2011 JAPAN EARTHQUAKE

FUNDRAISER RESULTS $280,000    

Additionally in 2011 Fashion Girls for Japan sale in Japan and London raised over $200,000, bringing the total $480,000 raised in 2011.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Dear Fashion Girls Friends and Volunteers,

We are pleased to inform you that today the second distribution of $7,000 has been made to Japan Society’s Japan Earthquake Fund based on the year-end final result of all IONY tee shirt and bag sales (over 1,000 tee shirts and bags sold worldwide). Thanks to all the volunteers and businesses that donated product and services, we were able to keep our expenses significantly low (less than 9%). In total, $267,000 has been donated to Japan’s Earthquake Relief Fund[1] this year. Globally “Fashion Girls for Japan” sample sale events (held in Tokyo in May, followed by the event in London in June), have raised close to $500,000 collectively with your help and support. So far, the Japan Society has dispersed funds to 13 nonprofit organizations in Japan on the front lines of relief, recovery and reconstruction in Tohoku. We have met Mr. Sakurai, President of Japan Society, and discussed potential fund recipients, including organizations that specifically help children orphaned from the disaster. Please learn more about those organizations funded by Japan Society Great Earthquake Relief Fund from here.

Unfortunately in many ways, Japan is still reeling from the devastating earthquake and tsunami and the nuclear crisis and huge leaks of radiation it set off. For many people in Japan, the crisis is far from over. More than 160,000 people remain displaced with little compensation from the government and Tokyo Electric. As 2011 drew to a close, Japan was drawing up plans for a massive cleanup of radiation-affected area in the hopes that those displaced could go home. But such tasks are both monumental and unprecedented even if they are possible. In December 2011, traces of radioactive cesium were detected in Japanese baby formula, as concerns about food safety continued almost nine months after the accident. Japan’s recovery is expected to take generations. As we have seen in the Gulf Coast in the United States and in Haiti, among other places, the need is great not just in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, but also in the longer term recovery and reconstruction process. With this in mind, Fashion Girls for Japan is planning a second anniversary Fashion Girls for Japan sample sale on March 31-April 1. This time we are planning to invite men’s designers, and the event will include a preview shopping and reception. We hope you can join us again for the event and help us in any way to continue our efforts. We will send you more details in the next few weeks.

 

Kikka Hanazawa

Fashion Girls for Japan

[1] We originally planned to donate IONY tee shirts and tote bag sales proceed to Mayors Fund’s Japan Earthquake Relief Fund, which has been unfortunately closed in November. As per their suggestion, we have made our second distribution again to Japan Society’s Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Fund.

Fashion Girls for Japan year end letter final

Fashion Girls for Japan year end letter final financial