Student groups to help organize Japan relief efforts
Multiple student groups on campus have joined together to raise money for the American Red Cross in response to the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that affected the northeastern coast of Japan on March 11.The Japanese Student Association, the Intercultural Center, the Brandeis Asian-American Student Association, the Muslim Student Association, the Shapiro Campus Center team and Waltham Group are all working together to fundraise.
In an interview with the Justice, Chiaki Fujiwara '11, an international student from Japan who has taken a lead in the fundraising efforts, said the first fundraising event will be the sale of red rubber bracelets provided by JSA that read "Pray for Japan" and will be sold for $3 each or two bracelets for $5.
The bracelets will be sold in the Shapiro Campus Center, the Usdan Student Center and the Lemberg Academic Center and will also be offered to students of the Rabb Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management as soon as the bracelets arrive, as early as Wednesday, said Fujiwara.
According to Fujiwara, no official goal for fundraising has been determined, but JSA ordered 2,000 bracelets.
Fujiwara said that the bracelets were first purchased with the help of funds from a faculty member whom she did not name.
The ICC has donated $500 toward the cost of the bracelets to reimburse that faculty member and students involved with fundraising are negotiating with the East Asian Studies program to secure more funding, Fujiwara explained.
Moreover, BAASA has pledged to donate part of the proceeds from their SKINS fashion show toward the relief efforts. In an interview with the Justice, Co-president of BAASA Victoria Lee '13 said that 30 to 40 percent of the proceeds will likely go to the relief efforts.
Lee said that outside of the donation from the SKINS fashion show, BAASA will be involved with advertising and promoting fundraising efforts.
According to Fujiwara, Waltham Group is considering holding a Japanese cultural awareness event, although no details have been solidified.
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