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M���� 16, 2011 Several charities are accepting do- nations to help Japan through mobile texting. The most active is the Ameri- can Red Cross. The Red Cross broke new ground in 2010 with its huge campaign to raise money for the Haiti earthquake victims. But many people may have never donated by text through their mobile phones. If you are one of those people and would like to try it out to help the survivors of the earthquake and tsuna- mi in Japan, you may have questions about how it works. How do you text a donation? Find out the phrase to text and the number (short code) to send it to, de- pending on which charity you wish to donate to. For the American Red Cross, for example, you would text the words REDCROSS to the number 90999 and hit send. That will trigger a donation of $10 to the Red Cross. Wait to receive a text message asking you to confi rm your donation. Click yes. Your donation will not take effect until you confi rm it. Your $10 donation will be charged to your mobile phone bill. Your donation will be processed through an interme- diary, in this case mGive, that special- izes in processing mobile donations. That intermediary may charge a small fee for the transaction. mGive charges $.25 per donation. Your phone com- pany may or may not charge text and message fees depending on your mo- bile phone plan. You may be able to repeat your text donation up to a maximum of $30, again depending on your phone com- pany. Your donation/s will appear on your mobile phone bill. Don’t expect a thank you message other than a short text message au- tomatically generated to your phone. One of the drawbacks to mobile dona- tions is that the charity receiving your donation does not have access to do- nor information. Save your phone bill to use as a re- ���.D����� M��������.��� How to help Japan ceipt in order to receive a tax deduc- tion for the donation. Here are the charities accepting text donations that I know of: • American Red Cross. Text RED- CROSS to 90999 to make a $10 dona- tion. • Convoy of Hope, Inc. Text TSUNAMI to 50555 to give $10. • GlobalGiving. Text JAPAN to 50555 to give $10. • World Relief Corp. of National Asso- ciation of Evangelicals. Text WAVE to 50555 to give $10. • The Salvation Army. Text JAPAN to 80888 to make a $10 donation. • International Medical Corps. Text MED to 80888 to give $10. Here are the top three Dos and Don’ts of helping out during a disaster: 1.Give money, not things. Food, medi- cines, toiletries all have to be packaged, shipped, delivered and distributed. In crisis zones, these packages often sit and just get in the way. Many are not needed or are the wrong things at the wrong time. Money can be used imme- diately by aid groups working on the ground. They know how to get what they need and distribute it. They need our money to make that possible. 2.Donate safely. Scams are rampant during times of distress. Make sure you donate money to established agencies. Check out this list of recom- mended charities at The Center for In- ternational Disaster Information and at Charity Navigator. Do not respond to telephone solicitations. Give direct- ly to the charity of your choosing. Do not restrict your donation. Charities need as much fl exibility as possible as a disaster unfolds. 3.Do not show up to volunteer. You may mean well, but you would likely be in the way unless you have specif- The best little RV Park in Quartzsite! NIGHTLY • WEEKLY • MONTHLY RENTALS Al‛s RV Park Clean and comfortable On the quiet side of Quartzsite at the corner of S. Riggles Ave. and East Kuehn. Call 928-927-6715 www.AlsRVPark.com ic skills that are needed. Aid groups know how to mobilize the appropriate volunteers for the tasks at hand. American Red Cross website is: www.redcross.org. Altamont Beads NOW OPEN! (formerly Donna Dae’s behind the Post Office) Chinese Glass Beads Findings • Swarovski Crystal Open Mon-Sat 9-5 63 W. Cowell • Quartzsite, AZ www.altasilver.com • 916-768-9877 P��� 11 We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. - Winston Churchill Ironwood Accounting 225 Central Blvd North of Horizon Community Bank P O Box 4389 Quartzsite, AZ 85359 ACCOUNTING BOOKKEEPING NOTARY FAX / COPIES TAX – Business & Individual Email: ironwoodaccounting@yahoo.com SHIPPING Offi ce/Fax: 928-927-8543 VFW Post 769 VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS 120 S. Palo Verde Quartzsite, AZ 928-927-7697 VFW Meetings are held the 1st Monday of each month Mens Auxiliary Meeting: 1st Tuesday of each month Ladies Auxiliary Meeting: 3rd Tuesday of each month Thursdays: 4-7pm (except Mar. 17) Hamburger/ Cheeseburger with fries Thurs. March 17, Cornbeef & Cabbage, 4pm till gone Sat. March 19, 4-7 BBQ Ribs Sat. March 26, 4-7, Chicken Fried Steak