Energizing Local Businesses for Japan

Since the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan two weeks ago, millions of dollars have been donated to numerous charities by those around the world to help with relief efforts. Organized by a group of social entrepreneurs in San Francisco, over 50 businesses in 10 different countries have come together for “Shop for Japan“. While many of the companies are based in the San Francisco Bay Area, more than 75% have a website.

Each business has the option of how much to donate and a choice of disaster relief charities. Some businesses are donating a percentage of the sale of specific merchandise and others are donating a percentage of their sales for the entire day. The relief charities to choose from include The American Red Cross, Global Giving, Doctors Without Borders and five others.

I spoke with one of the organizers, Brooks Hassig, who started putting this idea together about a week ago. “Sheer power of a unifying cause, passionate people and social media has allowed us to get 50 businesses on board.”

Instead of just encouraging donations, Hassig said that he wanted to “energize local economies” while helping out Japan. Hassig and his team currently don’t have any plans for doing additional events, but he hopes that they have built a platform that others could use for similar fundraisers in the future.

Here are some of the businesses participating in Shop for Japan:

Kyler by Joyo is a sustainable jewelry designer and will be donating 35% of the sale of their Rising Sun Hoops to ShelterBox.
Mission Bicycle Company will be donating 20% of everything sold in their online store and everything, except complete custom bikes, at their San Francisco location.
XMittens by Amber Coppings is donating 50% of all proceeds to Doctors Without Borders. The clothing in the store is vegan and eco-friendly.

You can find a link to all of the Participating Businesses on the Shop for Japan website.

Help Japan’s Animals

Make Paper Cranes for Japan