http://www.mercycorps.org/fundraising/cranesforacause
In a gesture tied to Japanese culture, more than 200 people fashioned paper cranes in a fundraising effort Sunday in Vancouver’s Hough neighborhood.
And before the five-hour event ended, nearly $2,000 had been raised for Mercy Corps’ relief effort in Japan.
Three Hough neighborhood activists — Eileen Cowen, Jamie Lutz Carroll and Sunrise O’Mahoney — seized upon the chance to help. They put their event together in a week and called it Cranes for a Cause.
Children and adults were doing their origami folding in tables around the Pop Culture restaurant and performance venue at 1929 Main St.
“This is families coming together,” O’Mahoney said. “A couple of kids have donated their allowance. How can you not be moved?”
“We have very nimble fingers at work here,” said Cowen, her 1-year-old daughter, Bridget, in tow.
She said the event sprang to her mind when she remembered reading “Sadako and the Thousand Cranes” when she was a third-grader. “Cranes bring gifts and peace. People can do the same” Cowen said. Also, lore has it that if you make 1,000 cranes, a wish comes true.
The Sunday effort produced about 1,200 cranes.
The cranes will be placed around Clark County to remind people they still can donate to the earthquake and tsunami relief effort, O’Mahoney said.
There’s about 20 steps to folding a crane. For some, it took less than a minute to fold the artwork.
“It takes me four or five minutes,” Cowen said.
The experience was heartfelt for Keiko Nishiguchi Leonard of Minnehaha, who was folding with her husband, Gregg Leonard.
“Many, many people to think of,” Keiko said. She came to America from Japan six years ago.
In 1995, Keiko was living in Kobe, Japan, when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit.
“It was total chaos,” she said, “More than 6,000 lives were lost.”
During the event, Makyla Bishop, 13, took the microphone to read the Japanese poem “Ame ni mo makezu” (be not defeated by the rain) by Kenji Miyazawa. She said the theme is getting through life’s trials and helping the hurting.
Kinuyo Endres of Vancouver, who moved from Japan 11 years ago, said it took her a week to find out if the parents of a friend were safe in Ishinomaki.
“I really appreciate that a different country is helping Japan,” she said while folding cranes.
Dan Wyatt, owner of Pop Culture, which sells hot dogs and many types of soda, said he was happy to donate his space, which often hosts events and music.
He said he moved from Southern California to the Hough neighborhood because he was ”hungry for community.”
He said Cranes for a Cause was a perfect way to show how a community can make a difference.
