doing our little part

I won't get too political about this, but the tsunami thing is actually a pretty bad, world-shaping type of event.

All Rubberslug donations for the next two weeks (until Jan 22) will be donated to the American Red Cross for aid in South Asia. It's a real mess. While we probably won't have a massive sum to contribute, at least it's food and vaccinations for possibly a few dozen people.

Don't forget that sponsors will still get nifty icons and all the benefits of being a site sponsor, including site rankings and early access to the online shop.

Just wanted to mention that I **am** getting the donations that are being sent, but I haven't had a spare hour or two to sort through them. I will make every effort to do this tomorrow.

\\EDIT: Just took care of it. I keep forgetting that donations are fast to do and it's feature galleries that are slow. Toteboard is up to $137.08. Whee! \\

Note: This wasn't just a casual gesture, I'm actively stumping for donations for the first time in the history of this site. I've realized over the years that when I do a lot of things to the site at once, people tend to tip more. So, part of the reason it's been busy around here lately is because I'm trying to get any leftover fence-sitters to tip now instead of later when it would just line the insides of a slot machine in Reno.*

And don't forget, those donations still grant sponsor icons. And as of late, sponsor perks such as shop access.

So the good news is,

1) Sponsor icons that let you do a bit of good.
2) Work on the site gets completed faster than usual.

* disclaimer: I was kidding about the slot machines. Relax. I don't lose donations in the slots. I lose them at the track.

Howdy. I cleaned out the donation box today and found $294.97. I rounded up to an even $300 and gave it to the "International Relief Fund" of the American Red Cross just now.

According to Charity Navigator (I'd get a link but site appears down at the moment), the Red Cross uses about 91% of donated funds for non-administrative and non-marketing programs (basically, the things you *want* your money to go towards). So, this should help some unlucky people.

The money should go pretty far:
http://www.aidindia.org/CMS/CMS/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=88&Itemid=63

They're apparently sending me a thank you card of some kind, which I'll scan when it shows up and probably display it in the soon-to-be-working photo gallery.

Thanks again to everyone who donated.