Socks for Japan ~ let's do it!The quake has shaken Japan. But it has not shaken our faith in what us fellow humans can do for one another. Its raining now in Sendai and soon it will be snowing. And hyporthemia can set in anytime for the victims if they are not kept warm. As I gather the new warm socks for the victims on my end with some pals, read on and see what you can do to help the victims too.
Japan in crisis: Live Blog ~ Al Jazeera Blogs
The tsunami engulfed half the town and many lie shivering uncontrollably under blankets. They are suffering from hypothermia having been stranded in their homes without water or electricity.
Snow is expected within the next few days.
I learnt of the following Socks for Japan campaign via Poesy:http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=146480808749798
Read it closely and see how you can chip in.
Alternatively here it is from Jason's site http://jasonkelly.com/helpjapan/
Hundreds of my readers in the United States and other parts of the world have asked me how they can help the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck Japan on March 11. There are many places to donate money, and that’s a wonderful thing to do, but direct aid is also cherished by victims.
My office location is perfect for managing a direct-aid operation because it’s close enough to the primary damage zone that we can physically get there to help, but far enough away that mail delivery is working. So we quickly set ourselves up to run this operation, called Socks for Japan.
Guidelines:
- Send only new socks. All human beings are comforted by a fresh, clean pair of socks. Other advantages socks offer this operation: their sizes are easy, they don’t break, people need lots of them in disastrous times without running water, people can keep them forever and remember that somebody from far away cared. Please do not send any other items of clothing, food, etc. Just socks, but go ahead and choose nice ones that will brighten somebody’s day.
- Group similar socks in one package. To help our inventory management, put all socks of one type in a single package. For example, “men’s large,” “girls’ medium,” “boys’ small,” “baby girls’,” and so on. Different colors and styles are fine in the same package, but keep the gender and sizes consistent, please. If you include several different groups in a single box, please pack the groups in clear bags with a description enclosed, facing out.
- List package contents on the package. To help our inventory management, write on the outside of the package exactly what’s inside. For example, “ten pairs, men’s medium socks” or “one pair, girl’s small socks” and so on. This will enable us to quickly group inventory for efficient distribution without opening packages.
- Enclose a short care letter. Japanese people treasure letters, especially ones from foreigners. Victims of the 1995 Hanshin quake in Kobe said that care letters were among the most uplifting items they received. If you enclose a care letter, provide a copy of it for each pair of socks you send. This will enable us to hand each recipient of your socks a letter from you. Please keep your letter brief. You can save us time by enclosing a translation of your letter into Japanese, which you can make easily at Google Translate, then copy, paste, and print the result to attach to each copy of your English version. Machine translations are imperfect so be sure to send your English version in case we need to tidy up the Japanese. If you send only English, we’ll translate it to Japanese and include your information that the recipient can use to respond later if they would like. No guarantee on that, of course, and any replies will probably arrive months or possibly more than a year later. We’ll translate replies from Japanese to English.
- Write your email address on the package. The most efficient way for us to keep in touch with you, and track the status of your package once we receive it, is via your email address. Please write it on the outside of your package so we can communicate with you without opening the package.
Please ship your package to my office:
Jason Kelly
Plaza Kei 101
Wakamatsu-cho 615-6
Sano, Tochigi 327-0846
Japan
Thank you for your support! When your package arrives, we’ll send a note to you at the email address you wrote on it.
Need to reach me by email or phone? Please see my contact page. Note that we’re still experiencing aftershocks and rolling blackouts, so it might be hard to get through and I might not be able to respond quickly.
______________________________
FAQ
WHY SOCKS?
Several reasons. Many of the victims ended up barefoot after fleeing in a hurry. In the disaster zone, feet get wet and then extra cold at night. People often forget about socks in favor of more obvious items like blankets and jackets. Receiving a new, fresh pair of socks provides a moment of comfort. If those socks arrive with a caring note as well, it’s very heartening for victims. If you’ve ever been stuck in a pair of wet, cold socks or no socks at all, perhaps you remember how soothing it felt to pull on a warm, dry pair.
Socks aren’t primary support, but a token of care that will last beyond their small mid-crisis comfort. All supplies exist here in Japan, so we wanted something that delivered meaning past the need of the moment, something more special than what people get from emergency teams and government supplies. Military socks are not the most comfortable.
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO SHIP?
The US Postal Service is the most economical, and its one-week delivery time is fine for the extended operation under way. People are shipping every day, so we’re receiving a steady supply of new socks. There’s no need to pay extra to get yours here quickly.
Japan’s country price group is 3. Packages sent via First-Class Mail International cost $10.76 for one pound, $17.64 for two, $24.52 for three, and $31.40 for four.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PS: Please send proper warm socks. Not torn holey ones or peep toes. Its snowing not a fancy dress party:P
No comments:
Post a Comment