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Origami Cranes

In response to the recent devastation in Japan, Sidhant Pamnani, a second-year Bachelor of Science student at Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) in Alberta, took it upon himself to organize a fundraiser. He called it the Thousand Origami Crane Project for Japan Earthquake Devastation. According to Japanese legend, anyone who folds 1,000 origami cranes will be granted a wish such as long life or recovery from illness.

He rallied the help of other GPRC students by setting up a Facebook event page through which he invited all students to attend and spread the word. Over 40 students took time out of their busy schedules to participate in the event and fold origami cranes throughout the course of the day. They surpassed their goal and folded over 1,100 paper cranes, raising approximately $400 in donations on behalf of the Canadian Red Cross.

Sidhant's empathy for the people affected by the disaster inspired him to contact the local Red Cross office and obtain a Community Fundraiser Contract, which allowed him to organize this fundraiser and to also deposit donation boxes and jars throughout the Campus.

With the help of the GPRC community, the Students' Association and the students themselves, Sidhant raised over $1000 for the Canadian Red Cross Japan Earthquake/Asia-Pacific Tsunami Relief effort. When asked about the motivation behind such an endeavour, Sidhant said that he was deeply affected by the plight of the Japanese people and by the coverage of the events that he witnessed through the media. "I felt the need to do something but it was not feasible for me to actually go to Japan and help on the ground, so I decided that this was the next best thing that I could do to support relief efforts currently under way". Congratulations Sidhant!

Would you like to organize a fundraiser or volunteer for the Canadian Red Cross? Click here to contact your local Red Cross office.