Download with children for children

WITH CHILDREN FOR CHILDREN
Family Activity Fundraising Day for the Japan Earthquake Appeal
at
The Unicorn Theatre
147 Tooley Street, Southwark,London SE1 2HZ147
Nearest tube: London Bridge
Sunday 19th June 2011, 11:00-16:00
Purpose: To raise funds for the local communities in Tohoku, who have been affected by the Great
East Japan Earthquake. All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated through the Japan Society in
the UK, to organizations working to help people in the affected areas recover from the devastating
effects of the earthquake and tsunami. (www.japansociety.org.uk/earthquake)
Organising members: Haruka Kuroda, Kumiko Mendl, Masashi Fujimoto, Jo Allan & Vicky Ireland
Dear Sir/Madam,
My name is Haruka Kuroda and I am a London based Japanese actress and a member of the Japanese artistic
community here in the UK. We are organizing a fundraising event, entitled ‘With Children For Children: Family
Activity Day for the Japan Earthquake Appeal’ which will be held at the Unicorn Theatre,
th
(www.unicorntheatre.com) a well-known children’s theatre in London, on Sunday 19 June, 2011.
Our organisational team have an excellent track record of working with the Japanese community here in
London. We have staged two Japanese family events (“ASOBI!”) in May 2006 and 2007 at artsdepot in North
Finchley, when over 2,000 members of the community attended various workshops and performances. These
events were organised by Kumiko Mendl, co-artistic director of A Thousand Cranes,
(www.athousandcranes.org.uk) Artistic Associate of artsdepot, as well as newly appointed Artistic Director of
Yellow Earth Theatre.
Since April 2011, Kumiko and I have been busy with our second tour of The Paper Washi Wish, a children’s
show produced by A Thousand Cranes. As well as performing, we have sold hand-made origami paper cranes
(Japanese birds) at the venues we have visited, and have been staggered by the generosity of the audiences.
We know the goodwill is there.
Our principle aims in staging With Children For Children are to raise money through ticket sales and
donations, and awareness of the current situation in Japan. Sadly, the news about the earthquake is no longer
a headline and it has become a “past event” for those of us who do not live there. However, for the victims,
the long-term suffering and rebuilding of their lives has just begun. As well as offering families a fun-packed
programme, we will also provide vital information to show how the audience’s donations will help Japanese
families to rebuild and refocus their lives.
Here are some of the workshops/performances we plan to programme on the day:
Workshops: in various studio spaces in the Unicorn theatre
 Japanese collage by Yoshie (www.yoshiemilk.com)
 Origami
 Sushi Making
 Shodo (Japanese calligraphy)
 Dressing Up with Japanese traditional costumes
 The Way of the Samurai (taught by a Bushi Do master, Mike Graham)
2 Performances in the Western Theatre: (seating 275)
 With Children For Children performance by various artists featuring Taiko drumming by Joji Hirota
and Japanese picture book reading with live music
2 Performances in the Judy Dench Studio: (seating 50)
 The Paper Washi Wish performance by A Thousand Cranes- the show also include a hands-on paper
making workshop
We are very positive that the event will attract the Unicorn’s regular family audiences as well as Japanese
families who are based in London. We have already secured the marketing support from Play For Japan
(www.playforjapan.com) and a famous Japanese cartoonist, Kiriko Kubo (wwwkubokiri.com) has agreed to design
the poster. We estimate to raise £8,000 in total based on the ticket price for our shows.
However, we are faced with a lack of funding to cover basic costs. All the participating artists have agreed to
give us their time in kind, and the Unicorn is offering their spaces for free - but we need to cover the following;


Unicorn Theatre’s staff wages £1093.11 inc.VAT
Unicorn Box office £360 inc.VAT (this will include weekly update on the ticket sales as well as the
event being promoted on their website)
 Marketing £500
 Minimum expenses for the artists I.e., Materials, petrol for those who need to bring their
materials/instruments by car £200
TOTAL to be raised £2,153.11
We are therefore writing to ask for your urgent help to make this important occasion happen. We would very
much appreciate any investment, donation or financial support that you could provide. Your company name
will have a special mention in the programme and on our website. We do hope you are willing to be involved.
Thank you.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Haruka Kuroda
On behalf of the With Children For Children team
www.withchildrenforchildren.org.uk
(Please note that you need the latest Flash Player to view our website!)
Contact: (mobile) 07905275624 (email) [email protected]
“We are holding our hands hoping to deliver everyone in Japan from small children to all the grown-ups fighting for survival in and also out
of the disaster area. “Project: Holding Hands” is a special project just launched to encourage people in Japan, especially children directly or
indirectly affected by this recent disaster. www.teotsunago.com”