Word on the street is that volunteer slots are pretty much saturated for the moment and disaster relief efforts are well underway.
Besides manpower the most important issues at hand are to accommodate children who need to start school and need temporary shelter or to be sent to schools in the area so that their lives can continue even with the devastation of the typhoon.

Donations to nonprofits and the government are definitely better than companies as companies can count donations as tax-writeoffs.

Some of the best ones in my opinion are Tzu Chi.
(listed below on the site but also here, uses google checkout and paypal
http://www.us.tzuchi.org/usa/home.nsf/home/index?OpenDocument)

2. World Vision
http://i-payment.worldvision.org.tw/offering.php?op=offeringitem&orgid=87

They allow online donations via credit card.
3. Red Cross Taiwan (this donation method is only valid within Taiwan)

紅十字會感謝您

捐款帳號:01070100

戶名:中華民國紅十字會臺灣省分會

98年八八水災捐款公告

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Find more information here: http://www.simplyhelp.org/

If anyone has worked with Simply Help before let us know about your experience!

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For the first time since Washington cut official ties with Taiwan in 1979, the U.S. military is dispatching humanitarian relief to the island to aid victims of Typhoon Morakot.

“In direct support of the U.S. Department of State, the Secretary of Defense authorized U.S. Pacific Command to provide assistance to Taiwan in response to the typhoon,” U.S. Forces Japan spokesman Master Sgt. Donald Preston said Monday.

Two Marine Corps C-130 aircraft from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on Okinawa have delivered humanitarian relief supplies and four CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters embarked onboard the USS Denver from Sasebo Naval Base, Japan, will provide heavy lift support, he said.

The first C-130 transport landed in southern Taiwan on Sunday with four pallets of plastic sheeting weighing some 15,200 pounds, for temporary shelters.

It was followed by a second plane that delivered 1,025 pounds of chlorine tablets Monday afternoon.

Taiwan officials said Sunday that the helicopters will help in lifting excavation equipment and other heavy equipment into mountainous areas cut off by landslides and floods caused by the typhoon that pummeled the island Aug. 7.

“The mission is to help reduce the further loss of life and mitigate human suffering resulting from the typhoon,” Staff Sgt. Leo A. Salinas, a spokesman for Marine Corps Bases Japan, said in an e-mail response to a Stars and Stripes query Monday night. “Our focus is to immediately provide assistance to the people on Taiwan who are suffering and are in desperate need of help.”

Officials estimate the storm caused more than 500 deaths, left some 7,000 people homeless and destroyed $1.5 billion worth of crops and property.

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=64247

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Taiwanese soldiers searched remote areas for survivors and bodies yesterday as officials said over 1,600 people needed airlifting to safety nine days after Typhoon Morakot.

About 40,000 troops began a new phase of the rescue operation, shifting focus to combing remote areas, said Transport Minister Mao Chih-kuo, who is leading the emergency response. A total of 1,638 people still had to be airlifted as of Sunday night from 44 severely damaged villages, he said.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=309660&version=1&template_id=45&parent_id=25

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The foundation offers two ways to make donations through Google Checkout and PayPal.

Learn more here:

http://www.us.tzuchi.org/usa/home.nsf/home/index?OpenDocument

The foundation is doing a good job providing relief updates via the above link. Has anyone worked with this organization before – what are your thoughts?

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A week after Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan, rescue crews had been unable to reach 1,300 people trapped in remote mountain villages, officials said Saturday.

The Central Emergency Operation Center said 75 helicopters would drop supplies in villages in the south, the Central News Agency reported.

Taiwan was the hardest hit of the countries in Morakot’s path, and officials have said the death toll had topped 500. In the south, rain-soaked mountainsides gave way, taking houses with them.

The typhoon dumped more than 8 feet of rain on Taiwan as it passed over the island last Saturday.

A total of 1,373 people remained cut off in villages where roads were blocked by mudslides or washed away by flooding.

http://www.timesoftheinternet.com/101441.html

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Global giving is raising funds for Typhoon Morakot relief efforts. Summary: “Provide immediate assistance to victims of Typhoon Morakot, which has caused massive flooding and mudslides, killing more than 40 and destroying homes. Hundreds of people remain missing.”

Learn more at: http://ow.ly/jPVh

Has anyone worked iwt hthis organization/fund before? What are your thoughts? Let us know with a comment.

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If President Ma Ying-jeou thought he might be treated presidentially on Wednesday as he toured a center for survivors of last weekend’s typhoon, he was mistaken.

The moment he stepped onto a soccer field that has been doubling as a landing pad for rescue helicopters, Mr. Ma was besieged by angry villagers who accused his administration of moving too slowly to help those still trapped in the mountains near here. As the insults rained down, the skies opened and Mr. Ma quickly became drenched to the skin, all of it captured live on television.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/world/asia/13taiwan.html

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http://www.shelterbox.org/news_article.asp?id=152

Shelter Box is a disaster response organization that delivers supply boxes to those impacted by disasters. Each box supplies an extended family of up to 10 people with a tent and lifesaving equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless. The contents are tailored depending on the nature and location of the disaster, with great care taken sourcing every item to ensure it is robust enough to be of lasting value. The cost of a box is £490, including delivery direct to those who need it. Each box bears its own unique number so as a donor you can track your box all the way to its recipient country via the website Highly trained ShelterBox Response Teams distribute boxes on the ground, working closely with local organisations, international aid agencies and Rotary clubs worldwide. Since its inception in 2000, ShelterBox has firmly established itself at the forefront of international disaster relief providing shelter and dignity following over 80 disasters in more than 50 countries.

Let us know about your experiences with Shelter Box

You can support the organization here: http://www.shelterbox.org/donate.asp

http://www.shelterbox.org/news_article.asp?id=152

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http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2009-08-11

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