One with Japan

NE with JAPAN

Youth around the world are joining in SOLIDARITY with Japan while fundraising for the immediate and urgent needs facing the survivors.

Below is one way you can join in-- for more ideas (updated regularly) click here:

1. It begins with the Japanese rising sun:

2. Using the red circle, we invite you to design any logo, slogan or graphic, and we will print it on the product of your choosing. Ideas include a sticker, button, t-shirt, zipper pull, bracelet, keychain, baseball hat, shopping bag, book cover, lapel pin, reusable water bottle . . . you name it, we will do our best to provide it for you. Here are a few examples below-- choose something the youth you know would want to own. The idea to the far right you could make yourself:

T-shirt design- Hawaii youth

Sticker design- Iowa youth

3. RandomKid will have the product made, wholesale, and send it to you in the quantity you request. If you make it yourself, we will provide the supplies. You can charge any price you see fit for your product, above the base cost. Once you start raising funds by selling your product, you will send your funds to us to pay us back for the exact cost of the product. The remainder of what you raise will be sent to your charity of choice, with 10% paid forward to launch more youth projects to benefit Japan relief efforts. Think domino effect.

4. Choose the recipient organization for your funds. Options can be found here (CNN) and here (Volunteer Match). You are welcome to unify your fundraising efforts with other participating youth organizations through RandomKid, and safely connect with them to share ideas through our free conferencing site.

5. In May, RandomKid will host an international web conference for all participating youth, including youth survivors in Japan. On that day, participating youth will wear/carry their product, which will be displayed on our site. At this event, sharing and learning will happen. Experts in the areas of earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear energy can also be invited on the call to take your questions.

6. To get involved, email us at: JAPAN@randomkid.org

More ideas:

Have friends and family sponsor (through donations) the folding of 1000 paper cranes for you to hang in your school, place of worship or at your youth organization. Others donate, you learn origami, and Japan gets much needed funding. Paper cranes are symbols of hope, and 1000 paper cranes ensure it. You can also host a crane-folding party. Use scrap paper to make this project green.

Hang rising suns around your school, sponsored by family and friends with well wishes on each one for Japan. See if you can place them in single file on the walls around your entire school, place of worship or youth organization. Using scrap paper makes this project green, too.

Buy some thin natural rope or heavy string, and a package of round, red beads. String them into bracelets (one bead per bracelet) and sell them to benefit Japan.

Write letters to Japanese students, and translate them using Google translate. For every letter written, your team can compile, translate and send to students in Japan-- in exchange for a donation from the writer. The translations won't be perfect, but love never needs to be perfect. It just needs to be. RandomKid can identify schools where you can send your letters. Here is our letter (you can reverse translate using Google):

親愛なる友人、

あなたは私たちの心の中にあります。

Host a Red Sun week. Sell red sticker dots/marker dots/temporary red circle tatoos to be placed on the donor or on something the donor carries each day of the week. Begin each day with a news annoucement about Japan on the overhead speaker, and one way people can help.

Host a Think Red week, and have a surprise "red" addition you make to donors each day. Here are five ideas, for a dollar each day: Monday: Red ribbon tied on you. Tuesday: One red fingernail painted. Wednesday: A red polka dot on your face. Thursday: A red sticker on your backpack or shirt. Friday: Wear red all day (this one has to be planned). You can probably come up with goofier stuff. Begin each day with a news annoucement about Japan on the overhead speaker, and one way people can help.

Invite people who speak Japanese from your community to your school or youth organization, and have them calligraph the names of donors on pretty paper using Japanese characters. While they are at your event, they can share their stories about Japan, and their experiences through this tragedy.

Red Ball dodgeball or kickball or whatever ball: Teacher-student game, charge a buck to play.

Sell Japanese Hachimaki (headbands)

Sell Red Sun cupcakes or cookies

Allow texting or gaming during lunch (so unrelated to Japan, but kids will donate to do this)

Facepaint for a donation-- choose from 5 different Japanese symbols/designs

Paper your walls at school with RED SUNS you create placing your own designs/messages on them, for a donation. All the suns will be sent to a school in Japan as a token of our solidarity with them

Read what youth are doing in Minnesota-- creative and FUN:

In Elk River MN, kids from five schools are donating money to put their names on paper rice balls on a wall-- a big plate says "Hope for Japan". Kids are also putting tissue paper blossoms on a paper cherry tree in exchange for donations with the sign "Help Japan bloom again".

If you have additional ideas for us to share, send them on and we will post! IdeasForJapan@randomkid.org