Japan disaster: How you can help

Women wrapped in disaster sheets sit together at a temporary shelter set up at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo for people who can't go home March 11, 2011.

/ AP Photo/The Yomiuri Shimbun

Updated at 3:56 p.m. ET March 17, 2011

International relief agencies have launched a variety of ways since March 11 for people make donations to help victims of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan.

Japanese officials said Thursday that more than 15,000 people were either killed or left missing by the devastating earthquake and tsunami which ravaged the country's northeast last week. Another 387,000 Japanese residents had been forced from their homes and were in temporary accommodation -- the quality of which varied greatly. According to the most recent figures, released by Japan's national police agency, at least 15 people have died in refugee camps.

Special Section: Disaster in Japan
Pictures: U.S. relief crews in Japan
Pictures: Faces of the crisis
Pictures: Devastation in Japan
Pictures: Japan's earthquake from above, before and after
Pictures: Vigils held for Japan
Pictures: World's worst nuclear accidents
Pictures: Search and rescue in Japan
Pictures: Tsunami reactions around the world
Raw video of devastation from tsunami, quake
Pictures of damage

Here are ways viewers can help:

Online

The American Red Cross is collecting donations for its disaster relief efforts to help people in Japan and throughout the Pacific.

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.

Save the Children is collecting donations and has dispatched an international emergency team to assist staff in Japan.

International Medical Corps' Emergency Response Fund is collecting donations and is preparing to send relief teams and supplies to the country.

The Salvation Army is collecting donations while its counterpart in Japan responds to victims' needs.

Donations to GlobalGiving's Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund will be distributed to a variety of relief and emergency services agencies.

UNICEF's U.S. fund says it will use its donations to support children in Japan's hardest-hit areas.

The U.S. government's Agency for International Development created a list of active organizations accepting donations for Japan relief and listed ways for people to donate time or materials on its website.

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.

Texting "TSUNAMI" to 50555 will give $10 to Convoy of Hope, a global relief organization based in Washington, D.C.

UNICEF's U.S. fund collects $10 donations from each text message containing the word "JAPAN" sent to 84233.

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

UNICEF's U.S. fund takes check donations sent to:

U.S. Fund for UNICEF
125 Maiden Lane
New York, NY
10038

Beware of Scammers

A helpful message from our sister site CBS Moneywatch.com:

Don't give to strangers who contact you by e-mail or on the phone. If you've never heard of a charity, check to see if it is listed on Charity Navigator, which evaluates the financial health and efficiency of more than 5,500 organizations. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the FBI reported that 4,000 scamming charity sites were created to take advantage of generous donors ... If you have received a suspicious e-mail, or have been contacted by someone claiming to be a victim of a disaster and you are skeptical, the FBI suggests that you contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov.

Locating Survivors

Google launched a crowd-sourcing database for those searching for people in Japan and for those with information about people in Japan.

Twitter posted to its Japanese blog a list of links to message boards set up by mobile phone carriers for survivors to check in. The boards, listed below, are searchable by survivors' mobile numbers.

i-mode
au/kddi
Softbank
Willcom
E-Mobile
NTT East

The microblogging service also created two hashtags for survivors to broadcast messages to a wide audience. #J_j_helpme should be added to rescue requests. #Anpi should be added to messages confirming individuals' safety.

[paul1970a]

The Fukushima 50 Hymn Tribute

This amazing video shows you in a very sad yet heroic way what it means (or should mean to all of us) to be a true patriot, like the Fukushima Fifty!

Be advised, it is a very powerful and emotional piece:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogE3DTRkpq4

Watch it, share it, think about it... think about them!

[paul1970a]

The Fukushima 50 Hymn Tribute

This amazing video shows you in a very sad yet heroic way what it means (or should mean to all of us) to be a true patriot, like the Fukushima Fifty!

Be advised, it is a very powerful and emotional piece:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogE3DTRkpq4

Watch it, share it, think about it... think about them!

[fionaaaaaaaaa]

Look at what this shoe company is doing to help those who have lost everything:- http://www.Soles4Souls.com
Fiona
http://www.vancouvershoppingbyappointment.com

[paul1970a]

The Fukushima 50 Hymn Tribute

This amazing video shows you in a very sad yet heroic way what it means (or should mean to all of us) to be a true patriot, like the Fukushima Fifty!

Be advised, it is a very powerful and emotional piece:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogE3DTRkpq4

Watch it, share it, think about it... think about them!

[HopeLetters]

Many people want to help out, but other than money or being an aid worker, there is another way to help by sending words of support and hope. You can send your message online to school children and emergency workers in Japan via Hope Letters at http://hopeletters.wordpress.com/. Hope Letters will translate them into Japanese and deliver them to local organizations for posting/broadcasting (when it is practical and effective to do so). Help give hope!

[restosup]

Are you people trying to say that some "GOD" caused the earthquake to punnish people who don't believe as you do?? What kind of god would do a thing like that? Sounds like radical Islam to me.

[sunaja]

CBS NEWS has the responsibilty to act in the interest of the world. Please use the resources you have to highlight my comments worldwide. We need to see massive actions taken immediately or else there is another disaster just waiting to happen soon. THE ONLY SOLUTION IS TO STOP ALL VICES AND THE OTHERS THAT I HAVE RECOMMENDED. FOREMOST ALL OF US NEED TO DO CONGREGATION CHANTING OF THE HOLY NAME AND GLORIES OF THE LORD. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY OUT AS PER SCRIPTURES. I GUARANTEE THE DISASTERS WOULD STOP IF THIS IS CARRIED OUT GLOBALLY. CBS please get all religious organnisation to take massive steps in this direction. You will see the results.

[sunaja]

Stop maintaining slaugther houses.STOP killing innocent animals. Stop gambling and abolish gambling dens such as casinos. Stop night clubs where vices are prevalent. Stop illicit sex. Stop alcohol consumptions and drugs use. Just see this video http://www.youtube.com/v/THIODWTqx5E&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param

Just tell me whether we derved to be punished. This is just one autrocities happening in the world and there are many others. What are the world leaders doing about it? We are all heading the same desitny as Japan very soon if nothing really is done immediately.

[sunaja]

It is amazing that what we are doing is to fire fight the problem. Provide immediate assistance. What about the cause of the problem so that they do not incur again. Humans are a full of ignorance being. Some like to be sentimental and pour their emotions in such situations but do not try to see the root of the problem. What good is one's prayers if one do not have pious credit in them. They show so much concern but in reality are you the one who upholds religiuosity? All this is happening due to our wrong doing and no one else to blame. You reap what you sow. The solution is simple. Surrender to the lotus feet of the Lord and repent genuinely and STOP doing any nonsense eg vices. If you reject than the same consequences awaits us. It is just a matter of time. So don't cry over the spilt milk but try to change over a better person according to scriptures as per the Lord's teachings. There is no other way out. How many more lifes need to be scarificied before man realise this truth and seriously start to follow them?