy getting through life ourselves and there's no daily reminder of the ongoing burdens of others.
Starvation, health issues, disasters, wars--they'll never go away. So find a charity you have trust in and do what you can to help--anytime, not just when disaster strikes. No amount is too small, and I can guarantee that your donation will help you, too, when you realize the difference you've made in the lives of people who need our help the most.