We are stunned. Humbled. Amazed. We didn’t think it was possible — but you all made it happen …
After the tsunami. Yamada, Japan: former home to 20,000 people.
Critics say we live in an age of armchair slacktivism – the tendency to participate in pointless internet campaigns that don’t have much practical impact — other than to make slacktivists feel like they’ve done their part to change the world. And it’s not hard to disagree, especially when there are now $5 Lady Gaga wristbands for Japan, and multiple Facebook events with titles like “I will donate $0.02 for every person who clicks on this link!”.
But just like slacktivism, cynicism is easy. It’s the lazy way out, the excuse not to alter what is comfortable about our lives. It doesn’t change the world, doesn’t require anything difficult from us, and it sure doesn’t feed, clothe, or shelter the hundreds of thousands in northern Japan who have literally lost everything — and are now homeless at a time when temperatures drop below freezing at night.
When the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan a week ago, I (Junshien) remember staying up til the early morning hours, watching in horror as the live video feeds came in. The devastation was gut wrenching, and being unable to get in touch with some of my friends in the country didn’t make it any easier.
As it started to become clear how the tsunami had completely destroyed everything – villages swept away, cities flattened, entire families wiped out — we knew clicking links wasn’t enough. “Liking” Facebook pages wasn’t enough. And tweeting #prayforJapan fit the slacktivism mold perfectly. These survivors had lost families and friends and everything they ever owned. We had to do something.
That something ended up being a charity drive. It was either a really brilliant plan, or a foolish one: A minimum of $100 donation for a short 30 minute mini-portrait session. Donors wouldn’t really get all that much — just a brief taste of what a full session with Junshien or one of his photographers would feel like. As we were planning this out we wondered, would people go for this? Can we even raise $1000??
But we did our research, decided on Direct Relief International — an amazing non-profit that is using 100% of the funds for the relief efforts, got a few wonderful local businesses on board (HannaH, A-List Makeup, BoLee Bridal, Petals by Cary, Rex Wang), set a ridiculous goal of $2000, and announced the drive …
And you all completely floored us.
Within 12 hours, over $1500 was raised for the people of Japan. Spots were going so fast that we had to open up an additional tier! When we woke up the next morning, those spots were taken up too! You quickly shot past our target of $2000 in donations, and by 3pm, ALL spots were taken up.
In less than 30 hours since the time of the launch, you guys have collectively raised $3647.12!
What kind of charity drive lasts less than 30 hours?? One with amazing donors, that’s what! (The final amount was actually even more than that! See below.)
It was especially humbling to read the messages that were being sent in. Some of you wrote in saying you had already contributed to other non-profits, but you really wanted to do more — and so you dug in deep and gave again. There were a few of you in high school who couldn’t really afford to give at a tiered level — but you did so anyway. (We remember when we were in high school, even $25 was a big deal.) For some of you, this was your first time donating to any cause — ever. A couple of you couldn’t afford $100 or above, and so you gave what you could, while a few others gave a bit more. One of you wrote in, saying:
The folks over at Direct Relief just sent us a message:
“Junshien International Photographers – Thank you so much for your support for Japan. Great job raising so much!
Direct Relief, in partnership with the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), ensures that 100% of funds received for Japan
go to help people in Japan in the most efficient and appropriate way possible. Again, thank you….
And beautiful pictures, by the way.
Direct Relief International”
However! You can still contribute directly to Direct Relief via their website — 100% of donations will be going to help the tsunami victims.
A few final details …
Incredibly, we still continued to receive several donations even when our charity drive was officially over. After subtracting Paypal fees and expected print costs, the total donations raised is $4180.48! The money has now been transferred to Direct Relief International. Here is the invoice for your review:
And this second portion is from the proceeds collected from A-List Makeup.
Also, for those who donated at the tiered levels — thank you! We will be contacting you around middle of next week to schedule everybody’s mini-sessions. Please hold off sending us emails because your questions will be answered then. :)
And finally, a special shout-out to the local businesses that threw their weight behind this charity drive: HannaH, A-List Makeup, BoLee Bridal, Petals by Cary, Rex Wang. You can find out more about them in the previous blog post, or go to their websites. We partnered with them because these are good, upstanding businesses that do excellent work, and deserve our support too.
And finally (x2!)… for those who are new to the non-profit world, or want to learn more about how they can graduate from armchair slacktivism to helping make this world just a little better, check out our friends at Philanthro Productions! They’re all about encouraging young people to set out and create change in this world. They do good work. So can you. :)
tl;dr: We didn’t think we could raise $1k. We set the goal to $2k cuz we’re over-achievers like that. You blew our minds and donated over $3600. You rock.
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Current travel schedule
NYC: May 12-17
LA: June (not yet set)
Boston: August 19-22
LA: September 16-19
Mexico, Europe, Hawaii, etc: dates pending
For booking inquiries worldwide, or for more information about wedding photography in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, get in touch with us via our contact form.
by Junshien
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