Chip In To Help Iwaki, Japan
Hi, fans of skippy’s list, I’m back from the dead. Rather appropriate for
someone who primarily wrote articles about zombie games, isn’t it?
While I am currently trying to figure out some new material to come up
with, I have a much more pressing concern to talk to you about. We’ve all
heard about the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that has slammed into
Japan and caused devastation throughout most of the country. I’m sure some
of you have donated money or goods to the Red Cross and other similar
organizations. I’m writing here today to get the word out on a smaller but
nevertheless important mission.
For the tl;dr folks, you can find out how to donate as well as
information on who’s going over there and how the money will be spent at the
following link:
http://funds.gofundme.com/34n9w
Here’s the rundown. Danny Iverson is a good friend of mine and a pastor
who runs a youth mission in Newark, NJ. I am by no means a Christian, but I
nevertheless consider him a mentor and good friend. He has never pressured
me about my religion, and the time we’ve spent together has been filled with
wonderful and thought-provoking debates on theology and other matters.
Danny was raised in Japan as a Christian Missionary and has spent most of
his childhood and adolescence there. He’s fluent in Japanese, and his
parents still live there running the mission and living in the
community.
After the earthquake hit, Danny knew he had to go help. While the U.S.
State Department is advising Americans that traveling to Japan is a really
bad idea here, he is going to help out his family and the community that
they’ve become a part of.
The Red Cross, the Japanese government, and other relief agencies are
doing all they can, but it’s always the smaller towns and villages that
receive supplies and help fast. On Monday, March 21st, Danny and three
others (all of whom speak Japanese to one degree or another; relief workers
who can speak both English and Japanese are sorely needed, as an aside) are
going to Iwaki, Japan – 30 miles south of the nuclear reactor that is
currently not in the best condition. He’s bringing water filters that can
run through 15 gallons a minute so they have clean water, as well as other
necessities. They are also bringing in donated telecommunications equipment
so they can stay in contact with the rest of the world from Iwaki.
They’ve set a goal of $10,000, and Danny has already put $3,500 in plane
tickets on his own credit card – something he really, really can’t afford
right now. (As his friend, I take comfort in the knowledge that he’s very
fiscally responsible and can handle that level of debt coming out of nowhere
if he had to.) Every dollar can help. I’m as broke as an infomercial cooking
appliance, but I’m trying to scrape together what money I can to chip
in.
Again, you can read all of the details at the link I posted above. If you
can’t spare any financial help (or very little) and still want to do
something to help Danny get boots on the ground in Iwaki, then please pass
the above link around to your friends, family, and co-workers. I thank you
for your time.
-Ihmhi
Follow
March 18th, 2011 at 6:09 am
Every little act helps. I’m not in a position to donate much as we are trying to get family out of the area ourselves (they live 50km from the plant) but I’m going to at least retweet this and get as many people to do the same.
Reply
March 18th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
Is this a legitimate registered charity, or gussied up internet scam like the ones that came out of the woodwork after Katrina?
I cannot find anything on the provided web link that would be evidence of this being a legitimate registered charity, so I cannot rule out of my mind the idea that this could be fraud.
Next step: Google. Its not the best way to do this, but it is quick. I’ll check this guy’s name against various key words and see what pops up:
“Danny Iverson Fraud”
Dammit.
No proof, of course, that THIS Danny Iverson is the same Danny Iverson indicted in Wisconsin in 2006. They could be seperate people, and odds are probably are.
In fact, that same Google search also pops up a nice hit for a “Danny Iverson” who is apparantly a pastor and has family connections to Japan (according to his web page). But Pastor Iverson doesn’t include DIDDLY on his web page about raising money for a special rescue thing in Japan! Furthermore, he has his own domain and looks savvy enough to not need to stoop to using an @mac.com email address for communication. I’d expect him to use his own domain (@iversonjapan.com) for his email address.
My spidey-senses tell me not to give this guy a dime until he can prove:
1. His charity is legitimate and registered
2. He is not the Danny Iverson indicted in Wisconsin
3. He is not some random fraudster posing as the pastor named “Danny Iverson”
I expected Skippy to have done a better job of vetting this solicitation.
Reply
Ihmhi reply on March 18th, 2011 1:42 pm:
Skippy allowed this to be posted because I said Danny Iverson was a personal friend of mine for many years. He’s not a scam artist.
The “Iverson Family” domain is his parents, also pastors.
To respond to your points:
1) He’s not going in the name of any charity. Part of the modern Christian mission movement is raising your own funds yourself and going. Typically you document what you’re doing (which apparently he’s going to do via Facebook or a website or something). Setting up a charity takes months of work and is a bit ludicrous for something so pressed for time, but I understand your concern.
2) No, he’s not the Danny Iverson indicted in Wisconsin. d:
3) No, he’s not some random fraudster. Yes, he has a .mac address and yes it’s currently down. He isn’t too fantastic with maintaining that particular element of his life. Here is some of his other work if you’re curious:
http://www.safenewark.org
http://www.spendyourself.org/
I suppose Spend Yourself is his more current blog/website and Google just hasn’t caught up.
I vetted for him myself and that was enough for Skippy. I understand in this age of people using disasters as an angle of fraud it’s important to do your due diligence. I promise that I will post a follow-up on the whole thing in a few weeks about everything (or perhaps keep updates in my future writeups at the bottom, something). You can probably use Spend Yourself to follow along of your own accord.
Some other persons have brought up the concern of why he’s going there when he could just send the money. He’s basically heading back to his hometown and his family, that’s why. It’d be like if you lived in New Orleans when you were a kid, and tried to get back and bring in supplies yourself after Katrina happened.
I hope that I’ve answered your questions and alleviated some of your concerns. The only reason I’ve even posted this is because Danny has been a good friend and mentor to me and I know that he believes this is the best way he can help. If you do want to donate but this particular fundraiser doesn’t make you entirely comfortable, then please donate to the Red Cross. Thanks.
Reply
March 18th, 2011 at 2:17 pm
Thank you Ihmhi! I usually don’t get too extreme with the due diligence, but the gofundme.com link just didn’t seem to give me enough information on the surface to go on.
The spendyourself.org blog has more information, and a little more digging turned up some other web articles regarding a Danny Iverson who is the son of a Christian missionary pastor in Japan and is apparantly a college kid in Florida. A blog article by an independant author talks about this Danny leaving a “presidential intern” slot (presumably not a POTUS intern, but a corporate/CEO “president” intern).
So the picture I get is of a do-gooder college kid, perhaps even a bit naive to the fact that scammers made millions off of Katrina frauds, perhaps a bit naive to the fact that his name has also been used elsewhere for evil, just trying to do some good in the world.
I’m glad you took the opportunity to offer some clarification. Thank you!
Reply
Ihmhi reply on March 18th, 2011 6:00 pm:
You’re welcome!
Actually, he’s not a “college kid” like one would think. He’s 33 and has a wife and four kids. I do give him hell for going back to school, though, and ask him things like if they’re passing around the Sacramental Wine Bong and smoking palm leaves. d:
Danny worked his way through college in Virginia after getting out of high school and got a Masters in Business. He worked management-level at a few companies including a car rental service and a tutoring service before he felt “The Call” (as he called it) and dropped everything to devote himself to a life of service. He’s currently studying to get his Masters in Divinity, while also working through a work-study program.
And yeah, he does have a childlike naivete. He knows how horrible and opportunistic some people can be. You have to be naive to believe that you can go into the inner city and get a bunch of kids to stop joining gangs, getting into fistfights on the playground, etc., but somehow he managed to do it.
Reply
March 19th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
$100. All I can afford right now. Ihmhi, please let us know how this all works out.
Reply
Ihmhi reply on March 20th, 2011 7:05 am:
Danny and his troupe are apparently going to blog about everything they’re doing, pictures and all. When I get a good bit of info I’ll do an update on the whole thing.
Reply
March 20th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Microupdate: You can track Danny’s progress (as well as events from his friends and family already in the fray) at his blog, http://www.spendyourself.org/.
Reply
March 29th, 2012 at 12:01 am
Nonetheless, the actual specification of website hosting can be setting up a web site as well as making it Vps Hosting Reviews on the net. It appears straightforward, nevertheless, it requires the usage of particular pc languages through which the specific designed text messages along with graphic representations are created and drawn on your web site correspondingly.
Reply