How to help survivors in Northern Japan (a partial list)

RELIEF WALL — The Japanese Cultural and Community of Northern California-established Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund supports the citizen relief efforts to aid the survivors of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. photo courtesy of JCCCNC

San Francisco
Thursday, May 19
Art at Night: Chinatown benefit for the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund

The Chinese Culture Center will present its first installment of “Art at Night,” a series dedicated to providing the community with space to enjoy art and food while contributing to various causes, held at Hilton San Francisco Financial District, 750 Kearny St. in San Francisco.

The event coincides with the opening of the 2011 XianRui (Fresharp) artist’s series, Zheng Chongbin’s “White Ink.” Chongbin is a contemporary ink painter. There will also be a “Sumie Sounds” concert by Francis Wong Unit, a jazz ensemble.

The exhibit will open at 5 p.m. and the concert will begin at 7 p.m.

Tickets to “Sumie Sounds” are $25, and include light hors d’oeuvres, a glass of wine and entry to a raffle sponsored by the hotel for a chance at a two-night stay in the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel with airfare.

All proceeds will go toward the Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.

Inspired by the fluidity, innovation, and pulse of ink painting, this event pays homage to shared Japanese and Chinese artistic traditions and to Asian American community solidarity.

Los Angeles
Friday, June 17
Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) Foundation
Japan Rebuild Fundraiser & Cocktail Reception

There will be a fundraiser and a black-tie cocktail reception at the Japanese American National Museum, 369 East First St. in L.A.’s Little Tokyo, to help initiate a relief fund for those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Northern Japan. The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA) Foundation plans to partner with various real estate associations and nonprofits to help Japan recover and rebuild.

The event will feature cocktails, sake, sushi, auctions, and a raffle with high-end prizes. All proceeds will go directly to Japan for rebuilding homes. Admission is $150 per person. For more info or to purchase tickets visit www.areaafoundation.org.

For additional coverage of the ongoing crisis in Northeastern Japan and ways to help the relief efforts, visit www.nichibei.org/disaster_in_japan.

For tips on determining which charitable funds to consider supporting, visit the Better Business Bureau’s Standards for Charity Accountability online at www.bbb.org/us/Charity-Standards, or call (703) 276-0100.