THE PATH OF THE STORM
To relate the extent of misery and devastation following in the wake of a five days' fury of shock and fire is scarcely necessary. Two huge cities, one the size of Chicago and the other with a population equal to San Francisco, were wiped from the face of the earth.
The delicate structure of Japanese dwellings made them an easy prey to violent rockings and upheavals, more substantial buildings, not shaken by earthquake, were gutted by fire. Thousands of inhabitants were crushed under falling buildings or killed by fire. Commercial industries, upon which the Japanese are dependent for employment, have suspended operations on a large scale.
NOR WAS THE Y.W.C.A. SPARED
The property of the Young Women's Christian Association at Yokohama included an administration building, a residence for Japanese women, a vacation house on the beach, and a residence for foreign secretaries. Although the buildings themselves were not owned by the Y.W.C.A. their furnishings and contents were a total loss. In Tokyo the local Association building and two dormitories were owned by the Y.W.C.A., and three buildings rented, including the national offices. All of these are now in complete ruin.
Shall we help the Japan Association to rebuild?
SUGGESTED LOCAL ORGANIZATION
The foundation of a campaign to aid Japan must be the local association.
It has been suggested that the president of your local organization appoint a special Japan committee. The Chairman of this committee should be an able woman with foreign interests, in Japan, if possible.
The local Association is to report to officers in regions who have been appointed by the campaign headquarters committee and are named elsewhere in this folder.
Each Association's quota of the $250,000 will be small, but it is necessary that each unit of the campaign organization respond one hundred [percent] in order to insure the success of this endeavor.
MOBILIZING FOR THE CAMPAIGN
The urgency of the Japanese situation has been impressed upon the Y.W.C.A. of the United States since the arrival here this month of Miss Jane Scott from Tokyo and Miss Hazel Verry from Yokohama.
A campaign is being promptly organized. Five regions have been created -- Southern, Eastern, Central, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast, and five directors in regions placed on duty. Select your director and communicate with her.
How to Order Supplies
Publicity and supplies of all kinds should be ordered on order blanks through the directors in regions, in plenty of time to reach you.
Available to each local Association are graphic posters, 15½ x 12 inches; a booklet describing Association work in Tokyo and Yokohama before and since the earthquake; small dodgers, obtainable in numbers sufficient to permit wide distribution; pledge cards for all contributors.
Speakers -- Should your Association wish to put on special programs in connection with the campaign, apply to the director in your region for speakers familiar with the Japanese situation.
National Headquarters Committee
Mrs. Lewis H. Lapham, Mrs. Milton J. Davies, Mrs. John Finley, Mrs. James E. Frame, Miss Mabel Cratty, Miss Harriet Hitchcock, Miss Sara Lyon, Miss Ella MacLaurin, Miss Margaret Mead, Miss M. E. S. Colt, and Miss Florence McCarthy.
Chairmen in Regions
Mrs. A. B. Morrell, Springfield, Mass., Eastern Region
Mrs E. R. Boyd, Denver, Col., Rocky Mountain Region
The regional chairmen for the Pacific, Southern and Central Regions have not yet been announced.
MICHI KAWAI APPEALS TO YOU
"It is impossible to get much, if any, money from Japan beyond what is needed for relief, for the next two years," write our secretaries in Japan. "We are hoping for help from abroad." Michi Kawai, general secretary of the Young Women's Christian Association of Japan, is optimistic, though her outlook is indeed a black one. She is carrying on the work of the Y.W.C.A. in a fashion, while assisting officials with relief and rehabilitation.
It is Michi Kawai, whose castle of dreams seemed utterly demolished for a time, appealing to you. Michi Kawai and the thousands of Japanese girls who are not only finding benefit for themselves in the Y.W.C.A., but are passing the good work along to others.
For these we are asking $250,000 to rebuild the work in Japan. Will you undertake the management of a campaign in your territory?
KEEP DIRECTORS INFORMED
Here are the directors in regions, with whom local Associations are to keep in touch during the campaign!
DIRECTORS IN REGIONS
Miss Helen M. Collins, 600 Lexington Avenue, New York City, Eastern.
Miss Frances Sheplar, 501 Hurt Building, Atlanta, Georgia, Southern.
Miss Mable K. Stafford, 308 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, Central.
Mrs. Helen Farquar Sanford, 318 McClintock Building, Denver, Col., Rocky Mt.
Miss Eva Powell, 244 Kearney Street, San Francisco, Calif., Pacific Coast.
Last reports are due at National Headquarters, 600 Lexington Avenue, New York City, not later than March 7th. This allows a full month for campaigning and a week for reports to reach New York from the farthest sections of the country.
MAKE FEBRUARY A [CAMPAIGN] MONTH FOR JAPAN [page 2]
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