Ondoy fundraising update: Good news and bad news

First, the good news: We brought our fourth check (P493,047.20) to the Philippine National Red Cross yesterday. It brought to P1,678,437.63 the total amount of donations for typhoon victims we’ve received from nearly 1,000 donors from 37 countries and promptly turned over to the Red Cross.

Again, we thank everyone who supported this fundraiser. Thank you for the trust you gave TXTPower.

We actually want to continue this fundraising and perhaps choose other equally worthy beneficiaries as we grapple with the tragedies brought by Ondoy and Pepeng, but circumstances forced us to stop — which brings us to…

… the bad news: Paypal now bans charities and non-profits in Asia Pacific from using their service to receive donations.

In due time, we hope to resume fundraising efforts as the death toll continues to rise (300+ for Ketsana/Ondoy, 125 for Parma/Pepeng) and the number of people seeking relief aid climb in the aftermath of two typhoons that hit the Philippines.