Apple has teamed up with the American Red Cross to accept donations through iTunes and the App Store for the victims of the consecutive earthquakes that occurred in Japan and Ecuador earlier in the month.
The dedicated pages will allow iOS device and Mac computer users to send in donations in denominations of $5, $10, $25, $100 and $200. Links to the donations pages are promoted on the main page for both iTunes and the App Store.
According to the donation pages, Apple will be transferring 100 percent of all donations sent in through the online stores directly to the American Red Cross, with the donors to receive an email receipt as an acknowledgement. Users are advised, however, that the American Red Cross will not be able to further acknowledge that they have received the donations from users, as it will not be receiving the personal information of the donors.
Donations made through the service will appear on the credit card statements of users as transactions with iTunes or the App Store, and will not qualify for tax deductions or other tax benefits. Store credit on iTunes or the App Store may not be used as donations.
A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Japan on the evening of April 14, killing nine people and injuring hundreds more. Majority of the victims were from the Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, located in Kyushu, which is Japan's third biggest island.
That was followed by an even stronger 7.3 magnitude earthquake on the early morning of April 16, which killed 34 people and had 1,500 people either injured or buried under collapsed structures. The earthquake was said to have triggered several landslides, causing massive destruction.
On the same day of April 16, Ecuador suffered what is the most powerful earthquake it has experienced in decades, claiming 272 lives and injuring over 2,500 people. The hardest hit area was the Manabi Province, where 200 people were reported dead.
