Update from Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund on GlobalGivi​ng.co.uk

Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund, a project on GlobalGiving.co.uk that you gave £42.00 to on April 16, 2012, has posted an update on how they are using your donation. Here's the unedited update from the field:        

Exciting Update!
By Katherine Sammons - Project Team Intern

Fukushima Kids-https://www.globalgiving.org/10634

We would like to thank you for your continued support; grants are still going strong! Because of donors like you we are excited to announce the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund’s recent allocation of $425,000 to 3 projects working to reconstruct and strengthen communities affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

Here are some project highlights:

Fukushima Kids Executive Committee

Due to the dangers caused by the damaging of the Fukushima Nuclear Plant children in the area are unable to play outside. The Fukushima Kids Executive Committee is working towards restoring playtime by hosting summer camps in Hokkaido for children in the Fukushima area. Getting kids outside during their vacation time and restoring play lightens the children’s spirits in a time of uncertainty. Having opened in 2011, Fukushima Kids’ Summer Camp is excited to open again for the summer of 2012 and is hoping to reach 1,000 kids. Thanks to your generous support Fukushima Kids Executive Committee is receiving $200,000 in funding!

IsraAid

After the events of March 2011 persons living in danger areas were forced to move to temporary housing communities (kasetsu-jutaku). IsraAid continues to work with people of all ages living in temporary housing areas and is launching an exciting new youth leadership project, Rebuilding Lives-Investing in the Future, in Tohoku, Japan. The project aims to empower participants and build leadership, social innovation and social responsibility through a series of trainings, seminars and workshops, which focus on areas such as, leadership training, social program structuring and mentoring. We are excited to announce that IsraAid is receiving $100,000 in funding!

Telecom for Basic Human Needs

During times of disaster radio often becomes an integral communication tool. Radio stations provide vital information to communities and lessen feelings of isolation. Though reconstruction of Japan’s devastated areas is under way the support and information radio provides is still valued in many communities. Having seen the effectiveness of radio stations and the important role they play in the recovery and rebuilding process of communities, Telecom for Basic Human Needs is working to turn disaster stations into permanent community-based radio stations. Thanks to your support Telecom for Basic Human Needs is receiving $125,000 in funding!

If you would like to read additional updates, please visit our Japan Relief and Recovery updates page. Thank you so much for your support and your continued interest!

Fukushima Kids-https://www.globalgiving.org/10634

Telecom for BHN-http://www.globalgiving.org/10457

Telecom for BHN-http://www.globalgiving.org/10457

Stay tuned for more updates.  And thanks for your support!

Katherine Sammons and the GlobalGiving team in Japan              

Thank You!

Sorry for the lack of recent updates, but we've been working hard behind the scenes.

As some of you may know, we have taken the difficult decision to take Stories for Sendai off the market. We wanted a firm deadline for donating a nice lump sum to the charity, and also wanted to give sales one final boost by encouraging readers to snap up a copy while they can. All rights, of course, remain with the authors.

Since then, it has taken a couple more months before Amazon and Createspace finally sent us the royalty cheques. Here is a rough breakdown:

     Royalties                                                                     USD136.00
     -30% US Tax deduction                                             USD95.90     
     Conversion to GBP(£)                                                £60.00
     -3 x £6 bank fees for processing foreign cheques     £42.00


The final total may not seem like much (around USD67.50), but it is way more than I could afford to donate as an individual, and it is the culmination of the hard work of 20 writers and the generosity of dozens of readers and supporters. And for that, I am sure GlobalGiving and the people of Sendai are grateful.

Plus, as a UK taxpayer, we could opt in for Gift Aid, which adds a further 25% value to the donation!

So the final value is ...

£52.50!

Thank you, UK government! :)

Now for the moment we've all been waiting for since this project came into being:

This is the receipt for our donation to GlobalGiving, in aid of the Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Relief Fund. The culmination of months of work ... and we couldn't have done this without you!

So a BIG thank you for all of you who have journeyed with us so far. We deeply appreciate all your help, support, encouragement and generosity, and we are sure that the people of Sendai are grateful as well.