Community Corner

UPDATED: Cheese and Sake Fundraiser for Japan

Milk Pail Market and Masa Sushi join efforts to raise money for earthquake and tsunami victims.

The recent devastation in Japan has moved Mountain View to take action and two local restaurants combined forces to host one creative fundraiser.

After only four days of planning and promoting on Facebook, the  and Japanese restaurant  held a cheese and sake tasting event on Tuesday evening and raised $1,226 to for the Red Cross disaster relief efforts in Japan. The $20 per person event drew fans of the two establishments and others who wanted to contribute.

"I'm a regular Milk Pail customer and they alway do stuff like this," said Eric Tippett, a Mountain View resident, who brought his wife and friends to the fundraiser. "The Japan tragedy is very easy for a Californian to relate to."

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On Friday, Mar. 11, a 9.0 earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan and caused a tsunami that washed ashore and wiped out cities like Sendai. Subsequently several nuclear reactors in the area became unstable and radiation leaked. Now in addition to the millions displaced earthquake and tsunami survivors, millions more have had to evacuate their homes because of the radiation. Estimates put the number dead at 8,000.

The Red Cross, who will receive the proceeds of the cheese and sake fundraiser, currently has 264,000 people in about 1,800 Japanese Red Cross shelters, according to a press release Wednesday. At these shelters, survivors receive blankets, emergency kits, food, clothes and other relief goods. They are attended to by Red Cross medical teams.

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Tippett's friend, Arvinder Dhalla, shared that it's become harder for her to watch the images on television. As a scientist, Dhalla added, she's grown more concerned with the radiation leaks.

"The devastation they are going through is unimaginable," she said. "I wish I could do more than just give money."

Steve Rasmussen, owner of the Milk Pail, told Mountain View Patch that he was happy with the result considering how little time they had to plan the event.

"We had people driving up San Antonio who saw the Red Cross Blanket hanging from a white SUV and they would stop, walk over curious about what was going on, and they would put money into the Box," Rasmussen said and added that despite the rain between 40 and 70 people attended the fundraiser.

"It was pretty funny when it started to rain. Many of the attendees all helped move three tables at one time back out of the rain. Everyone helped!" he said.

Editor's Note: Updated with Steve Rasmussen's quotes received after story was published, which included the dollar figure raised.

For ideas of where to donate money for Japan Disaster Relief, .


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