By Nabi Dressler
Staff Writer
English teacher Karen Kruse was shocked and struck by the magnitude of Japan’s recent 7.1 earthquake and the tsunami that followed on March 11.
“It was like a one-two punch,” Kruse said.
According to CNN, 13,843 people have been confirmed dead and 14,030 people remain missing.
Millions of Japanese families had been left without power following the earthquake and tsunami. Houses were swept into highways and villages were engulfed by waves.
Kruse runs Japanese Anime Manga Manhwa Club. She wanted to help out Japan because JAMM Club learns about Japanese culture, and the rest of the students in the club wanted to help the victims who had lost their homes, belongings and even members of their families.

“I’ve never lost that much in my life so far,” junior Nicole Clark said.
Junior Clair Felde was shocked to hear “something that bad actually happened.”
The club is deeply invested in Asian and specifically Japanese culture, so they decided to make origami paper cranes.
“After the whole earthquake, it seemed like the right thing to do,” Felde said.
The idea has true Japanese roots; cranes represent hope in Japan. There is a legend that if you make 1,000 paper cranes, then your wishes will come true.
“[JAMM Club] have a connection for the culture and we feel for the people,” Clark said.
She, along with other JAMM Club members, sells the hand-folded cranes in the commons during lunch hours.
As of Wednesday, April 13, JAMM Club had raised $106.57 for Japan.
While there is no set donation price, most students have spent a dollar for a crane or chose to donate money without even getting a crane. One student donated $20 to Japan while others donated quarters.
This fundraiser for Japan hasn’t gotten the amount of attention other fundraisers such as St. Baldrick’s had, but it’s understandable because there are a lot of organizations for Japan that people might’ve already donated through, such as UNICEF, according to Kruse.
Kruse believes JAMM Club is a small group, but they should able to do something to help Japanese earthquake and tsunami victims.
JAMM Club is still working out how they will get the money to Japan. They are considering donating the money to an organization like Red Cross Japan, or might try to get the donations to another school in Japan.
Depending on what organization the money gets submitted through, student and staff donations may contribute to buying food or shipping supplies to Japan.
Students can help Japan by donating to JAMM Club or simply donating through a non-profit organization or church. Kruse believes we “have to wait and see what Japan needs.”
“I know paper cranes don’t exactly seem like that much,” Clark said, “but money can go so far.”