I’m pretty much a cheap bastard when it comes to charity. See when I was younger I worked for a “charity” and the place was so corrupt it was unbelievable. So pretty much ever since then I avoid the hell about of charities because I’m too paranoid about the uses my money is put to. So if people want me to help them I give them my time.
Japan
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock you’ve heard about the horrors of what has happened to Japan, so far not one but three four major disasters have struck them.
Earthquake
The fifth biggest earthquake ever recorded. 8.9 on the Richter Scale. Also over 200 aftershocks of magnitude 5 or greater. Seismologists are predicting another 7.0 earthquake within the next few days.
The Entire Island has shifted 20 meters or 60 feet. Some places have dropped 2 feet.
2 Tsunami
About an hour after the earthquake a 27 foot tsunami hit the city of Sendai and the coast. It was so huge that it completely overwhelmed the sea wall that was designed to keep out Tsunamis. Then this seawall trapped a bunch of water on the island, so it can’t go back to sea and is submerging whole cities in some cases
Nuclear Meltdown
In case you need some help understanding how nuclear reactors work… it’s just a giant boiler that uses nuclear material to heat water. Water is a pretty broad term to describe the toxic mixture that nuclear reactors use. The thing about nuclear material is that it never stops being hot, and the water must continue to flow continuously or the whole shebang overheats and melts itself into a dangerous uncontrolled nuclear reaction.
If the nuclear material gets exposed because the water runs out, hydrogen accumulates and blows up.
This is very bad, see if this happened in Canada we could all move to Cochrane because we have plenty of land. The Japanese live on an island, a small one.
So far 2 reactors are confirmed in meltdown and 3 more are on their way to meltdown. Incredibly bad…
Volcano
A volcano has started erupting in the other end of Japan. So who knows if any people are in danger from that.
Why Should I Help Japan?
We all owe Japan a debt of gratitude. They’ve been making awesome stuff for us for years. To figure out how much you owe them and why keep reading.
Sony
photo credit: The GameWay
If you own any of the excellent Sony products and pretty much any consumer electronics, the Japanese invented the entire industry. You owe 5$
Honda & Toyota
If you’ve ever owned a Honda or Toyota car, you owe probably several thousand per car, but 5$ will do…
Sushi
photo credit: Marcel030NL
If you’ve ever enjoyed the taste explosion known as sushi and sashimi, you owe $5
Nintendo
photo credit: John-Morgan
If you’ve ever allowed your kids to play Nintendo while you sat down and chilled out, you owe 5$
Manga
photo credit: homard.net
If you like manga, you’re just weird, but you also owe 5$
Tsunami
If you know that a tsunami is a humongous wave, you should also know that tsunami is a Japanese word. For letting us borrow their word, we all owe another 5$
Landlord Rescue Blog
If you’ve ever learned anything on this blog that saved you money or made you feel good, you owe me $5 and I want to you to donate it the Japanese.
Here’s How To Give
For the next while the Japanese people will be looking for their friends and family. Their infrastructure for electricity and water is pretty much destroyed in the affected areas. They’ll need basic supplies such as water, food, blankets. They need our help! Every little bit helps.
This is copied from the Canadian Red Cross
Canadians wishing to help support relief efforts underway are encouraged to contribute by:
- Donating online
- Calling 1-800-418-1111
- By texting the word ASIA to 30333 to make a one-time donation of $5*
- By contacting their local Red Cross office. Cheques should be made payable to the Canadian Red Cross, earmarked “Japan Earthquake/Asia-Pacific Tsunami” and mailed to the Canadian Red Cross National Office, 170 Metcalfe Street, Suite 300, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2P2
Hey I donated $25 yesterday morning (the correct amount) without even realizing it
I like sushi, I own a Honda, I own a Sony, I don’t like Manga (-$5), and I know that Tsunami is a humongous wave.
Great Minds think alike
Haha! I love this post. Strangely, it didn’t occur to me until right now that “tsunami” is, in fact, a Japanese word.
You’re right … developing countries, with less transparency and accountability, often have more corruption. (Don’t take my word for it — Transparency International publishes “most corrupt” and “least corrupt” lists each year).
Japan, on the other hand, is one of the LEAST corrupt places on the planet. Your $ has a good chance of actually helping people, especially if you donate to a well-established, reputable organization.
I don’t have a lot of faith that my donation would make any difference to Japan. They are wealthy, and have plenty of money. My charities help people who would otherwise go without, such as families of disabled children and helping girls get an education in misogynistic backwater countries.
I can’t believe that money is a limiting factor in getting emergency supplies to anyone affected by this disaster.
Even the third biggest economy in the world will be in big trouble…damage is counted at $180 billion.
Not to mention that our charities that send specialist teams still need to pay those people.
However if you want to educate girls how can I argue
Yakezie Carnival- Yakezies Unite for Japan Edition | youngandthrifty.ca // Mar 20, 2011 at 2:22 pm
[...] the least we can do. Rachelle from Landlord Rescue has a very creative way of determining how much you should donate (e.g. if you have ever eaten sushi, donate $5; if you own a Sony, donate [...]
Except that they aren’t asking for outside help: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/world/asia/16charity.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=japan%20charity%2015&st=cse
Thanks for the link that guy…. I’m not in favor of these “charity scams” either.