Fifth Grader Helps Japan, One Origami Crane At A Time

Lauren Spar, a fifth-grade student at recently inspired her fellow classmates to create more than 1,000 origami paper cranes to raise money for Japanese students impacted by that country’s recent earthquake.

The effort was part of a fundraiser through a web-based organization, called  Students Rebuild, which unites philanthropists and eager U.S. students to help rebuild schools around the world.

The Tohoku earthquake that hit eastern Japan on March 11 was the fourth most powerful earthquake in the world, according to the USGS). Lauren’s class, which was studying earthquakes at the time, saw the devastation in Sendai, Japan, first-hand through a live video stream set up by their teacher, Lisa Conselatore.

“I was horrified, and I really wanted to do something for Japan,” says Lauren.  “So my teacher came to me and said she saw a wonderful project on the studentsrebuild.org website.”

After reading about it, Lauren wanted to present it to the class.

The goal was to make 1,000 cranes, to raise a total of $2,000, based on a $2-per- crane matching agreement from the Bezos Family Foundation, one of the philanthropic groups signed on with Students Rebuild. The catch was that the funds would only be matched if at least 1,000 cranes were made.  

The origami crane holds a special meaning for the Japanese.  They believe each crane is worth a wish, or a hope – a welcome token in a time of such trauma.

Conselatore, who had lived in Japan, taught the students the importance of sending something that would be meaningful to the recipients.  She said that sending an “American-style” greeting card would not have resonated as much in Japan, but doing something  important to the Japanese culture would have a greater impact.

Lauren agreed and quickly orchestrated the project over three days to meet the April 15 deadline. She collected recycled paper to make the cranes, taught the origami steps, and led the folding, folding, and folding, and then the counting, counting and counting. 

Inspired by Lauren’s commitment to the project, all three fifth-grade Gifted and Talented (GT) classes (about 72 students) at Forest Edge participated in some aspect of the project.

Conselatore said Lauren was a natural leader for the project.

“She is an amazing person,” her teacher said. “Lauren is very mature for her age. In addition to her intelligence, she truly cares about other people. She always intends to be her personal best, with great morality.”

 As result of their efforts, Lauren and her classmates reached – and surpassed -- the goal. The raised $2,120 from making 1,060 cranes. The cranes will be displayed in Sendai.

 “It is meaningful to me to be a part of helping the world, even though I'm only a kid,” Lauren said. “I hope to continue doing projects like this in the future. I've learned that even in a big world, one small person can make a difference.”