A fundraising evening held at Opa Sushi Restaurant in Prince Rupert last week raised over $3,200 for the Red Cross’s earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.
Restaurant owner Kristi Farrell told City Council the event was a phenomenal success and she will continue to accept donations.
“We had a full house and people coming in wanting to support us. The phone was ringing off the hook. We did our best to bring in as many people as possible. We auctioned off a T-shirt donated by our MLA, Gary Coons, little children brought in money from piggy banks and customers donated as much as they could,” Farrell said.
In addition to all the dinner sale proceeds going toward the fund, the staff donated their wages and tips and other staff members are still coming into offer more funds.
As a business owner and representative of the Japanese community through the restaurant, Farrell said it made sense to launch a fundraising effort in order to channel the giving spirit of Prince Rupert to help Japan.
“We were also directly impacted through our own friends and family in the country, as well as being residents of Prince Rupert where we know this could easily have been us,” she told council.
Donation jars and pledge forms have been placed in locations around town to contribute to the relief effort until the end of March, after that Farrell will continue to accept donations at Opa Sushi.
“I wanted to come out and let you know how awesome our business community is and how awesome our residents of Prince Rupert are by showing awareness and concern. I also wanted to thank the City for helping get the word out,” she said.
Beyond her efforts, Farrell asked the City to continue to encourage people to donate to the Red Cross.
“Hats off to this town and I hope we can continue to raise more funds. It’s not just the effects of that earthquake and tsunami specifically, or the injured and the dead, but it’s the future health concerns they are going to be facing and the future of their economy that’s going to be impacted,” she added.
Mayor Jack Mussallem praised Farrell for her efforts.
“You created a lot more awareness locally. Internationally people were aware, but it was your efforts that started people thinking here,” he told her.
Mussallem’s comments were echoed by the rest of council and people sitting in the chambers with a hearty round of applause.