FUNDRAISER FOR JAPAN RELIEF

On May 15th, well over two hundred people gathered at the Bear River Middle school in Wheatland, CA, a rural town of about three thousand, to attend a piano recital and fundraiser for victims of Japan's recent earthquake and tsunami.

Maree Gauper, piano teacher and recent founder of a Women's Federation for World Peace branch organized the event. Maree, a New Zealander, whose family was near the epicenter of a devastating earthquake in Christchurch New Zealand on February 22nd of this year, empathized with the Japanese people and felt compelled help in some way.

With the help of Wheatland High School Music Director James Achilles, parents of her piano students, the WFWP Chapter in Sacramento was able to raise $723 for the WFWP Japan Relief Fund.

Twenty-four piano students performed, from sixth-generation Wheatlanders to recent arrivals to the near-by military base. The Advanced Choir and Chorus from Wheatland High performed inspirational songs such as: How Can I Keep from Singing, All My Trials, Every Time I Feel the Spirit, and Bridge Over Troubled Water. The Symphonic band also performed several numbers.

Japanese WFWP members from Sacramento greeted guests at the entrance table, where profits towards admission and selling freshly prepared sushi went directly to the fundraiser.

One military member, who had one of his six daughters performing and who also had been stationed in Japan, commented on how inspiring it was to see so many people of different backgrounds working together for a noble cause.

Ben Bartholomew, of "Good Men Do Something" filmed the event and posted it on Youtube. To view the video, click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_dkzxqxeGY or search for "Spring Piano Recital."