Donor Offers $10K for Facebook

By Tamar Runyan

With hundreds of aftershocks continuing to rattle the fractured earth around Japan, last week’s 7.1-magnitude earthquake didn’t shock anyone, though it did leave the city of Sendai – which was inundated by the March 11 tsunami – without power for an hour.

“It was a little stronger that what we’re used to now,” said Rabbi Mendy Sudakevich, the Tokyo-based director of Chabad-Lubavitch activities in the island nation who has been coordinating Jewish relief efforts in and around Sendai.

For the past month, Sudakevich and the Japan Jewish Relief project run by Chabad of Hong Kong director Rabbi Mordechai Avtzon has been doing what it can to feed the hungry and homeless.

Early on, volunteers partnered with the Arpajan Bakery in Sendai to distribute free bread to earthquake survivors; during a recent visit to the nearby Watari Evacuation Center, they handed out croissants and instant soup to children.

Japan Jewish Relief also launched a Facebook page to raise awareness and fundraise for the effort. According to Sudakevich, an anonymous donor has offered $10,000 if the page can amass 10,000 fans.

The non-profit feeds about 7,000 people each day. Two area cities have requested assistance, said Sudakevich.

“We are trying to fulfill as many requests as we can,” said the rabbi. “We want to be able to help everyone.”