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1000 Paper Cranes Can Make Your Dreams Come True

After hearing about the earthquakes in Japan, Grade 2 student Alan Ogaranko desperately wanted to find a way to help. The eight-year-old student at Johnny Bright School asked his father for all of his books on Japan because, as he explained to him, he had to, "learn as much as he could, so he could save Japan."

After brainstorming ideas to help, Alan heard that making 1,000 paper cranes makes your dreams come true. He then decided that he would buy paper and sell it for $1 for children to make cranes, and would give the money raised and the cranes created to children in Japan. The next day, he and his father created his blog, cranesforkids.blogspot.com.

Alan will present his fundraising idea to his entire school community and ask them to help him reach his fundraising goal.

In addition, Dr. Masako Miyazaki, a University of Alberta Professor, will be in attendance at Alan's presentation. On May 22, she will be delivering the cranes to Japanese government officials, who will then send them to makeshift schools near Fukashima, Japan.

Tuesday, April 19 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

On Thursday, April 21 at 1:15 p.m., students in Kindergarten to Grade 9 at Johnny Bright School will stop all activity and come together to build paper cranes - with the goal of reaching Alan's wish for 1000 cranes.