by Caroline
I was born in Tokyo, as was my mother; a college housemate lives there now, writing for Reuters, as do my cousins, who work (currently non-stop) for the American Embassy. There are writers I care about who live in Japan, like Literary Mama’s co-editor for fiction, Suzanne Kamata, and one of the contributors to this anthology, Wendy Nakanishi. Luckily, no one I know has been hurt by the quake and tsunami, but of course tens of thousands of people have — I can’t bring myself to look up the latest numbers, they are so devastating.
And so while I hardly need an excuse to participate in a bakesale, when I read about Samin Nosrat’s Bakesale for Japan, I particularly wanted to help.
Last year, the Bay Area chef organized a Bakesale for Haiti that raised $23,000 for earthquake relief. This year, she’s hoping to double or triple that amount at the April 2nd Bakesale for Japan. My sons’ school is doing their bakesale March 31st, as part of its annual César Chavez Day of Service — a juxtaposition I just love. Whether you want to organize a bakesale yourself, or just shop at one, do consider participating somehow in this very sweet fundraiser for Japan. Click here for more information.