Post-Tsunami: How to Help

Are you appalled at the scope of the devastation wreaked by tsunami waves in Asia? You've got company. The disaster is on track to become the largest ever, costwise. As the death toll grows grotesquely larger seemingly every time we hit "refresh" on our Web browsers, many of us wonder how we can help. Charitable giving is part of being a well-rounded investor. Here are some ways you can help alleviate suffering overseas.

The most useful kind of donation in this case is money, not clothes or food. Remember that those affected are spread out in many nations, thousands of miles away. In fact, one factor making this such a costly relief effort is the planning involved.

The American Red Cross is a major relief provider, and one way you can donate easily is online, via the Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN  ) website. (In case you're wondering, Amazon does not take any cut of your donation.)

Other relief providers with good reputations and impressive track records include AmeriCares and Doctors Without Borders.

The nice folks at The Washington Post (NYSE: WPO  ) prepared a how-to-help article of their own.

Some of the charitable organizations that we've supported in past and present Foolanthropy charity drives have operations in nations affected by the tsunamis. One of these is current Foolanthropy supportee Heifer International. Heifer's website notes: "Heifer's Asia staff report that they and our project participants are safe and that no Heifer projects were directly affected by the tsunami disaster. Our international programs staff is now determining how we can best help recovery efforts."

Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian owns shares of The Washington Post and Amazon.com.