Japan Earthquake Fundraiser

I attended a fundraising event to raise money for the victims of the earthquake in Japan on Saturday. I heard about it from one of my Facebook friends, Asha. It was organized by a girl named Fujiko and her friend and held at The Ambrosia Hub on Adelaide, just east of John.

I got there around quarter after 2:00, a bit after the start time. I thought it might be fairly crowded by that time. After all nearly 150 replied they'd attend on FB. But, when I arrived, pretty much the only people there were the organizers. So I spent the first bit of time taking pictures of the venue (which I wanted to do anyway). I was thankful I had the space pretty much to myself.

The first group started playing 25 minutes later. It was three young guys who formed their band just three days before. I think they sounded pretty good. To tell you the truth there were so many performers I can't quite remember who they all were. It was fun though. There were a lot of different acts from musicians, to dancers and everything in between.

In all they raised $1,502.87 for their two charities - Save The Children and JCCC Foundation Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.

To see all the photos go to my Flickr.com page.

Toronto Rocks: Earthquake Shakes City

My, my, my... something to take our minds off the upcoming G20 Summit here in the city. This afternoon (Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010) at 1:41 p.m. local time a magnitude 5.0 earthquake (according to the US Geological Survey) shook Toronto. The epicenter was located 60 kilometres north of the national capital of Ottawa. It was felt as far west as Michigan and Ohio, as far east as Montreal and in some parts of New York State.

I, for one, was sitting on my sofa in my condo when the quake hit. It was the strangest sensation. The whole room seemed to move beneath me. The floor lamp beside me started to sway and I could hear the large, floor-to-ceiling windows in my kitchen and even the building creaking. I have to say I was a little bit concerned. I didn't know if I should hightail it out of my condo or not. I walked into the kitchen and noticed some workers in the office buildings across the road from me streaming out onto the street. Perhaps they were genuinely scared or maybe they just wanted an early afternoon break. In all the shaking lasted from 20-30 seconds.

Now that I look back at it, it was kind of exciting. I phoned my mom and asked her if she felt it. She mentioned she did. My sister called her from work and talked to her too. The local news media was on top of the story right away broadcasting all sorts of reports and analysis. For a moment all the G20 protesters and their attention grabbing antics took a backseat to something of far greater interest to the citizens of this city.

Haiti needs your help.

As we all know Haiti has been recently struck by a devastating natural disaster. A great many people have been injured or killed. Many others are suffering for lack of water, food and shelter. It's time for the international community to dig into their pockets and give what they can to help ease the terrible suffering these people are going through.

I'm happy to report that as of Friday, January 15th, the Canadian public has given $24 million to registered charities. This will be matched by the federal government up to $50 million.

Please take the time to look up one of the many reputable aid organizations and donate now.