A Japan earthquake disaster relief effort has launched on campus to raise awareness and funds to help victims in Japan in the wake of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated the island nation late last week.

Working from Sage Hall March 15 and Ho Plaza March 16-17, students from the Japan Graduate Students and Scholar Association, Johnson Japan Club, Japan-United States Association and Cornell Asian Pacific Islander Student Union are hosting tables from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The effort is intended to not only raise funds but also awareness of the latest situation in Japan and a way to send messages of support to people in affected areas.

"Volunteers will fold cranes and teach people how to fold them at the booth throughout the day," said Kayoko Hirata '11, a facilitator with the Cornell Asian Pacific Islander Student Union and member of the Cornell Undergraduate Asia Business Society. "People walking by will have the option of donating money and/or folding a crane." They will be asked to write messages on the crane wings. The cranes would be strung together as people write on them.

Cranes are a symbol of world peace, she says, noting that Japanese culture says that folding 1,000 paper origami cranes makes a person's wish come true.

The cranes will be sent to the victims in the Tohoku area once a reliable route is secured. In the meantime, the cranes will hang in a visible location on campus "as a reminder that even after the media ceases to cover the event, reconstruction efforts still continue and those suffering still need our help."

The student organizers are also coordinating with Asian and Japanese student organizations on different university campuses.

"Using various social media networks, we hope to continue expanding this project into a global effort to show solidarity of support of Japan," said Hirata.

Other campus efforts include:

As of noon March 17, about $8,000 was raised, said organizers. Individuals or organizations that would like to join the relief efforts are asked to contact Risa Naka at rn96@cornell.edu.