Earthquake in Japan: Thank You for Your Support.
The following message is about a small project my friend started to encourage peopole to support the people who are suffering from the earthquake in Japan. She has reached her goal $2,500. She and I thank you from bottom of our hearts for your support.
She still has lots of portrait to draw. There is a limit one person can do and she cannot take your order any more at this time. However, the damage from the earthquake is still progressing. Even though she cannot send you a portrait, we really appreciate if you make donation to American Red Cross to support the victims in Japan.
I am not going to talk about the damage caused by the earthquake in Japan. Instead I want to tell you about my friend in Japan who is trying to raise money for the victims. She is a graphic designer. Fortunately, she has not directly suffered from the earthquake, so she started a project to help the victims using her skill and talent. Basically, she is asking you to donate money to “Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami” in Red Cross Donate Funds, and when you make a donation, she will draw a portrait for you.
Here is how it works.
1. Go to American Red Cross Donation Site. Make sure to select “Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami.”
2. Donate more than $25.
3. When you receive the receipt from Red Cross, send it to Yuko along with your photo.
She will draw the portrait from the photo, scan it, and send it to you via Email.
*Please do not get mad if the portrait you recieve does not look like the photo. She is asking for your help, not asking you to buy her work. The portrait is a small prize for your good will.
*She is planning to end the project when the donation reaches $2,500. Currently total is about $1,500. $1,000 more to go!
Currently the waiting period is about 3 weeks. More she gets orders, longer the waiting period become. I will update the waiting period in this page.
Could you make donation to help the victims? If you cannot, I understand. The economy is but in US right now and many people are having hard time. If you can’t help, could you please let your friends and family about this page? Please let other people know through your facebook, twitter, blog, or any other media you can think of.
FAQ
Q: Who is she?
A: Her name is Yuko Nakatani, a.k.a. Avocadobanana, a graphic designer living in Japan. Please refer her profile for detail.
Q: Do you have a sample of portrait?
A: Here is a sample.
Q: Can I send somebody else’s photo?
A: You can send anybody’s photo you want Yuko to draw a portrait. You can even send your pet’s photo.
Q: Why more than $25?
A: Yuko charges ¥2,000 per portrait when she draws portraits as a part of her job, which is about $25 in the current exchange rate. Although she is not making a cent off of this, she assumes her effort is worth at least the same. This amount may change when the exchange rate changes.
Q: Is this donation tax deductable?
A: Yes. You are making donation to American Red Cross. The receipt states it is tax deductable and its tax ID number.
Q: What if I don’t want her to know my personal information written in the receipt?
A: Yuko does not need to know your name, address, and the last four digits of your credit card number. You can print the receipt, cross out your name, address, and the credit card information on the receipt. Then you can scan the receipt and mail it to her. Or, you can use Photoshop or similar program to cross out the information. Please do not cross out the last part of the receipt (Communication Preferences). She needs your Email address and the amount you donate. Is this too much trouble? I think so, too. I sent a whole receipt to her.
Q: Why Red Cross?
A: Yuko does not have any connection with Red Cross (means she does not get any money from them), but everybody knows Red Cross. Nobody wants make donation to the organization he/she doesn’t know. Yuko’s purpose is to get fund as much as possible to help the victims, so she choose the most famous organization. Japanese Red Cross is working as hard as they can to help victims. However, the fund is not enough. They are asking and getting donation in Japan, but that is not even close to what the victims need. The fund coming from US is way less than it did for Haiti’s Earthquake. The earthquake occurred in the northern part of Japan and many people are still freezing without shelter and food. They need food and shelter desperately along with medical supply.
Q: What if I want make donation but don’t want my portrait?
A: Yuko and I still appreciate your donation. If you don’t mind, please send a receipt to her and mention that you don’t want a portrait. She is happy to know she is getting support from you.
Q: Who are you?
A: My name is Reiko Fujimoto. I live in California. I do not have any connection with Red Cross, either. When I heard about her project, I asked her if I could donate money to American Red Cross instead of Japanese Red Cross. I am too lazy to go to a bank or post office to make a check in Yen and send it to Japanese Red Cross, waiting for the receipt to come from Japan (I don’t even know they send the receipt to outside the country by mail), then send the receipt to her. She said, “That’s fine.” I’m sure there are many people like me in the US, willing to help but too lazy to go through the complicate process. If you live in Japan, donating to Japanese Red Cross is just one step. Yuko does not mind which Red Cross you donate to as long as the money comes in to help the victims. So she decided to announce her project in English, too. This is when I become involved.
I will update the information as soon as I get is from Yuko. Thank you for your time.
March 18, 2011