Paper Cranes for Japan

In response to the devastating earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan on March 11th, Students Rebuild partnered with DoSomething.org's "Paper Cranes for Japan" campaign to inspire young people worldwide to support their Japanese peers. We issued a simple challenge to young people online: Make and mail a paper crane, and trigger funding for recovery and reconstruction from the Bezos Family Foundation.

Our goal was 100,000 cranes, which would trigger $200,000 to fund Architecture for Humanity's reconstruction efforts in the devastated Tohoku region of Japan. The response—an incredible 2 million cranes from young people in 38 countries worldwide and all 50 U.S. states—exceeded our wildest hopes.

Wowed by the global outpouring of support for Japan, celebrated artist Vik Muniz generously donated his time, his vision and his creativity to produce a magnificent piece of original artwork using thousands of the cranes. "It's alchemic," said Vik Muniz, in The New York Times Sunday Magazine story. "It worked because everyone wanted to help."

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Japan
• Students
• Rebuild
• Earthquake
• Reconstruction
• Youth
• Architecture
• Art