Seniors Erica Mui and Thidar Khine have organized a fundraiser called “1 Wish, 1,000 Cranes’ to help the victims of the recent Japanese earthquakes by making paper cranes and using the money raised to send to Japan.

The fundraiser will be held Tuesday, April 19 in the cafeteria after school from 3:30 to 6:00 pm. The idea behind the fundraiser is to have students, faculty, and teachers make cranes to help the Japanese who were affected by the earthquakes. Each piece of paper will cost $1, and Mui and Khine hope to reach their goal of making at least 1,000 cranes to raise $1,000 or more to send to the Red Cross.

Although neither Khine nor Mui are Japanese, they still would like to help Japan.

“I believe that even though Japan is a first-world country, they still need our help,” said Mui.

The clubs involved are Seminar for Scholars, represented by Mui and English teacher Tamara Jaffe-Notier; Chinese Club, represented by Khine and Chinese teacher Wileen Hsing; and Chemistry Club, represented by science teacher Michael Heinz. Peer Leaders, Hip-hop Club, Breakdanz Club, and Peer Mediators clubs will also be present.

There will be a donation table for those who wish to contribute more to the funds. The first thing a person will do upon entering the Student Commons is to pay for the sheets of paper that he or she will use during the event. An instructional table will be set up for those who do not know how to make a paper crane. “Floaters” will be available to help anyone if needed. After finishing a crane (or cranes), the person would walk to a numbering station, where a helper will write a number on the wing of a finished crane and toss it into a bucket. Another helper will be there to put the cranes on a string to display in the hallways.

The two seniors got the idea from a picture book where the main character is an ill child who believes that if she makes 1,000 wishing cranes, she will get better. By making the 1,000 cranes, Mui and Khine hope to help the Japanese people recover quickly.