The American Red Cross stands ready and willing to assist following a magnitude 8.9 earthquakes in Japan and the resulting tsunami that affected other countries in the Pacific region.

The Japanese Red Cross Society has extraordinary disaster response capabilities, and has mobilized eleven teams to heavily-damaged communities to provide assessments and first aid and prepare to supply emotional support and relief. The American Red Cross is in communication through its global partners with the Pacific nations that sustained the most damage, and stands ready to provide assistance as needed. To date, the Red Cross has not received any requests for blood from the Japanese Red Cross, the Japanese government or the United States State Department.

AVU pledges funds to support OpenCourseWare Consortium.

The African Virtual University (AVU) joins a core group of leaders in the OpenCourseWare community by pledging $25,000 over the next five years to support the OpenCourseWare Consortium, the non-profit association of global OpenCourseWare supporters. Other members pay annual dues of US $50 to $500 dollars to ensure the Consortium has the funding necessary to catalyze the development and use of OpenCourseWare content worldwide.