Efforts to help victims of the tsunami that devastated parts of southern Asia last month are increasing in Lawrence.

A native Sri Lankan is distributing relief fund collection jars to three Lawrence businesses while a restaurant owner is selling T-shirts to raise funds for recovery efforts in his native Thailand.

And monetary contributions are still going to the Douglas County chapter of the American Red Cross and the Lawrence Salvation Army.

Sam Parakhen, owner of Thai House restaurant, 724 Mass., recently obtained tsunami T-shirts that he will give to anyone making a donation to the Thailand government relief fund, he said.

“Anyone can donate anything, but if they donate $15 they can have the T-shirt, if they want,” Parakhen said.

The T-shirts list nine Web sites accepting donations for Thailand relief funds, he said. He said all of the money collected locally would go toward relief efforts; none will go toward covering the cost of the shirts.

Marion Mariathasan, who left Sri Lanka to come to the United States 22 years ago, is starting a collection to help recovery in that country. By the end of the week he plans to have collection jars at Henry’s, 11 E. Eighth St., The Crossing, 618 W. 12th St., and Molly McGee’s, 2412 Iowa.

“I’m hoping to expand it statewide, if possible,” Mariathasan said of his fund raising.

People also can deposit money in an account at Capital City Bank branches in Lawrence, Topeka and Overland Park. The account’s name is North Sri Lankan Children’s Fund.

Marion Mariathasan, a systems technician at Monticello Trails Middle School, organized the North Sri Lankan Children's fund to help rebuild his homeland, which was devastated by the Dec. 26 tsunami. He plans to visit Sri Lanka to help an orphanage destroyed in the disaster.

“My focus is going to be on orphaned children,” Mariathasan said. “There are 9,000 orphaned children as a result of the tsunami in Sri Lanka.”

Mariathasan said he had a contact with a North Sri Lanka orphanage, which is working with him to ensure the money gets where it is needed.

“I’m also hoping to go there myself, in a couple of months,” said Mariathasan, who works as a bartender at Henry’s in addition to being a systems technician at Monticello Trails Middle School in Shawnee.

Local contributions to the Red Cross have reached more than $8,000 since the tsunami struck, said Jane Blocher, executive director of Douglas County Red Cross. The money is being sent to the Red Cross’ national headquarters in Washington.

The Salvation Army also is collecting money at its offices at 946 N.H., director Rich Forney said. About $500 has been received and sent to the Salvation Army regional headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., he said.

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Forney also has volunteered to go to Asian countries to help Salvation Army workers, if needed.

“I’ve done relief work in disaster areas before,” Forney said, mentioning Albania and Mexico. He also has worked in disaster areas in the United States.

Forney said the Salvation Army has long had a presence in southern Asia and, in some locations, U.S. Army workers were the first to arrive in devastated areas.

Kansas Atty. Gen. Phill Kline has warned Kansans to be on the lookout for scam operators posing as tsunami relief collectors. But so far his office has not received any complaints about scams, spokesman Whitney Watson said.