Students aim to help Japan in time of need

Graduate students Evan Jones and Charles Rubinoff created USC for Japan in an effort to help the victims of the earthquake and tsunami.

Jones and Rubinoff were at lunch when the earthquake hit Japan, and their Japanese American cashier overheard their conversation about the earthquake. He interjected saying that he was worried about his family in Japan because he was unsure if they were safe. The two told him about the Google Person Finder, which is an application that helps people report and find missing people because of national disasters. They realized others might need help finding resources.

Soon after, Jones and Rubinoff set up uscforjapan.com and a related Twitter account and Facebook page to link people to informational and aid websites about the earthquake and tsunami.

“USC for Japan is trying to galvanize the USC community to action with regard to helping disaster victims,” Jones wrote in an email. “We’re dedicated to letting people know about how they can aid earthquake victims. We want to let our community be aware that we can do something besides just worrying.”

Though USC for Japan is not collecting any donations itself, it hopes to point potential donors to reputable charities and trusted organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, Relief International and AmeriCares.

In addition, the sites also post news updates and provide links to pertinent tools such as the YouTube CitizenTube site, where several Japanese citizens have uploaded footage of their own experiences in the earthquake or tsunami.

“If you have family in Japan, there are great tools that you can use to find or contact people. In fact, a lot of companies are even letting people call Japan for free now,” Jones wrote.

USC for Japan also encourages students and members of the Trojan family to post pertinent fundraising events and opportunities on their Facebook page.

In addition to the efforts of USC for Japan, the USC Office of Religious Life and the Japanese Student Association will be accepting donations on behalf of the Red Cross and Oxfam International.

Christina Zdawczyk, a freshman majoring in neuroscience and secretary of JSA, said JSA will be tabling on Trousdale Parkway this week and next week to collect donations on behalf of the Red Cross Los Angeles Region.

“We’ll be taking donations and having people sign messages of hope on origami paper that will be made into paper cranes,” Zdawczyk said. “Our goal is 1,000 paper cranes, and if you fold 1,000 paper cranes, you get one wish granted. We’re hoping that we’ll get our wish granted that Japan gets through this disaster.”

The USC Global Health Student Club will also be holding a fundraiser with 100 percent of the proceeds going toward disaster relief.

Chelsea Messinger, a freshman majoring in global health and the public relations chair of the Global Health Student Club, said the club will be tabling on Trousdale next week with red and white ribbons. Students who donate money will receive a ribbon to raise awareness of the help Japan needs.

For more coverage on the devastation in Japan, click here.