Just in time for National Preparedness Month, which begins September 1, Direct Relief is partnering with social gaming company, Zynga, to help communities around the world prepare for emergencies.

Beginning today, one of Zynga’s most popular games, Mafia Wars, will allow players to get involved in Direct Relief’s preparedness initiatives by featuring a limited edition item for purchase in the game. The virtual item, an Emergency Physician, will be available until September 4 and 100% of the donation will go directly to helping Direct Relief prepare vulnerable communities for emergencies.

In the last couple of years, earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, volcanoes, fires, and oil spills have taken hundreds of thousands of lives, displaced millions of people, and caused unprecedented damage to infrastructure and the environment. Whenever disaster strikes, people and companies entrust Direct Relief with money and resources to help people in crisis. While we can’t prevent a disaster from happening, being prepared is the best defense.

Direct Relief has long held that the wishes of these donors are best honored by ensuring 100% of their donations are used for the response efforts that inspired their donations. But Direct Relief can only do in emergencies what it does every day. The support of Direct Relief’s everyday work to strengthen healthcare for people in 70 countries and the U.S. enables Direct Relief to be precise, efficient, and accurate when disaster strikes. Direct Relief works everyday to strengthen healthcare in places like Louisiana, Bangladesh, Haiti, and Indonesia, preparing communities’ medical response in the event of emergency.

For decades, Direct Relief has sought out healthcare providers doing more with less. In the event of an emergency, their front-line perspective helps calibrate Direct Relief’s response. The broader Direct Relief’s everyday work with under-the-radar community healthcare groups, the more immediate and accurate our response during an emergency, the more lives saved, and the quicker the affected community’s recovery.

To donate to these efforts click Direct Relief’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Programs

Thank you, Zynga and the players of Mafia Wars, for giving direct relief.