Ida Lieszkovszky · U-Mich Students Raise $20K for Japan

April 12th, 2011


Poster courtesy of Shujiro Toyofuku.

In the month since the devastating earthquake that struck Japan, groups from all over the world have raised millions of dollars for relief efforts. They include students from the University of Michigan, who have raised over $21,000 to help those affected by the quake and tsunami.

To celebrate this, and thank those who donated, the Ross Japan Business Association is holding “Japan Night,” an event Thursday evening. Japan Night will feature sushi, a martial arts performance, and a traditional Taiko drum performance among other things.

Shujiro Toyofuku, president of the association said a variety of student groups at Michigan decided specifically to do something related to education. They turned to “Peace Winds Japan,” an nongovernmental organization (NGO) focused on aid in Japan and elsewhere around the world. Together, they came up with a solution.

“All of the proceeds that come from the series of fundraising events will be used to help the mental recovery of the children affected by the series of tragic events,” said Toyofuku.

Specifically, the funds are going to mental recovery efforts for the children of Kesennuma, Japan, a city that was especially hard hit by the earthquake and tsunami.

Toyofuku’s family lives in Tokyo and Southern Japan, so they escaped the worst of the earthquake and tsunami, but are shaken by the damage to their country as well as constant after shocks.

The group is taking donations through the end of the month on their website.

You can listen to some of my conversation with Toyofuku here.

Or check out a demonstration of a traditional Taiko drum performance:

Category: Biztech, Japan
Comments Off