The facebook posts started Saturday morning. My friend Brad Warner was looking for any word on the safety of his family living in Osaki City,  a small town a few miles North of Sendai, Japan.  Finally on Sunday evening came confirmation that they were alive, living in their car since the quake struck Friday.

Like most of the Swag Nation, the news of the devastation in Japan has left my heart broken and an almost unbearable need to help.  This is the same feeling I had after Hurricane Katrina and which landed me in Biloxi, MS volunteering with the All Hands Volunteers (at that time known as Hands On Disaster Relief). That experience propelled me to several subsequent volunteer trips to the Gulf Coast.

Now the call to action is coming from Japan.  I am extremely grateful that Swagbucks has chosen All Hands Volunteers as the recipient for donations.  Executive Director, David Campbell is on the ground in Japan with an assessment team as I write this.  (Twitter users can follow his tweets at @AllHands) This situation continues to develop but one thing is certain, the need for help is great.  I’m not here to tell you how terrible things are but to focus on how we can all help.

We are collecting Swag Bucks donations which will be converted into a cash donation according to the following scale.
10,000,000 SB = $100,000.00
7,500,000 SB = $73,750.00
5,000,000 SB = $47,500.00
2,500,000 SB = $23,250.00
1,500,000 SB = $13,750.00
1,000,000 SB = $9,000.00
750,000 SB = $6,375.00
500,000 SB = $4,050.00
250,000 SB = $1,925.00
200,000 SB = $1,500.00
135,000 SB = $1,000.00
68,000 SB = $500.00

If you prefer to make a monetary donation directly to All Hands Volunteers click here. Many worthy organizations are accepting donations and speeding assistance to the region.  No matter which organization you choose your help is greatly appreciated.

On behalf of All Hands Volunteers and Swagbucks, thank you.

-Becky