One World Many Voices For Japan May 20, 2011, 7:00 - 9:30 pm First Congregational Church 900 High Street, Santa Cruz Suggested Donation: $20 - $30 (higher amounts gratefully accepted) 100% of the funds raised will benefit Natori City, devastated in the March tsunami. Click here to view the event flyer Donate through PayPal! You can save time by pre-paying your donation through PayPal. Your name will be on a "will call" list at the event, which will reserve your ticket. All donations are tax-deductible. Click below to donate via PayPal. Enter the amount of your donation in the "donation amount" box Your donation will go to "Santa Cruz Sisters Committee Relief Fund" via "Aikido of Santa Cruz", both of which are 501-(c)3 non-profit organizations

 

Dear Friends,

The recent massive disasters in Japan have touched hearts all around the world. It is especially poignant for those of us who have a deep personal connection to Japan and the many gifts it has given to the world. The Japanese people have started courageously on their long road to recovery. It is heartening that so many people in other countries are finding ways to help.

And here is a very wonderful way you can be a part of it--very close to you.

Please join us for a Japan relief benefit here in Santa Cruz on Friday, May 20:

"One World, Many Voices for Japan: a fundraising and healing event for the people and land of Japan". Please mark your calendars and join us if you can--and let others know! It will be a beautiful and uplifting evening, held at the First Congregational Church on High Street (near UCSC, in Santa Cruz). Numerous people will join together to offer poetry for and about Japan, bamboo flute music, songs, chanting, and Japanese classical dance. We will not only raise funds, but raise spirits, and send a joyful healing prayer to Japan.

100% of the funds raised will benefit Natori City, which was devastated in the March earthquake and tsunami. Many of the dramatic photos of last month's tsunami that you saw on the news were of the devastation of Natori City. Natori is also a sister city (within Japan) to Shingu--which as many of you know, has been the Sister City of Santa Cruz for 37 years. All the funds raised through our May 20 event will go, through the Santa Cruz Sister Cities Support fund, to provide direct relief to help the people and town of Natori.*

Please look at the beautiful event flyer... and share it with your friends!

You can save time by pre-paying your donation through PayPal. You can do this by clicking on the "Donate" link at the top of this page. Your name will be on a "will call" list at the event. PayPal will email you a donation receipt which you can print out for tax deduction purposes.

Also, we now have a Facebook event page for One World, Many Voices for Japan! Please visit it,add your support, and share it with all your friends:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=144016129000277

One World, Many Voices for Japan is a powerful expression of community. It started out as a spontaneously shared vision with two of my dear friends-- local poets Carolyn Brigit Flynn and Kate Aver Avraham, who are co-organizing the fundraiser with me (Linda Holiday). They will read their beautiful work at the event, joined by five other outstanding poets (Len Anderson, Dane Cervine, Lea Haratani, Peggy Heinrich, Joan Zimmerman) and myself. There will be bamboo flute music by Emily Bording, community singing led by Coleen Douglas, an offering of Japanese classical dance by Ikuyo Conant, children's songs by the Cabrillo Youth Chorus, and more... "Many Voices for Japan". The event is receiving an outpouring of support from many sectors of the community. It is co-sponsored by Santa Cruz Sister Cities Committee, Aikido of Santa Cruz, Aikido of Monterey, Santa Cruz Sentinel, First Congregational Church, Watsonville Taiko, Poetry Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Zen Center, the Japanese Cultural Fair, and it is still growing rapidly. I believe it is going to be an amazing evening, and a great way for all of us to reach across the Pacific to help the people of Japan.

I sincerely hope you can be a part of it. Thank you for your support!

With compassion and collective healing prayers extending all the way to Japan,

Linda Holiday
Chief Instructor, Aikido of Santa Cruz
a non-profit, educational organization serving the community since 1982

* Note: Natori City is just outside of Sendai, and was utterly devastated by the earthquake and tsunami. Before the earthquake it was a thriving city of 70,000 people. It is now completely flattened. 100% of the funds raised will go directly to the town and citizens of Natori for their recovery. More information on Natori can be found at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/14/eveningnews/main20043102.shtml

Or, just search the web for photos of "Natori, Japan". The suffering is almost unimaginable--the photos may convey it best.

Hope to see you May 20!

--Linda