Waking up to bad news is always awful, but there’s a big difference between getting up on the wrong side of the bed and getting up to total devastation.

I thought I was still dreaming when I woke up this morning, rolled over and opened up Hootsuite to see what Twitter was up to. An onslaught of tweets, way more than one would usually see at 5:30 am, were pouring in, all proclaiming the same terrible news: A 8.9 magnitude earthquake has hit Japan.

My original intention was to use The Weekly Something to showcase cool stuff that was grabbing my attention in a given week. Today, with news continuing to pour in about the damage and loss of life brought on by this catastrophic earthquake and the resulting tsunami, it didn’t feel right to write about anything else.

If you’re anything like me, one of your first thoughts was “What can I do?” Aid organizations have already mobilized and while it’s still too soon to really know what scale of efforts may be required, these groups need our support.

This morning I donated to Red Cross Canada, and organization with a stellar aid reputation that has made in incredibly easy to give to this cause. You can donate online here, call 1-800-418-1111 or text REDCROSS to 30333. The Vancouver Sun has also put together an article providing the details of other aid organizations that are responding to the disaster (I’m assuming it will continue to be updated as more info comes in) as well as details on how to contacts friends or family in Japan.

These resources has been put together with Canadians in mind but I know that countries all over the world are lending a hand so do some research and remember to look for reputable organizations so you don’t fall victim to a scam.

Don’t forget – every little bit helps.