In the wake of the massive earthquake in Japan, Van Hansis had this to say on his Facebook (thanks to Ron Simmons for posting the screencap) yesterday:
![Van on Japan 190882_1903440034123_1485393550_2170992_40252_o_thumb[3]](file:///C:/Users/Linda Lin/AppData/Local/Temp/WindowsLiveWriter1286139640/supfiles76B17CA/Van on Japan 190882_1903440034123_1485393550_2170992_40252_o[5].jpg "Van on Japan 190882_1903440034123_1485393550_2170992_40252_o_thumb[3]")
The Eric Sheffer Stevens/Doctors Without Borders Campaign
In the last 24 hours, nearly a dozen donations have flowed into the Doctors without Borders campaign set up as an outlet for Eric Sheffer Stevens fans at the end of As the World Turns. The fundraising page is active until August 2011 and is a convenient way to do something material for those in need in Japan and elsewhere (Van Liked a post with this suggestion on his Wall about this last night).
DWB campaign organizer Colleen Burns noted that: “As of yesterday’s donations, all funds raised on the ESS page will be steered specifically to DWB’s relief efforts on the ground in Japan.”
Updated, 14th March 2011, 6.40am GMT:
The ESScrew’s talented video maker, theSICKO, has done a second video supporting the Doctors without Borders campaign:
[tubepress video=CiPgn39x80k title=false description=false]
In the meantime, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières posted on their website yesterday:
The Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team sent to the area devastated by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunamis in northeast Japan continues to assist in the massive government-led relief effort. The team has expanded to 10 people working in Miyagi Prefecture, and additional personnel will head towards the area on Monday.
“On Sunday, we conducted mobile clinics and assessments in two evacuation centers,” said Mikiko Dotsu, the coordinator of the MSF team. “It appears that medical needs are increasing in evacuation centers.”
The situation remains difficult for the survivors of the disaster, with large swathes of the prefecture still without water or electricity.
On Monday, MSF’s assessment team will split into two groups and expand their assessments to the south of Sendai City, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture, as well as to more remote areas that were hit hard by the massive earthquake and tsunamis.
As they continue their assessments, the teams will focus on the particular needs of more vulnerable populations, including elderly people and young children, as well as people suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.
MSF is closely monitoring the situation around the Fukushima nuclear power plants. In the event of a serious nuclear incident, it is only the Japanese government that will be in a position to react.
Full details on the history of the Eric Sheffer Stevens Doctors Without Borders campaign, please visit the original post, or check out the news and updates on the campaign’s progress.
The lure_atwt LiveJournal community charity auction
In the meantime, over at the lure_atwt community on LiveJournal, there is an auction for Japan Tsunami/Earthquake Relief going on. Many of LiveJournal’s most awesome fanfic writers are auctioning works (either additions to existing fics, or one-shots) as well as fan art and videos, with bidders donating to charities to secure the prizes. A similar effort was undertaken for victims of the Queensland floods in Australia.
What else can I do?
If you’d prefer not to contribute to the ESS campaign or the LiveJournal auction, but aren’t sure what to do, here are some suggestions:
- In the USA, similar to their efforts to help Haiti after the earthquake in 2010, the Red Cross is accepting donations either online or via text message. Simply text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 from your phone (you’ll be prompted to confirm with a second text reading YES). The Japanese Red Cross has already deployed 11 national disaster response teams to respond to the crisis but you can support their efforts by donating money.
- Elsewhere, you can UK-based Shelterbox has launched an online fundraiser for the earthquake and tsunami relief efforts. Shelterbox provides assistance to afflicted countries by delivering large utility boxes that contain a shelter and other emergency relief tools. To donate online, simply go to your country’s site and click DONATE.
- If you’d like to donate to Doctors without Borders, but without giving to the ESS campaign, FirstGiving is DWB’s designated online giving site, so have a look around and pick another DWB fundraiser, or even another disaster relief effort to support.
- For more ideas, check out this post on Five ways you can help earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan.
The American Red Cross have posted on their blog:
Update 3:57 PM – We appreciate the outpouring of support from the public in response to this event. At this time, the American Red Cross is not accepting volunteers for Japan relief efforts. We encourage all those who are seeking to volunteer with the Red Cross to contact their local chapter to find opportunities to help in their local communities.
Update 1:54 PM – Our hearts go out to the people of Japan and the other survivors of the earthquake and tsunami. Right now, we are in discussions with the Japanese Red Cross to assess their needs and see how we can help. The Japanese Red Cross has extraordinary disaster response capabilities. They have been operating since 1887, and they run multiple hospitals and blood collection services across the country.
Hope everyone’s loved ones are safe, warm and dry tonight.
Namaste,
-LL