Story by Lindsey Agnew, Assistant News Editor

Japanese National Honor Society members have raised nearly $1,000 to aid relief efforts for areas of Japan damaged by earthquakes and tsunamis in March. During Exhibition Day and at lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays, club members sold Japanese goods and ran activities to raise over $420 for the cause. JNHS previously collected over $500 in donations from teachers, students, and community members and sent the proceeds to Japan.

Approximately $290 of the sum was raised at Exhibition Day, according to JNHS President Zoe Fox. JNHS ran interactive activities including Japanese hairstyling and Japanese food eating contests. Students could also write messages of hope and concern for Japanese students on posters JNHS provided; the club plans on sending them to a Japanese high school in Iwate.

Sophomore Arin Mallin was one of the hairstylists at Exhibition Day. “It sounded like something fun, and all the money went to Japan, so we decided to do something inspired by Japanese culture,” said Mallin. Mallin said that the club went through Japanese magazines in class and chose the most distinct and interesting Japanese hairstyles to recreate on students.

Club members gathered over $130 of the total by selling Japanese food to students at lunch, according to Fox. For three weeks on Tuesdays and Thursdays, club members ran a table in front of the library and walked around school selling goods. The week of prom, club members made origami corsages and earrings, which they sold along with the snacks.

The Japanese class received an email message from a group of middle school students who received items such as socks and stationary that they sent. “They said, ‘Thank you, it really helps out a lot’,” said Fox.

“They still need our help. Even if it’s a little message or a video, we want to do anything we can that will help out Japan,” said Fox.