March 21, 2011
Judge Tom
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How Teens Can Help Japan

Students and young people everywhere are wanting to help the people of Japan in the aftermath of the devastating 9.0 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, but many of us don’t know how other than making a donation through a non-profit . Whether you have money, time or talent to give, everyone can contribute in his or her own way.  Here are some ideas:

1. Organize a fundraising event at your school. You can sell baked goods, raffle tickets, support bracelets or any other items and donate the proceeds to any of the following organizations that are helping the Japanese people: American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, NetHope and World Vision. Other fundraising events to consider organizing include a rock concert like battle of the bands, a film festival or talent show.

Photo by Marie in NC (Flickr)

2. Make paper cranes for Japan.According to Japanese legend, anyone who folds 1,000 origami cranes will be granted a wish. DoSomething.org is encouraging young people throughout the world to share their love and support for the Japanese people by uploading photos of their paper cranes and writing messages on a Facebook page. They’re easy to make, but you can find a pic on the Internet and upload that, too.

3. Shop to support Japan. Look for stores donating money from sales to Japan. Tadashi Shojiis donating 10% of storewide sales from South Coast Plaza (southern CA) and Forum Shops Las Vegas to the Japanese Red Cross. Lady Gaga has created a Japan Earthquake Relief Wristband for sale on her site.

Check out the moving video below created by Deko Stone, which is accompanied by a song written and sang by Minna. Thank you for sharing Deko and Minna!

Judge Tom

The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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3 Comments

  • Oklahoma City Divorce Attorney Matt Ingham
    July 7, 2011 7:26 am count( 0 )

    Glad to see there are opportunities for young people to contribute.

  • Hideko Stone
    April 28, 2011 12:39 pm count( 1 )

    This is just a quick note to make you aware that there is a youtube slideshow video about the Japan Tsunami Disaster that I have uploaded. The link is at the bottom of this e-mail. This video is accompanied by a beautiful song that my friend Minna wrote and sings. We put this together to raise awareness that Japan still is in a state of crisis and has many needs. (Personally, I am fortunate in that my own Japanese relatives were not directly affected by the Tsunami as they live in Tokyo.) If you feel that your organization would like to use this video on your website or would like to link it, embed it, send it to someone, etc. please feel free to do so. Also, if you’d like a .mpg file of just the song, I can provide that as well. We’ve made this video generic in the beginning by mentioning… “giving to the charity of your choice”.

    Thank you for your time – Deko Stone
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=574Oavz5eD
    Thank you, Hideko and Minna, for a great video and song. Your message is powerful and we need to keep the world’s attention on these humanitarian efforts across the globe. Well done.