Tsunami.

[Ysobelle]

Perhaps I should watch the news a bit more often. Holy G-d.

As we're often affectionately referred to as a "Lipstick Tsunami," whould
y'all be interested in doing some thing for/with the Red Cross? 24,000
dead in India, Thailand, and the surrounding countries. I've just seen
the video, and it's horrifying.


At the very least, call your local Red Cross.


http://redcross.org/article/0,1072,0_312_3870,00.html

[AnnaFaerie]

I agree.

I just saw it on the news. It is horrific!

[Absinthe d'Accalia]

Sad, sad news. Those poor folks, some of them probably didn't even know what was heading their way. :(

[Psyche]

Aye, there was little to no warning about it. On another board I am on there are two honeymooning couples in the areas hit who we have not heard from yet.

My thoughts go out to all the victims...

[Gemdrite]

My aunt is from Thailand, and we are still waiting to hear if her family is okay. It's scary.

[Dmitri]

NPR states this morning that the death toll is 37,000 and still climbing....

[Leela]

This showed up yesterday in the Globe. Chilling. I always thought of a tsunami as this huge wall of water...but it's much, much more horrifying than what I imagined.

Here's a small taste of what it was like:

As the sand disappears, a desperate swim for life

By Michael Dobbs, Washington Post | December 27, 2004

WELLIGAMA, Sri Lanka -- Disaster struck with no warning out of a faultlessly clear blue sky.

I was taking my morning swim around the island that my businessman-brother Geoffrey bought on a whim a decade ago and turned into a tropical paradise just 200 yards from one of the world's most beautiful beaches on the Sri Lankan mainland.

I was a quarter way around the island when I heard my brother shouting at me, ''Come back! Come back! There's something strange happening with the sea." He was swimming behind me, but closer to the shore.

I couldn't understand what the fuss was about. All seemed peaceful. There was barely a ripple in the sea.

Then I noticed that the water around me was rising, climbing up the rock walls of the island with astonishing speed. The vast circle of golden sand around Welligama Bay was disappearing rapidly, and the water had reached the level of the coastal road fringed with palm trees.

As I swam to shore, my mind was momentarily befuddled by two conflicting impressions: the idyllic blue sky and the rapidly rising waters.

In less than a minute, the water level had risen at least 15 feet -- but the sea itself remained calm, barely a wave in sight.

Within minutes, the beach and the area behind it had become an inland sea, rushing over the road and pouring into the flimsy houses on the other side. The speed with which it all happened seemed like a scene from the Bible.

As the waters rose at an incredible rate, I half expected to catch sight of Noah's Ark. I grabbed hold of a wooden catamaran that the local people used as a fishing boat. My brother jumped on next to me. We bobbed on the catamaran as the water rushed past us into the village beyond the road.

After a few minutes, the water stopped rising, and I felt it was safe to swim to the shore. What I didn't realize was that the floodwaters would recede as dramatically as they had risen.

All of a sudden, I found myself being swept out to sea with startling speed. Although I am a fairly strong swimmer, I was unable to withstand the current. The fishing boats around me had been torn from their moorings and were furiously bobbing.

For the first time, I felt afraid, powerless to prevent myself from being swept out to sea.

I swam in the direction of one of the loose catamarans, grabbed hold of the hull, and pulled myself to safety. My weight must have slowed the boat down, and soon I was stranded on the sand.

As the water rushed out of the bay, I scrambled onto the main road. Screams and yells were coming from the houses behind the road, many of which were still half full of water, trapping the inhabitants inside. Villagers were walking dazed.

I was worried about my wife, who had been on the beach when I went for my swim. I eventually found her walking along the road, dazed, happy to be alive.

Our children were still asleep when the tidal wave struck at 9:15 a.m. They woke up and found the bay practically drained of water and their parents walking back across the narrow channel to safety.

It took us many hours to realize the scale of the disaster. The coastal road is littered with the carcasses of boats and dogs. Helicopters are flying overhead and vans with loudspeakers are warning residents to leave low-lying areas.

My brother's little island -- called Tapbrobane after the ancient name of Sri Lanka -- is largely intact. His house rests on a rock 60 feet above the level of the sea.

We have no water or electricity and are practically cut off from the rest of Sri Lanka. It is impossible to buy food; we are existing on cold ham and turkey sandwiches. We feel fortunate -- fortunate to be alive.

[Absinthe d'Accalia]

Man, I just got through perusing the news and the number of deaths is estimated at 40k now.

[Ysobelle]

And it's only going to rise-- there are thousands of people unaccounted for, and thousands of people left without homes, electricity, clean drinking water, or safe food.

I've asked Caitriona, our Local's Madame Almoness and a damned resourceful Wench, to look into the best places for our Local to donate money. When we figure out where it'll do the most good, I'll post here. Every little bit helps, but I'm thinking it might also be helpful to pool our resources.

Whichever-- give if you can. And pray, if that's something you do.


www.unicef.org

[Dmitri]

That description was amazing... human catastrophy aside... that would have been a hell of a thing to witness...

[Leela]

I keep thinking that the most terrifying feeling must have been the moment when he suddenly realized that "this could be it." Feeling the force of that water sucking him out to sea and being helpless against it. He is so lucky to be alive.

[Dmitri]

yes he is... but watching the water rise rapidly and fill the coastal streets and then empty the bay... WOW!!!!

Nature... What a rush...

[Leela]

yes he is... but watching the water rise rapidly and fill the coastal streets and then empty the bay... WOW!!!!

Nature... What a rush...

And all in the space of minutes! I wonder, if in the midst of it all, you might go beyond terror and just feel more purely alive than you've ever felt in your life. No conscious thought...just as you say...a rush.

[Dmitri]

I hope someone had a video camera... Again the human death is nauseating... but Nature, in all her glory... What god can match that... <humbled>

[Leela]

The New York Times site has some truly sobering and gut-wrenching images. They also have a simulation of the force of the waves radiating from the site of the underwater earthquake. Shows how Sri Lanka got hit as hard as it did. My Rogue found a series of photos yesterday that showed the progression of the water coming in and then retreating at some seaside resort, but I don't remember the source. I think the resort was in Thailand, but I'm not sure.

Think I'll go have a bit of a cry now.

[Ysobelle]

There's an horrific article on the Washington Post. One of the worst problems now is sanitation-- no utilities, and thousands of unburied bodies.

This is going to take years to clean up. G-d, those poor people.

[Pathos]

Yeah...unfortunately for everyone involved it's only going to get worse. They're saying now that disease will be the big problem. What with all the mess everywhere pestilence will start running rampant.

[Caitriona]

Ok, as the Charity Almoness for Local #9 - I have been put to the task of finding who is taking donations for the Relief of the Tsunami victims. We have a couple of different options so I wanted to put this out there for discussion, in the end, the decision will be made between myself, the Local #9 Madame and the Local #9 Lt. Madame.

We figure we will do a first donation to one charity that consists of individual donations. And then a second that is from a fundraiser. Ysobelle has already offered a corset that I will put on ebay with the proceeds going to the charity. Does anyone have any other suggestions on a long term fund raiser? I can sew some bloomers or skirts for the same outcome. We could knit scarves or make quilts or whatever will raise some funds.

Anyway here are our options - Let me know what you think:

Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
805-964-4767
www.directrelief.org

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres
PO Box 2247
New York, NY 10116-2247
888-392-0392
www.doctorswithoutborders.org



American Red Cross
International Response Fund
PO Box 37243
Washington, DC 20013
800-HELP NOW
www.redcross.org



Or UNICEF

[Dmitri]

I'm not trying to be a heartless wet blanket, but there's disaster in our own backyard. Thousands homeless and without jobs, children whose families are displaced, living in tents and wildlife and ecoosystems demolished... And this was about 3 months ago... Remember? It hasn't gone away...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4244739

There and an old saying, "Fix your own roof before you offer to fix your neighbor's."

Maybe I'm an asshole, Maybe I'm heartless. But with so much suffering and strife going on right HERE...

Well that's just my opinion.

[Leela]

I, for one, haven't forgotten the millions of needy people here in our own country and neighborhoods. This isn't a case of choosing one over the other for the long term. It's a case of helping in an emergency the same way many of us did in the aftermath of the Florida hurricanes, or 9/11, or what have you. Right now the immediate need is with the people who are living with piles of bodies of loved ones rotting in the streets and no clean water. To me, this week, this takes precedence.

Good call on the Doctors Without Borders.

[Dmitri]

Not judging just stating my opinion... Funny that those keep saying that we should BUTT out of everyone's business militarily cry for money to go out of this country quick enough.

Frankly, we send so much aid (governmental and personal) overseas, it seems to me that we could feed and get every person in the US medical attention that they need if that selfsame money stayed here...

[AllieSutherland]

Anyway here are our options - Let me know what you think:

I posted the following in a friend's LJ earlier (and I've updated some info):

My friend Rohan (who is Sri Lankan and Scottish, now living in the UK) called me just a moment ago.

His immediate family still in Sri Lanka seem to be okay -- an aunt and uncle who raised him for a time, along with cousins. His father (whom no one speaks to because of family problems) seems to be doing okay, because he lives inland quite a distance -- unless he happened to be travelling to the coast or something. No one sees him or really knows how to contact him. A distant uncle or great uncle (70ish) was washed away by the waters but caught, and he is in a hospital (the seriousness of his condition is unknown). The chauffeur for their family lost two of his children (ages 6 and 7) as they played on the shore with a large group of other children. All were washed out to sea, and they have not been seen again. :(

Rohan attended a Christian college on the shore, and all of it (called St. Thomas) was destroyed. Luckily, students were on holiday.

His aunt and uncle are in charge of a food station feeding 300-400 people. They are not sure how long food will hold out. All electricity is down, of course. They say that the health concerns are dire and that travel on roads are halted, as they are destroyed. They deperately need airplanes/pilots to move the ill/injured to more advanced hospitals and delivers workers/supplies.

Just an FYI for anyone who reads this (I didn't know myself): Sri Lanks is around 150 mi. wide and 250 mi. N-S. He said the population is around 18 million, and 14,000 (current estimate) of the ~22,000 dead are Sri Lankans.

Please continue praying and feel free to share this info.

**love**

Rohan said that his family members are expressing that the most dire need is to feed the people, and a close second is to remove the bodies. Rebuilding will be the absolute last endeavour. More people are now coming to and crowding the feeding stations, and food cannot arrive from other parts of the country effectively because of the roads.

If you would like, I can ask Rohan to talk with his family members and ask which charities they *see* doing work. I know that in the past, we have had discussions about how in India and Sri Lanka, sometimes the work of even the most upstanding international charities is marred by local factions who use the money dishonestly (during Indian earthquakes a few years ago, some of my Indian friends told me that a well-known international organization *sold* blankets that were bought with donation funds (and no, they were not stolen from the organization), when people desperately needed them). I thought that perhaps some direct input from people that may be there might be helpful. If you would like, I can ask, and I can report back ASAP when he finds out.

Love, Allie

[AllieSutherland]

sorry for the double post -- edit.

[Mylilpinkpig]

The U.S. added 20 million more today to it's intial relief amount of 15 million because a United Nations official suggested that the United States has been "stingy."

[Leela]

Funny that those keep saying that we should BUTT out of everyone's business militarily cry for money to go out of this country quick enough.

Why is this strange? Seems consistent behavior that people who feel strongly against sending our military to other countries to kill and be killed would be the same people who value the lives of complete strangers. Seems consistent that they wouldn't think twice about going in to help regardless of the cost. Maybe they value other things more than money. Like helping people survive so they can help themselves.

This is a natural disaster, not a man-made one. It makes complete sense that people would want to help, regardless of the fact that Indonesia has an incredibly high percentage of Islamic followers. Something about natural distasters like this momentarily strips away all the political bullshit and leaves us just as human beings together on the same planet, where anything can happen, and where a natural response is to just to help out.

Frankly, we send so much aid (governmental and personal) overseas, it seems to me that we could feed and get every person in the US medical attention that they need if that selfsame money stayed here...

I'm no economist. But I'm sure there are plenty of them out there who would agree with you...and a bunch that wouldn't. And both groups should offer substantial data to back up their opinions (one hopes). Would be interesting to read up on.

[Dmitri]

Funny that those keep saying that we should BUTT out of everyone's business militarily cry for money to go out of this country quick enough.

Why is this strange? Seems consistent behavior that people who feel strongly against sending our military to other countries to kill and be killed would be the same people who value the lives of complete strangers. Seems consistent that they wouldn't think twice about going in to help regardless of the cost. Maybe they value other things more than money. Like helping people survive so they can help themselves.

You can't have it both ways... we are there to help, with aid... fine... We're there to help in other places, with force... You see a difference, but I don't and neither do the people of those countries who wind up hating and attacking us. People who we send monetary AID to, and STILL attack us... We're damned if we do and damned if we don't...

I'd rather be damned and fed, house, educate and medicate people on our soil first...

[Larkspur]

I agree with Allie, let's check to ensure we are going to pool our resources into a viable outlet.

I would go with Doctors without borders, I have seen their good works first hand, and the need in the coming months will be health care.

[Mylilpinkpig]

4 Million of the US aid is going to be given to the Red Cross so my feeling is to give it to another charity that can use it. Doctors without Borders is a great choice because the WHO warned that a possible cholera epidemic and malaria epidemic could kill as many as the Tsunami itself.

[Ariel]

A man from my area is actually planning on leaving tomorrow morning (Wednesday) to travel to that area to try to find his son and his son's fiancee. Apparently the son had gone to Burma where his fiancee had finally gotten a passport. During a waiting period before she could leave the region, they were going to Thailand, then Bangkok and then to KoPhayam, an island about two hours from Thailand by boat. The father hasn't heard from his son since Christmas morning. It's people like that this that my heart goes out to during this time, as well as to all the people who lost their lives or their loved ones. I can't imagine having no idea if someone I loved was dead or alive. It must be agonizing.

[Caitriona]

If you would like, I can ask Rohan to talk with his family members and ask which charities they *see* doing work. I know that in the past, we have had discussions about how in India and Sri Lanka, sometimes the work of even the most upstanding international charities is marred by local factions who use the money dishonestly (during Indian earthquakes a few years ago, some of my Indian friends told me that a well-known international organization *sold* blankets that were bought with donation funds (and no, they were not stolen from the organization), when people desperately needed them). I thought that perhaps some direct input from people that may be there might be helpful. If you would like, I can ask, and I can report back ASAP when he finds out.

Love, Allie

Allie - I'm going to call you. We both have cingular :D . But yes, I would like info on any charities they can give me. THe one caveat is that they CAN NOT be religion affiliated. I'm adhering to the IWG charity rules on this one.

[Caitriona]

4 Million of the US aid is going to be given to the Red Cross so my feeling is to give it to another charity that can use it. Doctors without Borders is a great choice because the WHO warned that a possible cholera epidemic and malaria epidemic could kill as many as the Tsunami itself.

My thoughts exactly!!!

[Leela]

You can't have it both ways... we are there to help, with aid... fine... We're there to help in other places, with force... You see a difference, but I don't and neither do the people of those countries who wind up hating and attacking us. People who we send monetary AID to, and STILL attack us... We're damned if we do and damned if we don't...

I'd rather be damned and fed, house, educate and medicate people on our soil first...

But we all ready have it both ways. You said it quite clearly yourself. Helping some with aid, and well, "helping" others with force. It remains to be seen which will have the most lasting impression, the aid which will alleviate the immediate plight of the survivors of the tsunami, who may and may not be our enemies, or the aid which has resulted in more and more American soldiers coming home in body bags, and a seemlingly endless cycle of violence which has inspired more and more hatred instead of less.

Damned straight I see a difference between offering emergency aid to someone who survived a tsunami and offering military aid to a country by tearing it to pieces in the erroneous hope that it will eventually lead to making it a "democracy". I don't believe I'm alone in seeing the difference, either.

The US isn't the only country on the planet. And as one of the richest countries in the world, we should be able to figure out how to both take care of ourselves, and still be able to help out others when it's called for. Of course, that's an idealistic vision that will never happen, and being the richest certainly doesn't mean we're the smartest, but damnit, we can try.

There are always going to be people and countries who hate us. Hell, I've been called every name in the book just being an escort for a women's clinic. Can't you envision the horns I have growing out of my head? I don't care about being damned one way or the other. I care more about people coming to an understanding. Doesn't mean they have to like each other, but it does mean that people have to be able to listen.

You know what the best tactic for dealing with these angry protesters was? The things that finally made them shut up and behave with more respect?

We refused to engage in verbal confrontation, ignored their insults, told them to stop any physical contact, and we were polite about it They got bored. No fuel, no fire. Sometimes, we even inspired some of them to be ashamed of their behavior.

But, of course, this is the neighborhood confrontations. The big boys have to play differently. Perhaps.

I respect your convictions to help, Dmitri. And I respect those who want to go beyond their backyards if they can, and if they choose. At this point, we are all being damned by each other, so in this case, we are all burning together!

Cozy, ain't it?

[Alianne]

In regards to hurricane relief here:

We have the resources, either privately (through people carrying insurance) or publically (example, FEMA) to assist the victims. People may still be displaced waiting for their homes to be repaired or rebuilt, but that's temporary. They will eventually be home. And there *were* public charitable efforts to come to the aid of those people.

As far as feeding, educating and insuring everyone in the US, look to administration policies regarding those. It's not for lack of money. It's not for lack of general public desire to do so. It's the administration, for example, deciding that we need to spend money bombing foreign countries *instead of* funding programs here at home -- not finding ways to do both things. Don't blame the general public for that. And we, as a guild, do what we can for domestic charities. Almost everything we have done up to this point, especially for cancer and MS research, have been for US organizations that serve Americans.

And just to be clear, it's not just the current administration that's been guilty of this. Past administrations, of both parties, have had a tendency to misplace or misdirect priorities.

The people in the countries that were devastated by the tsunamis have resources that are few to none. No homeowners insurance. No equivalent of FEMA. Very little income to repay an emergency loan even if they had them available.

And consider: the greatest threat in the aftermath is widespread disease -- disease that could easily spread outside the borders, becoming more of an international threat than it already is. It's in the world's best interests to do what can be done *now* not only to prevent the diseases that will come, but to repair and correct the things that will breed those diseases so that there can be an end to them.

My compassion may begin within my borders, but it doesn't *end* there.

[Gemdrite]

Just found out today that my aunt's family is all ok. They lived in the mountains, thank God!

[MaryDane]

http://www.fema.gov

There are some articles here about both foreign and domestic aid that might be helpful.

There is a need to look at both immediate and long term implications. There are several steps to taking care of a disaster. More easily broken into three main categories. Response. Immediate food, sanitation, clothing, and shelter. Recovery. Long term goes all the way up to social and economic recovery for individuals as well as the community. Mitigation. Putting plans in place to prevent this level of loss from happening again.

The wrath of the Hurricanes on the US this year was terrible. The pains from these storms are still being felt in many communities. Fortunately, most of these areas are past the response and well into the recovery process. Federal, state, local and private agencies are still working long hours to rebuild these communities. Complete recovery is still a long way away, and these communities must see this project through.

This Tsunami has reached disaster proportions of a whole new level. A major difference here is that mitigation factors were in place for the US which prevented us from suffering any greater loss than what we did. Building codes in our coastal areas saved many homes. Warning systems saved MANY lives. There were very few mitigation factors for the victims of the tsunami. In order for these communities to achieve any level of safety again, they must work through Response, Recovery, and then Mitigation. Due to the magnitude of this disaster, they are unable of even responding on their own. I believe these areas will need to reach deep within their own communities to ultimately achieve Recovery and Mitigation, but they truly need the assistance of the global community to even Respond to this atrocity.

[Ysobelle]

Dmitri, you want to go down and help FEMA, go right ahead. I don't see anyone stopping you. I'm all for letting them do the job my tax dollars pay for. We'll be over here concentrating on the places without FEMA, without insurance, without water, food, blankets, electricity, or places to put thousands of bloated, rotting corpses.




Okay, so the idea Rho and I discussed this afternoon as I waited six hours for my car was this: we set up a series of eBay auctions. Rhoda will coordinate them all: all the donators will be responsible for is the eBay fees, and getting photos and information to Rhoda. I'm going to try to get a corset done this week to put up. Anyone is welcome to make something, or donate something nice they just don't wear any more.

I'm leaning towards Doctors Without Frontiers, personally, now. I do like the Red Cross, but I just think DWF is going to be more effectve in the days to come, as these countries fight the inevitable cholera epidemics.

[AllieSutherland]

If you would like, I can ask Rohan to talk with his family members and ask which charities they *see* doing work. I know that in the past, we have had discussions about how in India and Sri Lanka, sometimes the work of even the most upstanding international charities is marred by local factions who use the money dishonestly (during Indian earthquakes a few years ago, some of my Indian friends told me that a well-known international organization *sold* blankets that were bought with donation funds (and no, they were not stolen from the organization), when people desperately needed them). I thought that perhaps some direct input from people that may be there might be helpful. If you would like, I can ask, and I can report back ASAP when he finds out.

Love, Allie

Allie - I'm going to call you. We both have cingular :D . But yes, I would like info on any charities they can give me. THe one caveat is that they CAN NOT be religion affiliated. I'm adhering to the IWG charity rules on this one.

Not a problem, sweetie. It might be best to call later tomorrow night or Thursday, because by then I will have talked with him again and I can get some input. I spoke with him and asked that he ask them to share some of the organizational names that they see/are working with. I think that they will have a good grasp of these because they are very well-to-do in Sri Lanka, and the family is and has been part of medical missions work for many years (so perhaps they know some of what Doctors Without Borders might be doing, for instance). I did specify that all recommendations be secular in nature.

You're always welcome to call anytime; if I don't answer, I'll call you back ASAP (I have your number). As I said, I should have some info by Thursday.

[Ysobelle]

Okay, I garbled it: it's Doctors Without Borders, aka Médecins Sans Frontières. But not Doctors Without Frontiers.

Looks like theyr'e already on the ground in India, Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. G-d. Over 52,000 dead. It doesn't get any easier to imagine.


http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/27/quake.aidsites/index.html

[Mylilpinkpig]

Two questions:
1). Is it only garb that we can donate to be sold on ebay?
2). who is Rhoda?

[Mermaid]

My compassion may begin within my borders, but it doesn't *end* there.


Well said!!!

Mermaid

[Ysobelle]

Two questions:
1). Is it only garb that we can donate to be sold on ebay?
2). who is Rhoda?



1. No, I don't see any reason we couldn't do other stuff. What'd you have in mind?

2. Oops! Sorry-- Rhoda is Caitriona, the Almoness-- Mistress of Charity-- for Local #9.

[Ysobelle]

Well? Does anyone else have any ideas, or things they'd like to donate? Other plans? Anything?

[Branwen]

Well? Does anyone else have any ideas, or things they'd like to donate? Other plans? Anything?

I wish I had items in my Garb closet that I don't need or are not to well worn. I could look through my jewlery & accessories to see if there is anything that I would be able to donate. If I find anything I'll let you all know & I'll PM you to see what the process is to post on E-Bay.

[justLori]

Okay, so the idea Rho and I discussed this afternoon as I waited six hours for my car was this: we set up a series of eBay auctions. Rhoda will coordinate them all: all the donators will be responsible for is the eBay fees, and getting photos and information to Rhoda. I'm going to try to get a corset done this week to put up. Anyone is welcome to make something, or donate something nice they just don't wear any more.

I'm leaning towards Doctors Without Frontiers, personally, now. I do like the Red Cross, but I just think DWF is going to be more effectve in the days to come, as these countries fight the inevitable cholera epidemics.

Just to throw this out:

My company is matching funds dollar-for-dollar to Red Cross and UNICEF for help for the people in Asia. Ys, if you want to double the amount you give, and your Local approves, I'll be happy to walk your donations through the process. PM me and let me know.

This goes for any other Local who would like to do this.

just Lori

[justLori]

http://www.cidi.org/

Heaps of good info on these topics, cited from around the world. All collected into one website.

just Lori

Hey, Rho is here now and I just read your post about the company matching funds....she is really interested in this....please PM her with all the info about when it needs to be in by and so on....

Thanks,

Muffin

[MacKahlia]

I have nothing to donate to the auctions, but if we gather up monitary gifts let me know and I'll put some in... I dont have much, But I've got a lot more then the people who where hit by this traget....


Let me know...

Allison

[Bevin]

Last I checked on CNN the death toll was 80,000 and rising. This will easily get above 100,000 I bet. This is so unbelievable.

[Ysobelle]

I checked it with Lars this morning, and he's fine with using the IWG name in this. He also thinks Doctors Without Borders is the way to go, so I'm thinking that'll be it.

Rho, Lori, did you get in touch with each other yet?

[justLori]

I checked it with Lars this morning, and he's fine with using the IWG name in this. He also thinks Doctors Without Borders is the way to go, so I'm thinking that'll be it.

Rho, Lori, did you get in touch with each other yet?

Nope, not yet--gotta go find Rho and PM her...

just Lori

Rho is Caitroina....

You can send her a PM. I know we were discussing the huge possibilities about the ability to double a donation in a matter of an instant last night....

What a fabulous chance to double a donation.

Muffin

[justLori]

Rho is Caitroina....

You can send her a PM. I know we were discussing the huge possibilities about the ability to double a donation in a matter of an instant last night....

What a fabulous chance to double a donation.

Muffin

She has been PM'd. Waiting to hear back now. :)

just Lori

[Ysobelle]

I just wanted to let everyone know that Amazon.com has a BIG sign on their homepage that allows you to click through and donate money to the disaster relief in India and Asia. You can even alert them at the end that you made a donation (you might get a receipt if you really care about it for tax purposes.)
Thought I would throw that out since a lot of folks were talking about wanting to help.

I just threw $20, will throw more later after I have my shiny new paycheck.


Woot!


I don't give a rat's butt who donates, or how. If you want to donate now, that's fabulous. If you want to wait and donate through the Wenches, that's fabulous, and might make more of an impact. But as of this minute, The Washington Post is reporting over 117,000 people dead. That's tens of thousands of rotting corpses, devastated families, orphaned kids. There are millions of people who went from living in their own homes to living in hell. There's no power, no phones, no gasoline, no food, no water. You want to donate, donate. Yes, it'll be more effective if we pool our resources, but every penny, no matter how it gets there, will help.

When I first thought of giving a corset, I was going to grab whatever I have in my workroom and whip one up. Rhoda-the-Ever-Brilliant said, "Why don't you just put up pictures, and say you'll make one to the winner's specs?" G-d, that woman's a genius.

So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to go through some pictures now-- if I have photos of you in one of my corsets and you know it, let me know if you mind having them on eBay.

Also, if you can commit to making something, please tell me now. Aid is urgently needed now, next week, next month, next year, and, did I mention, now? The more auctions we can get going, the more publicity we can get, and, hopefully, the more money we can raise.

[Dragonfly]

Thank you dear. I was doing what I could do ~right now~ to help.

I will also be helping out with the Wench donations when I can, so that'll be a second one.
I just thought if people wanted to help out now in the interest of time, I would get that out there. :)
Hell, if you decide to put that corset up on eBay...I'm dying for one made from green silk. *whimper* It would be so purdy....I might bid!

[Ysobelle]

I'd like to keep it from colours I already have, but as all I have now is black and silver, I'm just going to have to state it'll be made of silk dupioni, and whatever colour the winner would like.


I'm debating donating the materials, as well. I'm not sure if I can afford it, but I'll try. Whichever, it'll be clearly stated in the text of the article. All profits, with or without my actual cost, will go to aid for Tsunami victims.

Having never done something like this before, I'm also trying to figure out where/how to set the reserve, or if I should have one in the first place.

I say no reserve...it will go high no matter what, it is after all, a Nikki corset

Muffin

[Dragonfly]

Start it out at a slight-more-than cost, ignore the reserve, and let people go nuts over it. You do awesome work, it'll draw a lot of bids. :wink:

[Mylilpinkpig]

Don't bother with the reserve. I would list that the proceeds from the sale are going to the Tsunami relief. If you need help setting it up on ebay, just yell. I sell lots of stuff on there. I am going to go through my closet tonight to find what I can put up for sale, too.

[justLori]

Nerts.

I have to retract my offer to double the IWG fundraising. There's a small handful of regs that I would be breaking by doing that...and I like my job.

:oops:

So, please forgive me for posting before properly researching.

just Lori
(pondering if I can bid on a corset, and get it actually made in about 6 months...when the kid's no longer kicking from the *inside*)

[Ysobelle]

Lori-- that sucks, but don't worry about it. The one thing I realised when we started talking about this is we'd probably have to donate the money wherever your company wanted it donated, and most of us seem to want to go with Doctors Without Borders. So really, it's okay-- we'll just have to get more Wenchy goodness to auction!

[Ysobelle]

This is a fairly amazing article about online relief efforts.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35263-2004Dec29.html

[justLori]

Lori-- that sucks, but don't worry about it. The one thing I realised when we started talking about this is we'd probably have to donate the money wherever your company wanted it donated, and most of us seem to want to go with Doctors Without Borders. So really, it's okay-- we'll just have to get more Wenchy goodness to auction!

Thanks Ys. No harm, no foul, eh?

I'll dig through my pile for Prepare for Faire and see if I have anything I can re-route for this cause. Can I send it to you to sell?

just Lori

[Ysobelle]

I think all you really need to do is send text, eBay fees, and photos to Caitriona. She's going to coordinate all the eBay stuff. That way, we cut down on the number of mailings, and maybe some of everyone's hassle. We also have one seller for all auctions, and can send people to all the auctions at once.

Rho-- c'est vrai?


Edit to Add:

http://www.apple.com/


Another collection of places to help.

If anyone needs to get hold of me, email me, as I have to go in to work for a few hours and won't be able to get to the board. I got a lovely potential offer of auction goods last night, but I KNOW there must be more out there. Right?