Japan America Society of Southern California Announces First Charter Donors for the 2011 Japan Relief Fund

LOS ANGELES, March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Kennedy Wilson, Bank of the West and Sunkist Growers have pledged up to $300,000 as charter donors to the Japan America Society of Southern California (JASSC) 2011 Japan Relief Fund.  Established within hours of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the Sanriku coast in the Tohoku region of Japan, the JASSC 2011 Japan Relief Fund immediately received donations with charter donors Kennedy Wilson and Bank of the West each pledging $50,000, and Sunkist Growers pledging a matching donation of up to $200,000.*  Total donations to the JASSC 2011 Japan Fund as of press time exceed $570,000.

Kennedy Wilson, Bank of the West and Sunkist Growers will be recognized at the JASSC's 102nd anniversary dinner at the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif. on Saturday, April 2.  The Japan America Society of Southern California will accept donations for the relief fund onsite at the dinner.  All donations will be forwarded to experienced non-governmental disaster relief agencies in Japan that have a demonstrated record of emergency humanitarian relief and long-term restoration and development of destroyed areas.

The JASSC's 102nd anniversary dinner will honor Dr. Kazuo Inamori, founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera Corporation.  The event's spirit of supporting Japan earthquake relief is consistent with Kyocera's March 14 pledge to directly donate 100 million yen (US$1.22 million) for relief aid and reconstruction efforts. "JASSC members are inspired by examples like these in aiding those in need," said Nancy Woo Hiromoto, chair of JASSC.

"Upon learning the 102nd anniversary dinner would include fundraising for the JASSC 2011 Japan Relief Fund, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. doubled its support for the event," said Douglas Erber, president of JASSC.  "We are all deeply saddened by the tragedy in Japan, but with generous donations from individual donors, corporations and non-profit organizations, we hope to speed the relief and recovery efforts and help bring some normalcy back to the lives of the people of Japan."  

The JASSC has a long history of providing disaster relief assistance to Japan, as far back as the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake in Tokyo and in 1959, Typhoon Vera in Nagoya.  In 1995, JASSC established the Kobe Relief Fund within 12 hours of the Great Hanshin Earthquake.  In the months following the quake, and through efforts of numerous Southern California organizations, the fund received nearly 10,000 individual contributions totaling $1.7 million.  This donation was recognized by then Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama as the largest amount Kobe received from a grassroot-relief campaign.

Donations to the JASSC 2011 Japan Relief Fund can be made by secure, online credit card donations at www.jas-socal.org, or by checks made payable to "2011 Japan  Relief Fund," and sent to: Japan America Society of Southern California, 345 S. Figueroa Street, Suite M-1, Los Angeles, CA 90071-1004, U.S.A.

*Sunkist Grower's donation to the JASSC 2011 Japan Relief Fund is a donor matching contribution with donations to be raised through Sunkist's promotional efforts using its social media channels and its global email newsletter to inform its consumers of the JASSC 2011 Japan Relief Fund.  Sunkist Growers will contribute matching funds up to $200,000.  

About the JASSC 102nd Anniversary Dinner

The Japan America Society of Southern California will commemorate more than 10 decades of promoting strong relationships between Japanese and Americans at its 102nd anniversary dinner at the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California on Saturday, April 2.  Dr. Kazuo Inamori, founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera Corporation, and current chairman of Japan Airlines, will receive JASSC's Kokusai Shimin Sho "International Citizens Award."  In addition, JASSC will host its first annual JAS High Tech Fair.  The JAS High Tech Fair, silent auction and reception will begin at 3:00 p.m. the dinner will commence at 6:00 p.m.  Additional information and tickets for the JASSC 102nd anniversary dinner are available online at www.jas-socal.org or by calling (213) 627-6217, ext. 207.

About Japan America Society of Southern California  

Founded in 1909 to build economic, cultural, governmental and personal relationships between the people of Japan and America, the Society is the West Coast's premier forum for providing unique opportunities for individuals and corporations to become involved in the Japan-United States relationship.  With 135 corporate and more than 2,000 individual members, the Japan America Society of Southern California is a qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and charitable organization.  For more information, please visit www.jas-socal.org.

SOURCE Japan America Society of Southern California