2008 Woodie Awards
Ways for college students to help with tsunami relief
Holly Butcher
Issue date: 2/18/05 Section: Features
- Page 1 of 3 next >
"Kids missing, sharks washed ashore and people worrying about their Christian Dior shirts," said Vikram Chatwal, a New Yorker vacationing in Thailand, to Newsweek on Jan. 10. "It was just so random."
The Dec. 26 tsunami stunned the world. With an estimated death toll of 226,566 (MSNBC), stories of destruction continue to sweep through our media.
The question on many American minds is what can we do from millions of miles away?
"There are always fundraisers that can be organized to go to relief efforts," said sophomore Adam Waxman. "We're at a stage now where we've moved beyond the immediate crisis. There's been a large amount of humanitarian effort that's been given committing to providing for the basic needs of people during the immediate aftermath."
As of right now, donations are the best way to help out tsunami relief. Several corporations and individuals have already raised nearly two billion dollars; by Jan. 3, Amazon.com collected millions of dollars for the American Red Cross through donations. Lowe's, a home improvement store, guarantees to match all donations up to $100,000 for Habitat for Humanity. Even Wal-Mart joined the donation trend by setting up collection bins throughout the stores.
"There's been enormous response and (the tsunami relief is) not lacking in that," said Coordinator of Campus Ministry Max Carter. "Folk can continue to feel good about sending money to legitimate relief organizations, like Red Cross and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and know that the means are in place to which that money can be translated to real aid on the ground."
To ensure the safest, legitimate donations, check the relief agency's website. They should post exactly where the money goes in their section about donations, so before making a contribution, look for the statistics.
"Some organizations have popped up that are absolutely illegitimate. They just have the names tsunami or Southeast Asia in there, and are absolutely bogus," said Carter.
The Dec. 26 tsunami stunned the world. With an estimated death toll of 226,566 (MSNBC), stories of destruction continue to sweep through our media.
The question on many American minds is what can we do from millions of miles away?
"There are always fundraisers that can be organized to go to relief efforts," said sophomore Adam Waxman. "We're at a stage now where we've moved beyond the immediate crisis. There's been a large amount of humanitarian effort that's been given committing to providing for the basic needs of people during the immediate aftermath."
As of right now, donations are the best way to help out tsunami relief. Several corporations and individuals have already raised nearly two billion dollars; by Jan. 3, Amazon.com collected millions of dollars for the American Red Cross through donations. Lowe's, a home improvement store, guarantees to match all donations up to $100,000 for Habitat for Humanity. Even Wal-Mart joined the donation trend by setting up collection bins throughout the stores.
"There's been enormous response and (the tsunami relief is) not lacking in that," said Coordinator of Campus Ministry Max Carter. "Folk can continue to feel good about sending money to legitimate relief organizations, like Red Cross and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and know that the means are in place to which that money can be translated to real aid on the ground."
To ensure the safest, legitimate donations, check the relief agency's website. They should post exactly where the money goes in their section about donations, so before making a contribution, look for the statistics.
"Some organizations have popped up that are absolutely illegitimate. They just have the names tsunami or Southeast Asia in there, and are absolutely bogus," said Carter.
