Japan Recovery Initiative
The William and Mary Japan Recovery Initiative aims to help those affected by the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan’s Tohoku region on March 11, 2011. We consist of a group of undergraduates, graduates, staff, and faculty. Our goal is to raise awareness, encourage activism, and facilitate cooperation to assist short- and long-term relief and recovery efforts. We are currently in discussion of specific campaigns and programs. Please check back on this website for new developments.
In what follows, we provide information on public events and activities (concerning philanthropy, fundraising, etc.) run by student organizations and other groups on campus. We also offer a selective list of organizations to which you can donate and contribute (in alphabetical order).
If you are planning to host a campus event or if you are interested in getting involved, please e-mail Professor Hiroshi Kitamura at hxkita@wm.edu.
Activities
Heal Japan – Ganbaru Nihon
A fundraiser organized by Sam Davis ’10 and Jeff DeMars ’11 under the charity organization GlobalGiving (also see below). The goal is to raise $50,000 to help those in Japan by providing necessities like water, food, shelter, and medical supplies. The larger objective is to recover, rebuild, and restore the hopes of the Japanese people.
List of Organizations
What follows is a selective list of organizations to which you can donate and contribute. We list them in alphabetical order.
American Red Cross
This emergency response organization is currently teaming with the Japanese Red Cross Society to provide medical care and disaster relief to those affected by the earthquake and tsunami.
GlobalGiving
This project will distribute funds to organizations providing relief and emergency services to the victims. It collaborates with the International Medical Corps, Save the Children, among other organizations that operate on the ground.
Japan NGO Earthquake Relief and Recovery Fund
This funding project was formed by the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA) and the Center for Public Resources Development. Half of the funds will go to the CPRD’s “Give One” initiative, which raises money for leading Japanese organizations that are offering immediate disaster relief. The other half of the funds will contribute to long-term reconstruction efforts.
JEN
Japanese NGO, highly experienced in disaster relief in both Japan and abroad. They are currently practicing relief efforts in Sendai, one of the cities that was hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami.
Peace-Winds Japan Established in l996.
Peace-Winds Japan (PWJ) is providing disaster relief, shelters, and free telephone services in the areas most severely affected by the Japanese earthquake and the tsunami. Support activities of PWJ are emergency humanitarian relief, aiming to secure the safety of lives and to provide the basic necessities, and assistance for restoration and development of ravaged areas, aiming at retrieval of self-sustaining livelihood. PWJ is affiliated with Mercy Corps, an American NGO.
http://www.peace-winds.org/en/
Save the Children
This humanitarian organization is committed to helping children. It provides food, medical care, and education and assists short-term and long-term programs. Currently, Save the Children has a team based in Sendai to offer relief on the ground.
United People Fund Established by a Japanese company
(United People) that has launched a "one-click campaign": by just clicking their website, you will be donating 1 yen (roughly 1.3 cents) to the recovery efforts each day!! This costs no money for you, as it has been funded by nearly a dozen Japanese corporate sponsors. The website is only in Japanese, but if you follow the link and click on the narrow orange box with a "play" button (on the left side of the page), you will be helping their relief and recovery efforts. Check back everyday and click the orange button!
http://www.clickbokin.ekokoro.jp/139.html
