If you needed a reminder of how interconnected the world has become, try this:
When 3 Staples freshmen planned a bake sale to aid Japan — 1 of the girls is half-Japanese, and lived there for years — CNN decided it was an excellent story.
The international news network sent a camera crew to Westport, filmed a story on the importance of teenagers taking relief efforts into their own hands — and conducted the interview in Spanish. It ran Tuesday on CNN Español. The girls sounded great.
[cnnvideo url=’http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/spanish/2011/03/15/hauser.us.cookies.4japan.cnn’ inline=’true’]
Alice McDonald is the 9th grader whose family recently moved here from her mother’s native Japan. Alice left behind many friends and relatives.
Shortly after the massive earthquake and tsunami hit, she and classmates Rachel Paul and Jennifer Mastrianni knew they had to do something.
They designed a series of bake sales — and more. They named their project AidJapan 2011. They created a website and Facebook page, and asked friends and family members to bake. Many have already volunteered.
The first bake sale is this Saturday (March 19) in front of People’s United Bank (1790 Post Road East) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The girls will deliver the money directly to the Japanese Consulate in New York, for immediate distribution to the Japanese Red Cross.
Congratulations, girls. Felicidades, las niñas.
Or, as they say in Japan: おめでとう、女の子
(The trio is also accepting checks, written to the Japan Society of Fairfield County and marked “Earthquake Relief.” Checks can be mailed to the Japan Society of Fairfield County, c/o 140 Field Point Road #8, Greenwich, CT 06830. All gifts are tax-deductible.)
