You can certainly help, but the organizations say cash is the quickest, most effective way to donate -- because it gets help to victims almost immediately, and relief organizations can instantly convert cash into medicine, food and water. Even in a disaster-ravaged country, food and medicine can almost always be bought and transported quickly.

Although many Americans might be tempted to do so, donating goods for distribution to overseas relief organizations is almost always a bad idea. Transporting the goods often costs more than the value of the goods themselves. Donating food is also problematic -- there's no way to vouch for the safety and purity of donated canned foods, and again, transporting them costs more than they're worth. Often the goods are trapped in customs and can never get to the victims.

However, these organizations are accepting monetary donations for the Asia victims:

Mercy Corps
wwww.mercycorps.org

World Vision
www.worldvision.org

World Concern
www.worldconcern.org

Red Cross
www.redcross.org

NW Medical Teams
www.nwmedicalteams.org

U.N. World Food Program
www.wfp.org

Save The Children
www.savethechildren.org

Food For The Hungry

1-800-2-HUNGERS or by donating online at www.fh.org

U.S. State Department
travel.state.gov
The State Department on Monday established a toll-free telephone number for inquiries about U.S. citizens affected by the Asian earthquake and tsunamis: 888-407-4747

Also, several local area residents and businesses are doing fund raisers for the tsunami victims. You can read more about them at this site.