giveaway for tsunami & earthquake relief

I worked in Japan for two years, between finishing college and starting graduate school, and I loved the experience. I still have family stationed there and many more living in Hawai’i, which was also hit by the tsunami. So this natural disaster is a personal one for me.

This is a twist on the usual blog giveaway, more of a disaster relief encouragement – encouraging people to look beyond their circle and offer help however they can. Rebuilding community in small ways. As I’ve written elsewhere, every change begins with one small step – and more steps become a difference.

I am giving away 20 handmade brooches and 4 pairs of lavender sachets – that’s 24 giveaways total (update 22 remaining):

10 felt & beaded cherry blossoms (update : 8 remaining)

10 wee crochet & embroidery blooms

8 felt hearts (given as sets of 2) stuffed with lavender from our local farms

Enter the giveaway if you have (or are planning to) do any of these disaster relief activities:
-donate $10 to any one of the Japan earthquake/Pacific tsunami disaster relief organizations;
-support a charitable fundrasing drive (local, online, etc.) – there are lots of interesting items offered via Etsy relief sales;
-volunteer with the recovery effort;
-or pay it forward in some other way.
I would love to hear your stories. Disaster recovery is a long term process, taking place in stages over a long period of time. This giveaway will remain open until all 24 items are claimed.

When leaving a comment, please specify which kind of item you would like. I’ll follow-up via email for shipping information.

There are many excellent, established relief organizations responding to this disaster. I’ve listed a few below – I am not affiliated with these organizations, this is just sharing information. Unfortunately, there are plenty of unscrupulous frauds out there, too, so please do a little research if you aren’t familiar with a particular relief organization or fundraising group. For US-based non-profits, you can verify credentials and history through impartial evaluators like Charity Navigator and GuideStar.

American Red Cross – Japan Earthquake & Pacific Tsunami

Japanese Red Cross Society

Convoy of Hope

UNICEF

Global Giving – Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund

International Medical Corps

Network for Good

Save the Children

ShelterBox

Also, Paypal has created an easy way to donate directly to relief organizations who are responding the the earthquake/tsunami in Japan.

Thank you for your support of this relief effort.