Help for Japan’s Tsunami Relief Efforts

I’m sure I’m not alone in sending thoughts and prayers to the people of Japan.  What they have been through and continue to experience is beyond words.

When I worked in a traditional office environment, employees would always come to human resources asking that we do something to help after a tragedy like this.  The employees wanted to give some kind of support to the relief efforts.  And it’s sad to say, trying to do something nice usually became a Royal PITA.  Because too many people would get involved, they couldn’t agree on the charity to support, or someone wanted a whole bunch of rules around how the program would be structured.

Sometimes folks, you just need to do the right thing and, if you break a rule…ask for forgiveness later.

If your employees want to help and you’re looking for some resources to share, here are a few places to check out:

FEMA (aka Federal Emergency Management Agency) is posting regular updates on their blog.  They also have a Facebook page, Twitter account, and YouTube channel.  And they even have a mobile phone app.

FEMA is directing people who wish to make donations to Interaction.org.  They are the largest alliance of U.S. based nongovernmental organizations focused on the world’s poor and vulnerable people.  You can also check them out via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

One of the things I really liked on the Interaction site, was their listing of major organization’s responses to the Tsunami.  So you can see responses from the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and Save the Children (just to name a few).  This is a way to supply employees with information then let them decide the most appropriate way to give.

This is also a very appropriate time to make sure your employees know how to put together a personal emergency plan.  I can’t think of one place on this earth that isn’t at risk for some kind of natural disaster.  Might not be a tsunami, but it’s something else.  You have your company disaster plans in place.  Make sure employees have one for themselves.  Lifehacker published a couple of posts you may want to share:

Make Sure You’re Prepared for Disaster with a 72-Hour Kit

How to Prepare for and Survive a Disaster

I know none of us likes to talk about this stuff.  But the more we do and the more we plan, the safer we will be.  Hopefully we will never have to use it…but just in case we do…

If you have any additional resources to share, leave them in the comments!

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