Simple Ways You Can Help the Victims of Japan’s Disaster

I’ve been thinking about ways to support victims and their families in Japan since the earthquake and tsunami struck last Friday.  If you’re interested in helping, check out an article (“Japan Earthquake & Tsunami: 7 Simple Ways to Help.”) in Mashable that lays out some simple, solid ways you can help. Here’s some of the things you can do:

Text to Donate

Once again, the American Red Cross launched a texting campaign to raise money for relief efforts. Last year, the Red Cross was able to raise over $20 million for Haiti relief through text donations.  If you’d like to donate to the American Red Cross for Japan Earthquake Relief, just text REDCROSS to 90999. Each text will provide $10 towards the Red Cross’s humanitarian efforts.

Donate via Facebook

The Red Cross has also launched a campaign on Causes to raise at least $25,000 for relief efforts. By logging in to Facebook, you can donate anywhere from $10 to $500 to help Tsunami victims and their families.  As of publishing time, the Causes campaign has raised over $40,000 from over 1,000 donors and 3,000 promoters.

Donate via iTunes

Another option, Apple set up a special place in its iTunes store, promising to deliver 100% of any donations to the Red Cross to benefit Japan. The iTunes donation page makes it easy to help quake victims with suggested donations ranging from $5 to $200.