ACS Tsunami Response

The earthquake and Tsunami that hit Southeast Asia in December 2004 killed hundreds of thousands of people and drove more than a million from their homes across the region. As a contribution to the rebuilding effort, the American Chemical Society will provide materials that will help train new elementary and high school math and science teachers in Indonesia, which was hardest hit by the natural disaster. Individuals can contribute to this effort in person at the ACS national meeting in San Diego; by downloading payment forms from the ACS website, http://www.chemistry.org/tsunami.html, and mailing in a contribution; or by calling the Office of Society Services at (800) 227-5558. Donations will be accepted through March 31.

Hundreds of new schools and libraries will be built in the region in the near term to replace buildings that were destroyed. Already, the Indonesian Ministry of Education & Culture has invited contributions of K–12 math and science education textbooks, books, and other teacher-training resources. Books written in English will be accepted.

At the San Diego meeting, participants can make cash donations to the ACS Tsunami Relief Campaign in the exposition hall at the convention center (booth 821). Cash donations will be used to cover the purchase price of selected teacher-training materials developed by the ACS Education Division and the cost of shipping them to a collection center in Mississippi. Donations in the amounts of $30, $50, $100, or other amounts will support the purchase and shipment of teacher-training offerings such as "Inquiry in Action," which helps elementary and middle school students learn basic concepts in the process of scientific investigation; "The Best of WonderScience," activities that will help 3rd- through 6th-grade students better understand science concepts; and "SourceBook, Version 2.0," which is full of instructional ideas and information for effective high school student learning in chemistry.

Meeting participants also are welcome to stop by the booth and express their interest in donating other K–12 education materials that have been published in the past five years and are in good condition. More information about how individuals can offer to make an in-kind donation is available at http://www.chemistry.org/tsunami.html.

Cash contributions and the fair market value of in-kind contributions, as determined by the donor, are tax deductible to the maximum extent allowed by law. In addition to underwriting the costs of the campaign and contributing other educational materials, ACS will contribute the cost of shipping all materials from Mississippi to the affected regions.

Also, through its Project Bookshare, which was established in 1984, ACS has collected chemistry textbooks and journals from donors and shipped them to libraries around the world. More than 80 tons of donated materials are sent to developing countries and minority-serving institutions in the U.S. each year. The generosity of ACS members, U.S. corporations, institutions of higher learning, and others has made Project Bookshare a true national and international success.